Horse Racing: Today at Del Mar, Aug. 17

By Richard Eng

Post Time 4 p.m.

Race 1 – 5 1/2 furlongs, Purse $70,000, Maiden special weights, Cal-breds, Fillies and mares, 3-year-olds and up

4 Quizzical – Rafael Bejarano had choices and opted to ride for Mark Glatt; lost to a good looking filly in Bella Viggio.

2 Not Kidding Around – Beaten favorite in her last two starts; gets the weight off with the bugboy Eswan Flores.

Long Shot – 7 Fabulous Fit

Race 2 – 6 furlongs, Purse $36,000, Maiden claiming $50,000, 3-year-olds and up

4 Northern Force – Taking the biggest class drop in racing from MSW to maiden claiming; improved a lot first time blinkers on.

7 Field Report – Another taking a huge class drop from MSW to maiden claiming; been away 10-months, twice beaten favorite.

Long Shot – 1 Qatar’s Pearl

Race 3 – 5 furlongs (turf, rail at 7 feet), Purse $73,000, Optional claiming 462,500, 3-year-olds and up

1 Clubhouse Ride – Logical chalk has a nail biter style for a 5-furlong turf sprint; will be last turning for home, hold your breathe.

7 Red Jag – Of the ship and win variety, the ones from South Florida run best; tactical speed to be forwardly placed throughout.

Long Shot – 3 Canuletmedowneasy

Race 4 – 6 furlongs, Purse $32,000, Claiming $16,000, Fillies, 3-year-olds

6 Attack the Jack – Claimed by Jeff Mullins, which can be a recipe for victory; ran off and hid winning last under Edwin Maldonado.

7 Lady Rochelle – She has a lot of early speed too and might duel with the chalk; we’ll see who cracks first.

Long Shot – 8 Warren’s Morgan

Race 5 – 5 1/2 furlongs, Purse $40,000, Maiden claiming $62,500, 2-year-olds

2 Resistant – Ran evenly in debut and can definitely improve second time out for Peter Eurton; never hurts to bet Rafael Bejarano.

4 Wildcat Moon – Was bet in debut and ran a solid second; he too could improve in second career start for Jeff Bonde.

Long Shot – 5 Dancer Humor

Race 6 – 1 mile (turf, rail at 7 feet), $85,000 Sandy Blue Handicap, Fillies, 3-year-olds

2 Byrama – Garrett Gomez had choices and opted to ride for Simon Callaghan; hasn’t won yet around 2-turns but clearly its an anomaly.

6 Cozze Up Lady – Midwest shipper looks like she fits well in this group; offers value at 10/1, Alonso Quinonez sits and fires late.

Long Shot – 4 Lady Ten

Race 7 – 1 1/16th miles, Purse $25,000, Maiden claiming $20,000, Fillies and mares, 3-year-olds and up

7 Tiz Lovely – Got an uneven ride last time in a better than looked finish; bugboy Vinny Bednar might put her on the lead and just go.

9 Lady Shazzam – Didn’t settle well last time for Rafael Bejarano; third start off a 14-month hiatus can be her best.

Long Shot – 1 Nicole’s Mark

Best Bet – 4 Quizzical (race 1)

Del Mar Thursday – Picks/Winners/Mutuels, 14/3/$18.60; Long Shots, 8/2/$24.40; Best Bet, 1/1/$4.20

Del Mar Totals – 359/93/$606.20; Long Shots, 183/22/$210.20; Best Bets, 20/11/$43.80

SIMULCAST PLAY OF THE DAY – #5 Moment in Dixie (5/2) in race 2 at Saratoga. For scoring purposes, we’ll make a hypothetical $2 win, place and show bet, $6 total. On Thursday, Sword Trick ran out at Monmouth Park. Stats – 126/90/$774.10; Follow him on Twitter: @richeng4propick