Horse racing: Today at Del Mar, Aug. 4

By Richard Eng

Post Time 2:05 p.m.

Race 1 – 1 1/16th miles (turf, rail at 14 feet), Purse $40,000, Starter allowance $16,000, Fillies and mares, 3-year-olds and up

1 Blues and Silvers – Kentucky invader won a gutsy verdict in last; has 3 works at Del Mar so she’s ready for action.

7 Selleria – Is protected today so the barn wants to keep her; like that Rafael Bejarano is riding her right back.

Long Shot – 8 Dilly’s Dancer

Race 2 – 5 1/2 furlongs, Purse $75,000, Maiden special weights, Fillies, 2-year-olds

5 Awesome Baby – Bob Baffert FTS must always be respected; like that Martin Garcia is getting more and more work.

4 Tacit Approval – Ran well in debut for Craig Dollase; West Point likes to win races at boutique meets, it’s good for business.

Long Shot – 2 Perched

Race 3 – 1 mile, Purse $75,000, Maiden special weights, 3-year-olds and up

7 Smokin’ Bernie – Has sandwiched two good races around a clunker; has last race repeated may be good enough tonight.

1 Cervaro – John Sadler barn has been burning up the track after a slow start; has an uncoupled entry so caveat emptor.

Long Shot – 5 Midnite View

Race 4 – 1 mile (turf, rail at 14 feet), Purse $77,000, Optional claiming $40,000, Fillies and mares, 3-year-olds and up

1 Burns Turn – A sleeper play for me is when a horse wins while running a slower Beyer; his race two back would crush these.

4 The Only Key – Chalk in a harder than looks heat; claimed by the maestro Jerry Hollendorfer, he’s been using Corey Nakatani.

Long Shot – 6 Camyrn Kate

Race 5 – 5 1/2 furlongs, Purse $75,000, Maiden special weights, Cal-breds, 2-year-olds

10 Pray Hard – FTS from Tommy Town, an owner that likes to cash a bet; watch the tote board for additional clues.

3 Charisma Code – Was well bet in last and ran OK; key is to show some improvement tonight facing many FTS.

Long Shot – 7 California Jade

Race 6 – 6 1/2 furlongs, Purse $77,000, Optional claiming $25,000, Cal-breds, Fillies and mares, 3-year-olds and up

1 Mia Lady – Has shown solid, steady improvement in three career starts; was a bargain buy at Barretts for only $15,000.

7 J and S Express – Blew them away last time and got claimed by Vann Belvoir; protected today but can handle this kind.

Long Shot – 4 Tribal Spy

Race 7 – 1 mile (turf, rail at 14 feet), Purse $80,000, Optional claiming $62,500, Fillies and mares, 3-year-olds and up

6 Miss Pippa – Proven turf horse cuts back in distance to one mile today; figures to sit back and make on big brush.

7 Biorhythm – Talk about an in and outer; she ran big last time so I’m banking she breaks that trend and runs well tonight.

Long Shot – 3 Freedom Reigns

Race 8 – 6 1/2 furlongs, $150,000 Best Pal, 2-year-olds

4 Alpine Luck – Tiny edge in a very difficult heat; would not be surprised to see anyone in this field win.

2 Ontology – Maiden facing winners tries blinkers on today for Simon Callaghan; this stakes could end up with a blanket finish.

Long Shot – 3 Skydreamin’

Race 9 – 1 mile, Purse $20,000, Claiming $8,000, 3-year-olds and up

6 Keyboard Courage – Interesting NoCal shipper from Peter Miller barn; he has some work to do to catch up to John Sadler.

4 Bluegrass Reward – Claimed two race ago by Ted West; ran a clunker in last, but is a lot better than that.

Long Shot – 2 Royal Import

Best Bet – 6 Miss Pippa (race 7)

Del Mar Saturday – Picks/Winners/Mutuels, 19/6/$61.80; Long Shots, 10/2/$46.20; Best Bet, 1/0/$0

Del Mar Totals – 236/52/$393.40; Long Shots, 117/15/$188.80; Best Bets, 14/4/$17.80

SIMULCAST PLAY OF THE DAY – #10 Bell by the Ridge (4/1) in race 10 at Saratoga. For scoring purposes, we’ll make a hypothetical $2 win, place and show bet, $6 total. On Saturday, Ron The Greek ran out at Saratoga. Stats – 128/81/$610.80; Follow him on Twitter: @richeng4propick