Horse Racing: Today at Hollywood Park, Nov. 30
TODAY AT HOLLYWOOD PARK
By Richard Eng
Post Time 12:30 p.m.
Race 1 – 1 1/16th miles, Purse $25,000, Maiden claiming $40,000, 2-year-olds
7 Greeley Awesome – Last two races were enough to earn paychecks; this is a slow group and he looks like a stickout.
5 Bro Derek – Taking the biggest class drop in racing from MSW to maiden claiming; ran evenly going long on turf in last.
Long Shot – 4 Derekson
Race 2 – 1 1/16th miles (turf, rail at 15 feet), Purse $45,000, Maiden special weights, Cal-breds, 3-year-olds and up
4 Ashley’s Bambino – Been closing well but not enough yet to graduate; switch to Joe Talamo from Rafael Bejarano.
6 Unusual Beam – Tepid chalk is getting long in the tooth; has run well but in winless thru 11 starts.
Long Shot – 5 Dylan Donnelly
Race 3 – 1 1/16th miles, Purse $18,000, Claiming $16,000, 3-year-olds and up
5 Won Won Oh Five – Good effort in last at this same class level; tactical speed to sit a decent trip throughout.
3 Anabaa Premium – Graduated at Fairplex last time out; is properly spotted for $14K giving him a fighting chance.
Long Shot – 1 Big Hands Al
Race 4 – 6 1/2 furlongs, Purse $45,000, Claiming $62,500, 3-year-olds
1 Distort – Won for the first time since joining the John Sadler barn; change of running style from off the pace could be the key.
5 Senor Rain – Logical chalk has a solid resume in the Midwest; one doesn’t see many Indiana-bred horses running in SoCal.
Long Shot – 6 Buffalo Billy
Race 5 – 1 1/4 miles (turf, rail at 15 feet), Purse $48,000, Optional claiming $40,000, 3-year-olds and up
2 Swift Eagle – Not easy winning wire to wire going a marathon distance of 1 1/4 miles; will like the turf rail out 15 feet.
5 Dreamcatcher – Strong rally in last under Joel Rosario; dead late closer will need some pace to chase.
Long Shot – 8 Te Rapa
Race 6 – 6 furlongs, Purse $25,000, Claiming $25,000, Fillies and mares, 3-year-olds and up
5 Taking Form – Claimed by Vladimir Cerin last out; her two races before this last one are fast enough to upset tonight.
7 Queen Mercury – Has run two good seconds since claimed by Herbert Bacorn; shown good tactical speed to sit a trip.
Long Shot – 1 Fabulous Fit
Race 7 – 6 furlongs (turf, rail at 15 feet), Purse $52,000, Optional claiming $62,500, Fillies and mares, 3-year-olds and up
8 Kune Kune – Gutsy debut win in the U.S. last time; it was a key race so she wasn’t beating up on a bunch of nobodies.
7 Missdealornodeal – Was flying thru the stretch last time, one stride too late; will need some pace to chase.
Long Shot – 2 Jet Blue Girl
Race 8 – 7 furlongs, Purse $16,000, Claiming $8,000, Fillies and mares, 3-year-olds and up
9 Sheskey – Capable of pulling the upset off a good last race; like the turnback in distance from route to elongated sprint.
7 Trapper’s Reward – Returns to synthetics where she has won three times; consistent sort for a cheap claiming animal.
Long Shot – 3 Akeela
Best Bet – 7 Greeley Awesome (race 1)
Hollywood Park Thursday – Picks/Winners/Mutuels, 14/4/$32.20; Long Shots, 7/0/$0; Best Bet, 1/1/$4.80
Hollywood Park Totals – 218/58/$386.80; Long Shots, 111/16/$183.80; Best Bets, 13/6/$27.20
SIMULCAST PLAY OF THE DAY – #9 Physical Delivery (3/1) in race 5 at Aqueduct. For scoring purposes, we’ll make a hypothetical $2 win, place and show bet, $6 total. On Thursday, Schillerette won at Aqueduct paying $5.60 to win, $3.00 to place and $2.40 to show. Stats – 176/121/$1,053.40; Follow him on Twitter: @richeng4propick