Fair Grounds Recap – Nov 15th

Early-pressing types dominated the six dirt sprints. Lone main track route was nabbed by a stalker. Stalkers and closers best on the sod.

James Graham and Jamie Theriot both booted home a pair. Bret Calhoun saddled two winners on the afternoon.

Fair Grounds Race Course

On the analysis front, I got Group ($17.20) home in the 2nd, along with the $794.60 pick three that started with him. Also nailed the $287.80 trifecta in the 6th, and my best bet $15.60 exacta in the 7th.

Pick 6 carries again, and the pool has crept up to $2,241.

Fair Grounds Preview – Nov 20th

A 9-race program will be run at the Fair Grounds on Friday, and three grass races are on the schedule. Mostly cloudy skies are expected with highs around 70.

My daily full cards from Fair Grounds are available through Today’s Racing Digest (free sign up), and I will be posting a daily free pick on their site as well. Click here to view my Friday free selection (5th race) from Fair Grounds.

Friday’s MySpace free selection is the 5th race from Hollywood Park.

Friday’s Horse Racing Nation free selection is the 7th race from Hollywood Park.

For information on remaining Hollywood Park pick 6 races, please check out Pick 6 blog for free analysis and tickets.

Image: Newscom

Fair Grounds begins their 3rd week of racing on Nov 20th, so in the meantime I’ll give Hollywood Park another gander. Before I preview the Nov 19th card from Hollywood, let’s look back at the Wednesday program.
Hollywood Park Recap – Nov 18th
Three wire jobs in Cushion Track sprints. Lone turf race carded was nabbed by a stalker.
Quinonez and Rosario both booted home a pair. Two more wins for trainer John Sadler.

Note that I successfully tabbed the Wednesday pick six on my suggested $72 Budget Ticket on pick6blog.com. 6 of 6 paid $748.80, and that is my 4th winning …read more

Before I preview the Nov 18th card from Hollywood, let’s look back at the first three days of the meet.
Hollywood Park Recap – Nov 13th
Horses showing early-pressing speed and staying within striking range did best on Cushion Track. Same can be said for the turf course.
Riding double for Rafael Bejarano.

Hollywood Park Recap – Nov 14th
Three wire jobs on Cushion Track as early-pressing speed continued to do well. Turf course also favored early-pressing types and produced a turf sprint (six furlongs) wire job for the 2nd straight day.
Hat trick for Joel Rosario. Riding double for Alex Solis. …read more

Now that the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile is in the books, it is time to take an early look at the 2010 Kentucky Derby hopefuls.
In compiling this early list, I looked for proven graded class and strong breeding, but I also wanted to use promising, lightly raced sorts on the way up. Much will change in the coming weeks, but I had to start somewhere. Please click on the name of each horse to view their Horse Racing Nation profile page, which includes news, pedigree, results, and video.
1. Lookin At Lucky (Smart Strike) – Tasted defeat for the …read more

Fair Grounds Recap – Nov 14th
Stalking types best on the main, and patient runners solid on the turf.
John Jacinto booted home a pair. Victor Lebron and Greg Foley teamed up for two wins on the card.
Desert Wheat (Lanerie-Mott) got back on the beam in the grassy Mr. Sulu stakes for fillies and mares. Nowandforevermore was 2nd, and my 19-1 top Lee’s Spirit was along for the show under Don Simington.

Had another fine day on the analysis front. Two tops got the job done including best bet Firy Mistress, and my analyzed contenders nabbed the 1st nine races. I …read more

Fair Grounds Recap – Nov 13th
Early-pressing speed strong in sprints, and dirt routes played fair. A pair of turf route wire jobs.
Jamie Theriot booted home a pair. Frank Leggio saddled a pair of maiden claiming winners, including $163 bomber Deenameetay in the finale.
Nice wire job by Dancin Perfect (Sellers-Burgess) in the grass feature. Going to the Sun was clearly 2nd best.

Had a rock solid day on the analysis front with four tops getting the job done, including best bets Goodgoshamighty and Pomegranate.
Fair Grounds Preview – Nov 14th
A 10-race program will be run at the Fair Grounds on Saturday, …read more

Fair Grounds Recap – Nov 8th
No bias surprises on day three. Early-pressing speed strong in sprints. Turf course favored stalkers and closers. Note that one of the two turf sprints was taken in wire-to-wire fashion.
Hat trick for jockey Corey Lanerie, and Merrill Scherer saddled two winners on the day.

Trouble prone Say The Word (7th race) was at it again. He was nosed out of 2nd and cost me the superfecta after experiencing traffic woes in the stretch.
Turtle Creek Babe (9th race) was fractious at the gate and finished a better than appears 5th in her first …read more

The 2009 fall meet from Hollywood Park gets underway on Friday, November 13th, and the 8-race program will be run under the lights.
The fall meet has been scaled back to 27-days. The first two Friday programs will be run at night, and Friday racing will move back to daylight hours on Nov 27th.
Highlights of the meet begin with the Turf Festival, which kicks off with the Grade 1 Citation on Nov 27th. The Grade 3 Generous and Grade 1 Matriarch will be contested on Nov 28th, and the 3-day turf extravaganza ends with the Grade 3 Miesque and Grade …read more

The Saturday Cup program got underway with the 2nd running of the Damascus Stakes, and Smart Bid rallied for the win under Jeremy Rose. Graham Motion saddled the winner.
Remember to click on the name of each Cup winner to view a replay.
The first of eight Breeders’ Cup races on Saturday went to Pounced, who did just that in the Turf Sprint. Chalk up another win for the euros. Bridgetown set the pace and held the place by a head over Interactif. Frankie Dettori booted home the John Gosden trainee.
California Flag was cooked on the pace …read more

Fair Grounds Recap – Nov 7th
No bias surprises on day two. Early-pressing speed strong in sprints. Turf course favored stalkers and closers.
Day two belonged to Shane Sellers and Steve Asmussen. They teamed up for a hat trick and won the Pontalba with Right To Rule.
The other juvenile stakes race on the card was the Old Hickory, and Comedero lead the field on a merry chase after the defection of Western Smoke.

Got three tops home on Saturday. Had a bit of a frustrating day as I finished 2-3 in a pair of my turf best bets.
Fair Grounds …read more