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

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

Saturday (12-20-08) Hollywood Park recap
Edge to early/pressing types on Cushion Track. Both turf races were taken in wire-to-wire fashion. Five wins from inside post.
Martin Pedroza booted home a pair.
My 5-1 top Gambler’s Justice almost stole the $75k Cat’s Cradle, but Bai And Bai and Spenditallbaby crept past her late.
Pioneerof the Nile (Garrett Gomez/Bob Baffert) showed improved postional speed and eeked out a nose victory in the Grade 1 CashCall Futurity. I stated that I Want Revenge was one to keep an eye on down the road, but he had his mind on running here and now. …read more

Friday (12-19-08) Hollywood Park recap
Edge to stalk and pounce types on Cushion Track.
Hat trick for leading rider Rafael Bejarano. Delgadillo and Solis both booted home a pair.
Miss Singhsix took advantage of a pace battle between Caramel Coffee (2nd best) and Sheza Maneater to post a solid 1-3/4 length tally in the optional claiming feature.

Saturday (12-20-08) Hollywood Park preview
Saturday’s 10-race card is highlighted by the Grade 1 CashCall Futurity (featured below).
The 5th race, the $75k Cat’s Cradle Handicap, is my Myspace free selection of the day.

Hollywood Park race 8 (Grade 1 CashCall Futurity, 2yo, 8.5f)
(1) Azul …read more

Thursday (12-18-08) Hollywood Park recap
Cushion Track played fair.
Joel Rosario booted home the early double.
A couple of horses rolled to easy wire jobs in races originally scheduled for the turf…Haka (Gomez/Clement) in the 5th and Victory Pete (Barba/Smith) in the featured 7th.
Friday (12-19-08) Hollywood Park preview
Friday’s 8-race card features a compact but competitive optional claiming feature. Sheza Maneater (4-1) figures to offer a hint of vaule for Bob Baffert.
The 5th race, an entry level turf sprint, is featured below.

Hollywood Park race 5 (Alw-1x, f&m 3up, 6T)
(1) Lt. Chelsea (20-1) – Nothing to show for a trio …read more

Wednesday (12-17-08) Hollywood Park recap
Four wire jobs on Cushion Track. The lone turf sprint was taken off the turf.
Martin Pedroza and Joel Rosario both booted home a pair. Long day for Rafael Bejarano as he lost five times on well-back horses. Doug O’Neill saddled two winners on the card.
One Track Mind (race 7) controlled proceedings throughout in a good looking optional claiming route wire job.
Thursday (12-18-08) Hollywood Park preview
Thursday’s 8-race card includes a Pick 6 carryover of $75,502.
The 5th race (featured below), originally scheduled for turf, will be run at 8.5f on Cushion Track.
Hollywood Park …read more

Sunday (12-14-08) Hollywood Park recap
Early/pressing types dominated on Cushion Track. The lone turf sprint carded was taken by a stalker.
Four-bagger for Rafael Bejarano. Michael Baze booted home a pair.
Star Nicholas (drifted in) outfinished Partywithlarry Z (stretch traffic) to nab to the $75k On Trust Handicap. Post time favorite Dancing In Silks set a pressured pace and finished a solid 3rd.

Wednesday (12-17-08) Hollywood Park preview
Wednesday’s 8-race card looks a bit chalky, but there is some value to be had in a few races.
Race 1: One Vote (7-5) looms the controlling speed at low odds under …read more

Saturday (12-13-08) Hollywood Park recap
Early/pressing types dominated on both surfaces.
Hat trick for Joel Rosario.
Laragh grabbed the early lead as expected. She turned back a few backstretch challengers before gamely prevailing by a length in the Grade 1 Hollywood Starlet. Edgar Prado rode the turf/synthetic specialist for John Terranova II.
Sunday (12-14-08) Hollywood Park preview
Sunday’s 9-race card features the $75k On Trust Handicap, to be contested at the unusual distance of seven and one-half furlongs on Cushion Track. Likely favorite Dancing in Silks was last seen finishing 2nd behind Into Mischief in the Damascus at Oak Tree.
The …read more

Friday (12-12-08) Hollywood Park recap
Edge to early/pressing types on Cushion Track. Turf course favored stalkers.
Hat trick for Rafael Bejarano. Martin Garcia booted home a pair, and Doug O’Neill saddled two winners on the card.
Informed (Gryder/O’Neill) came again to gamely nab the optional claiming Cushion Track feature by 1/12 lengths. The son of Tiznow ran 8.5f in 1:41.53 and paid $7.00 as the 2nd betting choice.

Saturday (12-13-08) Hollywood Park preview
Saturday’s 10-race card features the Grade 1 Hollywood Starlet and includes a Pick 6 carryover of $85,503.
Laragh is the one to catch and beat in the …read more