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

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

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

Thursday (12-11-08) Hollywood Park recap
Edge to stalking types on Cushion Track. The lone turf race carded was won by an off the pace type.
Joel Rosario and Joe Talamo both booted home a pair.
Serra Song got the job done by a head as the even money fav in the feature race for the profitable Espinoza/Mandella team. Lucky Honey (Bejarano/Mitchell) ran too good to lose while well clear of the rest.

Friday (12-12-08) Hollywood Park preview
Friday’s 8-race card includes a trio of turf races. The optional claiming Cushion Track feature is lead by 2-1 fav Limestone Edge (Kent D/Hess).
The 4th …read more

Wednesday (12-10-08) Hollywood Park recap
Edge to early/pressing types on Cushion Track. Both turf sprints were taken by stalkers.
Joel Rosario booted home a pair.
Delta Storm (Gryder/Mitchell) dropped out of the stakes ranks and found the winners’ circle in the optional claiming turf sprint feature.
Thursday (12-11-08) Hollywood Park preview
Wednesday’s 8-race card includes seven Cushion Track events and decent field sizes. The 2nd race, a straight maiden turf route, is the lone grass race carded.
The 4th race, a starter allowance route, is featured below.

Hollywood Park race 4 (Str-Alw, 2yo fil, 6.5f)
(1) Forty Dates (2-1) – Second in …read more

Saturday (12-06-08) Hollywood Park recap
Both surfaces seemed to play fair.
Five wins for the resurgent Joel Rosario, including a pair with trainer Doug O’Neill. Victor Espinoza/Richard Mandella teamed up for two wins on the card.
Slew’s Tizzy (Rosario/O’Neill) sat the right tracking trip en route to a solid tally over Past the Point in the Grade 3 Native Diver Handicap. Ball Four set the pace and finished 3rd in a race dominated by the top three all the way around the oval.
Champs Elysees (Valdivia/Frankel) caught a very soft field and landed a grade one victory in the Hollywood …read more