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

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 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

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

October 3rd Louisiana Downs Recap
Fast and firm conditions on Saturday. Edge to early/pressing types on the main. Turf course seemed to play fair.
Hat trick for Ramsey Zimmerman included one in the stakes ranks. Francisco Torres booted home a pair of stakes winners.
Louisiana Stallion (Fillies): Happyfromthegitgo was part of a favored entry, and both halves flopped. Maiden 2nd timer Pass It Down ($39.80) was the winner for Zimmerman/Mouton. Bombs away in the show pool with payouts ranging from $36.40 to $74.
Louisiana Stallion (Colts & Geldings): Spa shipper Red Rally ($3.60) could not have been more impressive in this …read more

October 2nd Louisiana Downs Recap
Fast and firm conditions on Friday. Had some rain on Thursday night, but not enough to affect the racing surface. Early-pressing types best on main. Turf seemed to play fair.
Hat trick for leading rider Don Simington. Francisco Torres booted home a pair.
Foreign Production easily captured the 4th as the heavy fav. He might show up in a stakes event at Fair Grounds in the near future.
Kylie’s Dream tried turf and a route of ground for the first time in the 5th, and she did not corner well around the first turn. She finished 8th …read more

September 27th Louisiana Downs Recap
Fast and firm conditions on Sunday. Main track played fair, and stalkers held the edge on the turf.
Sidney Lejeune Jr. and Ramsey Zimmerman both booted home a pair.
Wildrally won again over the local green and will be sad to see this meet end.
Got a pair of tops home including best bet Friendly Patriot ($5.40).
October 1st Preview
Weather: Isolated Thunderstorms (30% chance). High 85.
Thursday’s 9-race card features a pair of grass races and includes a Pick 6 carryover of $4,481.
Touch of Iron (6th race) is my best bet on the card. He makes his 3rd …read more

The ‘09 Fairplex Park meet ends on Monday (Sept 28th), and I have been posting Pick 6 tickets all meet long on my pick six blog site. The $1 win Pick 9 has carried over to the final day of the meet, and it must be paid out.  The pool has reached $155,381, and I’ll take a stab at the final day carryover.
For those interested in my Pick 6 thoughts, click here for free analysis and tickets. Below is my take on the Fairplex Park closing day Pick 9…
Race Two: #5 Bye Now (6-1) earned best last race speed rating …read more

September 26th Louisiana Downs Recap
Fast track and back on the turf…yes! Edge to early-pressing types on main. Turf seemed to play fair.
Hat trick for leading rider Don Simington. Rico Flores and Ramsey Zimmerman both booted home a pair. Jerry Cart saddled two winners on the day.
Brian House is 40% with debut maiden claimers, and he struck again in the 8th with Neverknocknoclass ($23.20). Bet down longshot play of the day Popcorn Secret was a non-threatening 8th in the same race.
Got one top home on Saturday. Best bet Ivor’s Empire (9th race) finished a flat 4th at 7-2.
September 27th Louisiana Downs Recap
Weather: Sunny. …read more

September 25th Louisiana Downs Recap
Fast track and off the turf on Friday. Four wire jobs on the drying out track.
Hat trick for Dustin Dugas and Jose Riquelme. Morris Nicks saddled two winners on the day as he tries to run down leading trainer Jerry Cart.
Only got one top home on a very competitive Friday card. Late Pick 4 paid on three winners, as did the Pick 6. Best bet He Dances Backward missed by a 1/2 length at almost 5-1. Longshot play of the day Colter Stone made a run but flattened out at around 8-1.
September 26th Preview
Weather: …read more