Thursday Playalong
 

Toga Race 1
$5pic3 2/4,8/4
$10

GL ALL

Toga Race 2
.50pic5 2,4,6,8/2,4,8/1,2/1,5,6,8,9/1,4,8
$180

Toga 2

.50 P5 3,4,8/2,5/1,2,3/1,5,6,8/2,3

$20 DBL 8/2,5

Toga Race 3
.50pic4 5/1,2/1,5,6,8,9/1,4,8
$15

Cheap 'cover' bet

Saratoga Race Course Race: 3
Amount: $0.50 Type: Pick 4 Horses: 2,5,8/1-3/1,2,5,6,9/1-3
Total Cost: $67.50

.50 pick 4 toga
12345
25
1258
1348
$80

In what has to be my worst job of handicapping all season at Saratoga, I covered Kerjillion and NOT Offering Plan in the third race. Both Chad Brown trainees have been working in tandem for weeks - even made notes about it on my racing form. How in goodness name I did not include both in my doubles will be a headscratcher for today!

Congrats to everyone who correctly bet their horizontal tickets with a Race #3 combination of 2,5 - the right way to play these two first time starters.

I figured J.J. was on the better of the two.

I was also wrong.

Toga 4

$50 DBL 2.3/1

Toga 4
$10ex 1,2/3
$5ex 2-3

$25

With the way Irad has been riding the past two weeks, how the **** does he have 46 wins for the meet? 5 wide on the turn in a 5 horse race :zz:

Note to self.. You suck worse than Decarlo Sucks for tossing that horse because
of the jockey. I have to play this out but I cannot wait for this ****ing meet to end. You have done every ****ing thing wrong that can be done.

Chris DeCarlo, who has been riding lights out since Belmont with his limited chances, put one of the best riding moves of the meet in place during the running of the fourth race. In a harness racing style brush, he carried The Brothers Rap to the front while Castellano was holding his usual front running stance with Onecats Chance not expecting anyone to move until the lane. I was thrilled to see some actually make a midrace move with these slow fractions and actually take the race to the Castellano front runner.

In contrast, here is Junior Alvarado leaving with Saturday Appeal, taking back on the turn after bobbing head and head past the grandstand, and looking clueless as he was passed on the inside by DeCarlo.

That was a clinic. Let's hope that someone in the jocks room was watching.

Lights out as in No one's home? He is a ****ing 10% Jockey.

Watching the replay - DeCarlo made the winning move inside of 110 yards. He did not expend a large amount of energy on that horse which saved sometihng for the lane. DeCarlo has been solid since Belmont in my view.

The other variable is that these five and six horse events at nine furlongs have been very tight packs behind typically slow opening half miles (49+ consistently). Around the turn, the entire field was abreast and within two lengths front-to-back. In these situations, the difference has been running a solid final quarter mile rather than showing pace for the entire race. Based on the stats that I have, the favorites in these short fields going two turns have been getting slaughtered this meet.

In a colony against Castellano, both Ortiz brothers, Rosario, and Velazquez? He now has 4 wins from 30 mounts and has hit the board in 13. Let's face it, he also is not getting the top stock. He has been making the most of his mounts.

Toga Race 5
$1pic3 1,6,9/1,4,8/1,5,10
$27

Toga 5

$50 DBL 1/2,3

lottery ticket

Saratoga Race Course Race: 5
Amount: $2.00 Type: Pick 6 Horses: 1,9/2/5/9/8/6
Total Cost: $4.00

That was impressive. He inhaled the field like they were standing still.

Seriously? The 1 was by the 8 and Rosie couldn't control her mount. This would be the worst DQ ever

Agreed. That was one seriously long inquiry. Looked like the lane was free for Napravnik's mount heading into the lane and the horse threw his head not wanting to go into the gap between horses. (More important to note is that International Star will be a play against from anything other than an outside post.) Perhaps Rosie felt she was fouled there, but there was clear daylight.

Now you tell me . I'll make a note for '15 ;)

BTW. Dicarlo is a solid jock who used to be 2nd call behind JV for TP, years ago before injuries and Castellano, and he is very good on the turf. /glad to see him getting some mounts.

Toga 6

$20 win 1
$20 dd
1,4/7
GL

Toga 6

$20 DBL 2/1,10

Saratoga Race Course Race: 6
Amount: $1.00 Type: Pick 3 Horses: 1-3/5,7,8,10/6,7,9
Total Cost: $36.00

:wf

Toga Race 7
.50pic4 1,5,7,10/3,4,6,7/1,3,4/6,8
.50tri 5/1,7,8,10/1,7,8,10
.50tribox 1-5-8

$57

Saratoga 7

.50 Pick 4

7) 1,7,8,9,10
8) 6,7,9
9) 3,5,6,8
10) 1,7,8

$90

$20 DD 1/6,9

Saratoga Race Course Race: 7
Amount: $0.50 Type: Pick 4 Horses: 1,5,7,8,10/7,9/3,5,8/4,6,8
Total Cost: $45.00

Back in the sixth race, the same thing happened (albeit with a seven horse field) as the weak-hearted Grandpa Len is gathered on the clubhouse turn by Irad Ortiz to ride the pocket behind 4-1 pace setter Successful Brother and the rest was history. You can argue about the value of 1-for-21 Grandpa Len as a favorite, but the theme continues at 9 panels on the dirt.

Nice

Nice catch, knickslions2. The NYRA prattle tabbed Amazing Anne as the horse to watch ... the crowd tabbed this one at 2-1 ... my tickets? Not this time!

Generous ticket for a 4-1/2-1 double combination.

Nice Knicks

In the seventh race, I thought that Moondance Joy (on first look during the race, #8) was sawed-off by Summersault in the lane. During the head-on replay, you can see that Jose Lezcano was already asking for something on the turn and that the rail was WIDE open for someone (perhaps two paths or more wide) to save ground and come through. In fact, both of those inside horses were completely empty.

Smilingsundae came off the rail and bumped with several coming into the lane (Castellano up).

Thanks guys!

Saratoga 8


$20 DBL 5/5,6

Saratoga Race Course Race: 8
Amount: $1.00 Type: Pick 3 Horses: 4/3,5,8/4,6,8
Total Cost: $9.00