Well done. That was the most evenly matched Travers from Top to bottom that I can remember.

Thanks.

Sunday picks.

Race 2 - #3 Cairo Sugar 4/1
Race 8 - #5 Noble Huntsman 12/1

Best Bet: Race 5 - #5 Runaway Rumor 3/1 - I don't know what to say other than I can't quit her. Do think she's a little dirtied up and hoping Ricardo defaults back to her winning style sitting back and making one run.

Best Value: Race 8: #2 Be of Courage 8/1 - Has spent the majority of his career sprinting but the dam was a confirmed router. Navy has ridden him a few times now including the impressive maiden breaker going back. Low profile connections should ensure a nice price and I'm looking for a bit of an outsider in this field today.

Cairo sugar scratched. Give me race 7 - #6 Stellamaris 5/2

Stellamaris got nabbed at the end to finish second. No clue what happened to Noble Huntsman. I stopped watching.

$272.00 wagered
$279.90 returned

Well that was sick - was going to make Sail With the Wind a play off the debut - didn't think there was any dirt breeding so just tossed in my stable mail and didn't even use in my picks. Ugh, onto the final week....

Wednesday picks.

First bet: Race 5 #3 Antares 10/1. So, I love this horse in this race. I might be wrong but he was bumped at the start 2 back but still rushed to the front and he just blew those horses off their feet. The runner up is a 4-time 2nd place finisher who still hasn’t broken his maiden but he topped him by 4 lengths and the 3rd place finisher was 14 lengths behind Antares. He has yet to run on dirt but he sports 4 workouts at Saratoga that suggest he won’t have a problem handling the surface at all. Gilmore will be a massive favorite here, and rightfully so. But where exactly is the speed in this race? I think it’s Antares and if he gets loose, he could be very dangerous for a barn that’s been very dangerous in 2023. Breeding suggests he shouldn’t have any issue with 1 mile.

Second bet: Race 8 - #4 Signal From Noise 5/1. I just don’t love the likely favorites in this one and think there is enough pace that you want a horse who can rally from off the pace. I’m not sure about the addition of blinkers here but like that Prat is aboard and think she will appreciate the cutback.

Best Bet: race 6 # 7 Printrack 8/4
Best Value: Race 7: #14 Katie's Checkride 15/1

Thursday picks.

First bet. Race 7 - #5 Get Spooled 10/1. This horse did not have an ideal start but was able to make the lead and never look back. 2nd place finisher came back to win next time out. While Get Spooled got the ideal trip after the bad start, I think he showed talent to overcome that start and looked good in the stretch, repelling the runner up. Lezcano is aboard for Mott and they’ve hit 25%/75% in their last 16 together. I think the 1 horse (also Mott) has some talent but isn’t a router, don’t like betting favorites that add blinkers (the 2), and don’t want to bet Dylan Davis at 7/2 on the 8…so I ended up on this longshot who I think is live.

Second bet. Race 2 - #5 Dorothy’s Dreams 6/1. I loved how this horse fought on in her debut and am hoping for a better start now that she’s got some experience. She took money in her debut, so I take that to mean the connections like her overall talent. I like to see Javy back aboard. Will hopefully be a nice price with the 1 and some of the other connections in the race.

Maryquitecontrary wasnt up for the task in that loaded field. Soldier Rising was his usual second best self paying $3.50 to place. I finally signed my divorce papers with Runaway Rumor so look for her next out. Be of Courage flew home but missed a nose paying 6.80 to place. Finally got over a long case of seconditis with Printrack today going gate to wire to pay 13/5.90. Katie's Checkride ran to her price.

Wagered: $280.00
Returned: $299.90

Antares was game in defeat. Just missing. I had the wrong Chad Brown horse in race 8.

$280.00 wagered
$286.00 returned

Nice call with Printrack.

Thanks Moses - lets be on our game the next few days to both close out in the black - good luck.

Fantastic job this summer guys. Finish strong. Been fun to watch.

Best Bet: Race 4 - #2B Freudian 7/2 - Like the furlong cutback for this one today.
Best Value: Race 9 -#7 Giroovin 9/2 - Hoping Falcone gets off the long (
Saratoga slide in a big way today. Think opposite of the other the stretch out to 7F helps this one.

Well, I’m back in the red after being shut out yesterday. $288.00 wagered, $286.00 returned. Let’s try to change that today.

Friday picks.

First bet: Race 4 - #4 Yacowlef 12/1. I am not hugely against Carl Spackler here but he comes back on short rest and I think this Euro import faced some pretty tough competition in his own right overseas. Jack Sisterson has had some nice success in limited attempts with shippers to the US, though notably is not very good off long layoffs. Still, this one should be a good value play at 12/1 and has shown the ability to run well off the layoff. I’m not sure how the pace plays out here but this one should have some versatility to run near the front or come from off the pace a bit.

Second bet: Race 5 - #10 Tornado Road 12/1. I know that Lukas is horrible with first time starters but I can’t ignore that the 3 most recent workouts are lightning for this 2YO. The 5 Locked will be the rightful favorite here but I don’t want to take a short price on a horse that had early trouble last out (and who, for a Pletcher horse was suspiciously not relevant on the tote board at 12/1.) Locked and his 3/2 stablemate Be You were both beaten in that race by…you guessed it…a Wayne Lukas 2YO (though not a FTS.) Tornado Road worked recently with that horse and put in a 47.80 workout that day. This horse is a half-brother to Carribean Caper, who won 5 of 8 lifetime starts including the G3 Dogwood (all of his non-wins are in stakes races.) Tornado Road also gets the outside post, which I love for these young horses. Yes, they can veer off but they also tend to avoid trouble at the start. This race has some interesting entries, including Locked, Cox’s Drum Roll Please, a Chad, a couple McPeeks, a couple Weavers, and even a rare Irad Mount aboard a Bill Mott horse. But for me, I’m going to take a shot on this one, who I think is very talented.

Ok. Now that the 2 stays up, really rooting for the 4 here as I’m alive to a not insignificant double payout and have the 4 in other bets.

And. He finishes last. Oh well.

Best Bet: Race 9 #9 Winners Laugh 5/1
Best Value: Race 8 #7 Hatch 10/1

$296.00 wagered
$286.00 returned

Saturday picks

Race 5 - #1 Jersey Pearl 3/1
Race 8 - #2 Dancing Buck 7/2

Best Bet: Race 10 #1Danzigwiththestars 6/1
Best Value: Race 11 #5 Clapton 8/1

Good luck. Hopefully we can land a few more winners. I kinda like Clapton too but I’ve sworn off betting Chad Summers horses. :D Hopefully he wins for you.

$304.00 wagered
$289.50 returned

Being down a bit now, I want to take a few swings on bigger prices to try to finish up.

First bet: Race 1 - #2 Justdeny 15/1.

Second bet: Race 7 - #3 Born a Gambler 8/1.

Best Bet: Race 6 - #5 Nikitas 5/1 - Not sure what to expect price wise here won’t be surprised if she takes money on the obvious switch to dirt but I think she’ll be pretty tough in here and hoping between the Mott, Cox and Pletcher entries the price is fair.

Best Value: Race 8 - #2/2B entry 8/1 - I’m looking to beat Dontmesswithtess who obviously can win but is just kind of meh to me. Guess you can say the same about this entry but I think they both kind of fit in here. I think Miscreant is a little dirtied up off the dirt effort but guessing that was just used to get a start under her. Some may also hold it against her that she broke her maiden on synth but she’s plenty bred for the turf, the stretch out and I think has maybe a touch of modest upside to improve on. Lezcano seemingly opted for Fast Kimmie who I glossed over at first but on a second inspection I thought if you just disregarded the starts for Gonzalez suddenly she’s a lightly raced 3yo who doesn’t have to get that much faster in here and was probably too close to too fast a pace on a tiring course last out.

Good luck.

$312.00 wagered
$289.50 returned

Getting desperate here and didn’t get a chance to look much at the races.

Race 7 - #2 Sweetest Princess 12/1
Race 10 - #6 Gold Sweep 6/1

Best Balue: Race 1 - #4 Play Free Bird 20/1 - maybe I’m a sucker for the name, maybe I’m off my rocker, perhaps both. I actually thought the turf effort two back was much better than it looked though. I almost never play this trainer but the connections here should ensure a good price. The turf effort had a disasterous start and I thought she showed some nice athleticism running into the teeth of the race before rightfully tiring late. Not sure she’s good enough but I’m tossing the two dirt efforts and taking a swing here.

Best Bet: Race 8 - #6 Be the Boss 9/2 - Interesting but tricky race and there are some intriguing options in here I just kind of think Be the Boss figures to get the right kind of trip in here. Expect him to take the lead off the turn and then just hope he can hold off the closers.

Good luck today boys

Since I whiffed in race 7. Let’s go bigger to hopefully break even. Swap out Gold Sweep and add in #2 Social Acceptance in race 9.

I should have just bet another Gary Contessa 2YO in a big stakes race to end the meet. To be honest, I probably wouldn’t have bet him but I did miss that he worked 7f 2 works back. That was part of why I bet Becky’s Joker early on — she had a 6f workout and you don’t see 2YOs doing that much. You definitely don’t see them doing 7f workouts very often.

Anyway. Well, it’s been fun but didn’t end up above water. Maybe next year.

Freudian ran awful Giroovin was ok but got ran down by a Longshot and ultimately didn't finish as well as I thought he would. Falcone got off the duck at a big number that day and I managed to pick his other two. Hatch was a real stretch and ran like it. Winners Laugh actually ran well paying over 8 dollars to show although failed to hold me and sap off for second somehow...and did me no good for this.

Not sure what happened with Danzigwiththestars.I hated what Irad did with Clapton and thought he ran well. Not sure if he was beating the top two that day but Irad grabbed failing to secure any position and took the overland route to be kind.

Speaking of Irad, and I want to be clear I have absolutely zero issue with what he did here it wad tremendous race riding and exactly what I want my jockey to do but I thought he cost Nikitis the win in Sundays 6th boxing in Prat off the turn. In a close duel to the wire I think that was the difference, she paid $5.00 to place. In the 8th Fast Kimmie got a strange journey from Lezcano but probably wasn't nearly good enough...Miscreant actually made a nice late run but that was only good enough for fourth.

I thought about playing it a little safer on closing day to try to show a meet profit but whats the fun in that...Play Free Bird probably outran her odds but was ultimately a non factor...I thought Tyler was going to dig in and find the wire with Be the Boss which would've gotten me to the black (not to mention the pick 4, a pick 3 and a pretty decent sized double, ugh)...but Kendrick and Win for Gold proved just a bit better....

Was a strange meet overall we all know the negatives but still was a lot of good racing and had a lot of fun...from a gambling perspective for me personally it was super frustrating...I got off to a hot start and was up a good amount the first few weeks yet still missed out on several very narrow large score misses in multis...seemed every dq or non dq, missed step worked against me...the last few weeks I also stopped seeing the ball nearly as well...it happens..hope everyone did OK.

Final tally:
Wagered: $320.00
Returned: $316.70

Great job this summer guys. Was not an easy meet and you both did very well. Was fun to watch

Moishe.. Guarantee.. Well done! Inspires people to dig in, work at it and be rewarded.

Damn. This horse paid $200 to win at Aqueduct today.