Day 4

Thursday December 11

The BEST DAY Yet!

Indeed, today was the best day of the young meeting.  And this is the kind of day that makes Gulfstream (like Saratoga and Del Mar) so unique and special to a thoroughbred racing fan......it's "just" a Thursday afternoon and on this routine ten race card I have six selections and feel very good about them.  And not only was the racing day excellent, but the day was topped off when Kim and I went to the Fort Lauderdale Christmas Pageant downtown, and THAT was a great evening!  So, let's get to the racing stories........In the opener, where I didn't have a bet, my third choice wired the field at odds on.  Race 2 was my first bet of the day.  It was a Maiden Special going two turns on the turf for two-year-old fillies.  There were several gals that figured based on form, but the one that attracted my attention was Get Down Kitten.  For anyone that's followed my racing adventures, or thoroughbred racing in general, you can imagine that with a filly named "Kitten" on the turf, it has to be a Ken & Sarah Ramsey home-bred.  And indeed she was.  She was trained by Michael Maker.....that has to get your attention!  Maker is 21% with first-time starters and even better 23% with first-time turf.  Edgar Prado moved to South Florida last summer and has revived his career.  He's winning at a 40% rate for Maker.  She took some money, but was NOT the favorite.  As the field moved up the backstretch Prado saved ground on the rail in fourth.  He found a seam as the field turned for home, and seemed to have the path to the wire.  But the favorite and another contender would have none of that and the three of them dueled from the furlong pole to the wire in a thrilling stretch run.  It was officially called a photo and the HRTV analysts said it was very tight, but I didn't have any doubts.......

At post time Get Down Kitten had been 3/1, so she paid a generous $8.40 and I was cashing for over $20!  HORRAY!  In the third it was a bottom-level $6,250 claiming sprint for non-winners of three lifetime.  You'd figure - and be right at most race tracks - that this would be a scramble of bad horses with poor form.  But instead, this race contained probably the most likely winner on the card.  Crown Distinction just laid over this field on numbers.  As I said in my analysis, "....if you believe in Beyer numbers, and I do....." His last two figures (80, 79) were far and away better than any of the 219 numbers earned by the field combined in the field.  The only reason I did not make him a "Prime Time" investment was that two back he beat $25K 2-lifetime and then last time was a good third against $12.5K 3-lifetime.  Why the big drop by almost 50% in price?  Was something wrong?  But I doubled the bet since top rider Luis Saez accepted the mount and he was winning 20% for over $3 ROI for the barn.  Sure enough, Crown Distinction ran to his numbers and aired.  He stalked the pace to the turn, moved confidently three-wide without ever being asked, then opened up willingly as Saez never moved a muscle. 

TONS the best.  The $2.80 payoff was fair and I was collecting on another winner for about $15.  Two wins in a row!  In the fourth it was a scramble of a maiden claimer and my top choice was Relativity Factor who was 12/1 in the program.  He was going turf to dirt after showing speed and had a sharp bullet work for Marcus Vitali.  Throughout the fall he'd had great success with jockey Orlando Bocachica and they were teamed up again.  The price was an even better 15/1 at post time and after dueling to mid-stretch he edged clear to score, paying an amazing $33.60!  The only thing better would be to tell you that I was cashing on my third straight win of the day, but I had passed the race.....sigh.  The best story of the day came in the fifth race, which was my "BEST" of the day.  This was another maiden claimer for two-year-olds.  The price tag was a mid-level $25K and there were a couple with legitimate chances, not outstanding, but worth consideration.  But what jumped off the page to me was the fact that Get Creative was debuting for Kirk Ziadie.  Over the last two winters this guy has won with an amazing 45% of his debut sprinters, good enough to get membership into te Gulfstream Park 40% Club.  In addition, jockey Edgar Zayas has won an amazing 44% of his more than 150 mounts for the barn.  As I watched "The Player" on HRTV, Jeff Siegle talked about his first "day-maker" selection nationally.  He then explained that it was the fifth at Gulfstream on a first-time starter for Kirk Ziadie!  Oh my!  As the horses paraded to the post he was hovering around 2/1 as apparently a lot of handicappers had the same info I did.  Get Creative broke a step slowly, but by the time the teletimer had been stopped for the opening quarter his head was in front.  He dueled through the turn, but when heads turned for home Zayas let out a notch and Get Creative left the field farther and farther in the dust as he galloped home by over EIGHT widening lengths!  WHOOOO HOOOOO! 

The tote board flashed at 5/2 as he moved into the winner's circle.  And the final price was a really nice $7.60 meaning I would be cashing for nearly $60.  In the sixth my top pick went wire-to-wire on the turf for my fifth straight win, but like the 4th I didn't bet.  The day finished with my pick in the 7th fading badly after being second at 5/2 on the turn - sixth; and another Maker runner trailing until a belated run at 6/1 got him fifth in the ninth race.  So for the day I was a sharp 3-for-5 and made a profit of over $40!  Tomorrow's card is not quite as good, but Saturday brings the first and only graded stakes race of the month and will be supported by three other strong listed stakes races.  It is also Louisiana Champions Day at the Fair Grounds!  BIG DAY at the races this weekend!

Check out Get Creative's big win here:



Day 3

Wednesday December 10

Florida Derby Tickets!

It was cool and crisp today - 47 degrees when I got up and in the low 60's while I was on track this afternoon.  I wanted to go out to Gulfstream, not only because I've promised myself to take more advantage of being able to go out during the week, but to pick up my Florida Derby tickets.  We expect to have over thirty people join us for the signature day of the meet on March 28.  I paid for 21 tickets today and I believe that between Stephanie & Jim Anderson's group and Brad & Lauren's group we should be have a full group playing in our pool and enjoying the big races.  I was fortunate that in handicapping for today I found three selections in the first four races so I could go out for a couple of hours of racing as well.  In the opener I liked Sylviasgivenangel who was being sent out by Kirk Ziadie.  Over the last four years when he's sent out a runner off a layoff in a claiming event at odds of less than 6/1 he's won at a big 45%.  The crowd agreed and made her the 7/5 favorite, but she was never able to make a serious run and was fourth.  No bet in the second, but I spent the time talking with my oldest son Jeff on the phone.  One of his closest college coaching pals has just been given the position of Head Football Coach at Kansas University and Jeff is hopeful of going back to Lawrence to be his video coordinator.  While we talked on the phone he actually ran into him on the recruiting trail!  The third race was the first of what I am sure will be many, many Todd Pletcher maiden winners.  Eskenformoney had run four times on the turf, but her best effort came in her last when trying the dirt at Keeneland.  Add in the fact that her daddy, champion Eskenderaya, loved this track and she looked like a slam dunk - especially against what appeared to be a weak field.  My original plan was to triple the bet, but when the smart money hammered her to 1/9 early I went "Prime Time."  She dueled through the far turn and then was L-O-N-G gone, opening up by a widening eight lengths while under wraps for John Velazquez. 

She had floated up to 2/5 at post time so I cashed for nearly $30.  In the fourth I had landed on Bustle in a turf claimer.  While you may not remember that name, Bustle holds a spot in my racing adventure scrapbook because she won for me when I was at Saratoga for Travers Day 2013.  On the Friday before the big day I had met my brother-in-law Jason and we'd gone out for the full day of racing.  That afternoon was one of the best "on-track" adventures I've had as I cashed on five of seven selections, and Bustle was the fifth of those.  But, name alone and fond memories will not get you top billing in my handicapping.  The race was full of speed - on paper - and Bustle was a strong finisher.  But what was the big draw was that trainer Jane Cibelli was a member of the Gulfstream 40% Club on two angles here.  Over the last two winters she's scored at a big 40% with any runner dropping in class.  But what leapt off the page was the "Rosario angle" - when Cibelli gave a leg up to Joel Rosario those horses had won at a phenomenal 60% over the last two winters!  The front runner set off on a suicide mission, setting fractions of :22 and change and :45 and change while Rosario bidding his time some eight off the lead in third.  As the field approached the far turn Bustle began to swallow up the ground between her and the leader and as they spun out of the turn she was in full flight to the wire, in front by a widening four lengths.  The coasted home easily.  WHOOOO HOOOOO!

In the early betting she had been the 2/1 favorite and with the small numbers on the tote board I was unable to see her final odds as I descended from the grandstand.  As I walked into the simulcast area the freeze-frame of the winner with the odds of the top four finishers had just disappeared.  So as I headed to the paddock area to film my video clip I looked up at the tote board in the breezeway and was amazed to see Bustle's final odds at 3/1!  WOW, I'm going to cash for $40 I thought.  Then the final numbers came up and she paid an even bigger $8.80 - I cash for nearly $45!  What a great day at Gulfstream I'm having.  I had three late bets and was surprised that none of them won - I was second with El Bendinat in the 7th and off the board at 4/5 with Chad Brown & Javier Castellano on Pisco Bliss.  Back to the races tomorrow!  Loving the every day handicapping and racing adventures!

Wednesday Video Recap



Day 2

Sunday December 7
Weekend Highlight Video

BIG WIN on the BET of the WEEKEND!

Yesterday while Kim and I were at Gulfstream Park I told her after I'd won my "Bet of the Day" on Eighttofasttocatch in Laurel's Jennings Handicap that the "BET of the WEEKEND" was today and that my top choice could probably win, ".....if he ran around the track backwards...."  I had handicapped the Sunday card yesterday morning, and let me say this about the daily handicapping project; my plan for the Fall Racing Season was to back off the "grind" of handicapping.  I had handicapped at least four days a week, and then five days a week from January through early July with my "Gulfstream Handicapping Project" and then the "Churchill Downs Handicapping Project."  This continued with at least three days a week through Labor Day on my "Monmouth Handicapping Project."  So all the way through October I was strictly a weekend, stakes handicapper.  But near the end of October I had had enough of only handicapping on the weekend.  So I am really excited to back to handicapping regularly, but most especially to be handicapping back at Gulfstream.  Today's card provided me with what I thought were six opportunities from the ten-race card.  In the opener I liked Capricco Blue.  He was drawn outside several front runners in an optional-claiming sprint.  He got the perfect trip under Paco Lopez, just as I had envisioned.  But when heads turned for home he didn't have any burst and finished evenly, fifth at 5/2.  In the second Drunken Love (4/1) was a Gulfstream Park 40% Club play for trainer Jamie Ness.  Over the last two winters he's had four angles that earned "membership," and ALL FOUR applied here:  runners during the first 20 days, in turf sprints, and with Luis Saez on board.  But the fourth was the key - Ness had sent out four runners off a 61-90 day break over the last to years and they ALL WON.  Drunken Love broke sharply, but by the time they'd run the first quarter mile he dropped anchor and gradually fell all the way back to a disappointing ninth.  In the 6th I backed Fan Base in a claiming turf route.  Sent out by Marcus Vitali with jockey Orlando Bocachica up, I had noticed these two had been sizzling throughout the Gulfstream Park West meet.  The seven-year-old runner had a strong 7-for-21 turf resume and an even better 5-for-11 at today's distance.  His last three were all wins with ascending Beyers....all signs said GO!  He broke right on top and as they turned into the backstretch the opening split was in :23 and change.  Normally that would be considered fast, maybe too fast.  But the turf course had played largely to speed yesterday and earlier today so I thought we were OK.  As they hit the far turn the field was closing in so Bocachica let out a notch as heads turned for home.  But at the furlong marker it looked like one of the closers had him dead to rights.  Even announcer Larry Colmus's call was an obvious prelude to announcing this guy running down Fan Base.  But if you watch the weekend highlight video below you'll be able to hear him change his comment mid-sentence as Fan Base dug in courageously and held the challenger off.  WHOOO HOOOOO! 

He'd taken a lot of late money unfortunately.  The chicklets under the screen had showed him at 2/1 all the way through the race, but the final payoff was at 7/5 :(  That late influx of money cost me over $5, but still I cashed for nearly $25. 

In the 7th I just KNEW this would happen.....I had considered the facts and even in spite of myself I bet the way I did.  It was a two-year-old Maiden Special sprint going seven furlongs.  Now before you get any screwy ideas, no, I did NOT bet against a Todd Pletcher runner - well technically.  He had TWO in the field.  One was Old Mountain Lane who was exiting a KEY race where the winner had come right back to beat allowance foes and then was good enough to run in the Grade 3 Kentucky Jockey Club.  The other was Itsaknockout who was a $350K Fasig-Tipton first-time starter.  I thought about going with the latter who was listed at 6/1, but with Old Mountain not only having experience but exiting that KEY race it was too much to bypass.  I felt better about my pick when I saw he was one handicapper's "Best" of the day.  Itsaknockout dueled with the longshot leader into the turn while Old Mountain Lane bided his time.  When they turned for home 'Lane was asked to run, but it took him about a 16th of a mile to finally get going.  Now we were inside the final 16th and he was exploding towards the line.......could he get there in time?  PHOTO FINISH!  Yes, that's me, sadly, on the outside (#9).  The winner paid a huge $12.80 - especially huge for a Pletcher first-time starter.  Sigh, if Old Mountain Lane had not been in the race I would have had him and cashed for over $60.  Wow.  But no worries, the 9th was the featured Adventura Handicap and my BET of the WEEKEND!  When I handicapped the card I had already known that this guy would be my bet, and probably a big bet.  I had seen him run this past summer and had read about his return to the races in the Daily Racing Form.  Trainer Marty Wolfson's rising star Atreides had begun his career here last summer and flashed to three sensational wins earning back-to-back-to-back triple Beyers.  He had been so impressive that the normally conservative Wolfson shipped to Indiana Grand to run in the Grade 2 Indiana Derby this past October.  Joel Rosario flew in to ride and the crowd sent him off as the even-money chalk.  But that day he had early traffic trouble, found himself behind horses and wasn't happy catching dirt in his face for the first time so Rosario wrapped up on him and Wolfson gave him a break.  There had been rumors that he was being pointed for the Grade 1 Cigar Mile which was run last weekend, but Wolfson followed his typical conservative path and put him in this overnight handicap as a confidence builder.  The fact that he was coming off a short break only added to the appeal to me as this was a Gulfstream 40% Club angle!  It looked like, as I wrote in my analysis, a public workout in the making.  Then this morning I read on the DRF site that two local workout clockers had been quoted publicly as saying Atreides had NOT been working as well for his return as he had last summer.  Worrisome?  I checked both Ron Nicoletti and Mike Welsch comments on the race and both had written glowingly about him, so I stuck with my bet......a Ulysses S. Grant ($50) to WIN!  He was 1/5 throughout the betting, but in the final clicks he nosed up to 2/5 - a gift if as good as advertised.  And then it happened........they broke from the gate and immediately the #4 to his inside broke outward and slammed into Atreides knocking him off balance.  Immediately the #6 zoomed in to try an get inside and knocked him the other way AND shut him off.  Suddenly five jumps into the race Atreides was dead last and was taken to the far outside for a wide, trouble-free run.  When your horse has early trouble the LAST thing you want is to see the jockey step on the gas and get into early contention because 99 times out of 100 that leaves the horse empty for the stretch run.  Sure enough, you guessed it, jockey Edgar Zayas (who, by the way was in the midst of a fabulous weekend) let the colt run.......6th, 5th, 4th, 3rd, and in prime position as they hit the far turn.  As I watched the race I was trying to see if he was tugging Zayas up, or if he was being asked.  Didn't help my frame of mind that as they ran through the turn he was 3 or 4 wide.  He passed the pressing second place horse and as heads turned towards the winning line he was on even terms with the front-running second choice.  Now he'd have to answer the question - did he have anything for the drive?  For about a 16th of a mile the answer appeared to be "NO," but then Zayas shook the reigns and he burst away to win by daylight as MUCH the best!  Whooop whoop!!! 

The final price was $2.80 and I would cash for $70! Two days into the meet, two big time bets of $50 each, TWO BIG WINS!  Have to feel good about my handicapping and decision making as we start the new season :)  When I'd been reading online about Atreides this morning I had watched the DRF "Race of the Day" video and looked over the field for the featured $200K Soviet Problem Stakes for two-year-old fillies at Los Alamitos.  What had caught my eye first was that the anticipated favorite was My Fiona who I had cashed on in a state-bred stakes on the Saturday Breeders' Cup undercard.  When I read the research before watching the video I saw that her trainer and rider were both anxious to stretch her out to a mile today (the BC card win was at seven furlongs), and both were quoted as saying she would be better around two turns.  Then when DRF handicapper Matt Bernier also put her on top - he RARELY takes the chalk, I knew I had something!  Post time wasn't until 7 pm so I got to watch live and it was a thrilling race!  Watch the highlight video of the weekend's action below, it's well worth it.  The filly that was supposed to give her fits did.  The two hit the top of the lane together and the other one edged to the front.  My Fiona came right back to put her nose in front - that's unusual for a horse, especially a young and inexperienced one to come back after being headed - but then the challenger came right back and was drawing clear over a half length clear as they hit the furlong marker of the long (one quarter of a mile) stretch at the former QuarterHorse facility.  But then stakes-winning My Fiona exerted her class and CAME BACK AGAIN to collar her challenger and edged clear late to win! 

This victory gave me a 43% win average for the final day of the racing week, and it upped my two-day totals to an excellent 10-for-30 - 33%.  It was a nice bonus that the My Fiona win also padded my profit for the day.  We'll be right back at it again on Wednesday.  My plan is to be at Gulfstream Wednesday as I need to pick up and pay for our tickets to the Florida Derby (looks like 21 this year).  The highlight of the weekend will be the Grade 3 Sugar Swirl, the only graded stakes of the December calendar.  The Sugar Swirl will be complemented by two listed stakes on the Gulfstream undercard and at the Fair Grounds it will be "Louisiana Champions Day" with eight stakes races to handicap.  You can bet I'll be there!


Day 1

Saturday December 6

Opening Day

It's always a highlight of not only my racing adventures, but of the entire year's adventures both on and off track, when it's Opening Day at Gulfstream Park.  As has become the tradition, it was "Claiming Crown Day," the first of several "Super Saturday" cards featuring multiple stakes action.  Today it was eight added money features.  It has become a tradition to enjoy Opening Day with Kim, dating back several years to when Gulfstream used to open the first week of January and it was almost always on our wedding anniversary.  Because Kim was along I was very selective with my handicapping on the four other cards I looked at:  Tampa, the Fair Grounds, Aqueduct, and Laurel.  The weather, as it nearly always is at Gulfstream during the winter, was spectacular, and the racing was simply great.  We could not have had a better day - although I would have liked to have won just one or two more races to show a flat-bet profit for the day.  The first race on my sheet was the opener at Aqueduct, where unlike sunny South Florida it was gloomy, cold and raining!  The odds-on choice in the opener looked like a slam dunk to me.  Midnight Citra was coming off a best-of-the-rest second behind a lone front-runner.  The figure he earned that day when eight clear of the show horse was clearly the best number in the field.  And, it was Dave Liftin's "BEST" of the day.  I tripled the bet and as they hit the far turn Midnight Citra was in hand, about to run by the long-shot leader.  I was already thinking how I would describe this on my highlight video when I saw the horse coming on the outside with all the momentum.  Certainly Midnight Citra was about to lengthen stride and put him away, right?  Nope, ran flat through the stretch like he was tied to the rail and was outdistanced badly while second best, again.  Well, that's not what I'd had in mind to start the day!  But it wasn't long before I would start cashing tickets!  The opener here at Gulfstream was an entry level allowance on the lush turf course and my top choice was Costenia.  How appropriate, I thought after I'd handicapped the race, that eleven-time training king Todd Pletcher would send out the winner in the first race of the meet.  As they swung through the far turn Costenia was saving all the ground, but was about five off the leaders.  Top New York rider Irad Ortiz, Jr. moved off the rail and asked for him to run.  He was four wide as heads turned for home and then he BURST to the front with lightning acceleration and was quickly clear by daylight!  He won in a romp!  WHOOOO HOOOO! 

He had been bet down to 6/5 favoritism, but still, who's arguing with cashing for nearly $25 on a Pletcher runner?  In my next race I was at Laurel, where like New York it was sloppy going.  This was an allowance test going a mile and a sixteenth and I was on board with trainer David Jacobson's Wealth To Me.  Jacobson is one of the top New York trainers, especially in the claiming ranks, and I'd made several winning investments on his runners when he'd shipped to Monmouth this summer.  At this meet in Maryland he'd only sent out nine runners to date, but get this.....SIX had won!  The rider had won with both mounts and it looked like a solid play.  As they hit the far turn Wealth To Me was saving ground and looked ready to rally, but once they hit the stretch she seemed stuck in one gear.  Even the announcer noted she was spinning her wheels.  But then she was swung off the rail and in the clear three wide.  She seemed to enjoy seeing daylight and blew by the top two to win going away!  Two in a row!  Back at Gulfstream I thought maybe it was too much to ask, but still.....the second was another turf affair, but this was a MSW for two-year-olds.  And yes, there was a Pletcher colt, Confidant.  He was debuting today and was a huge 9/1 as they left the gate.  He was in good position to the turn and I thought, maybe I had a big score, but then he dropped out of the running and was a well beaten 8th.  At Tampa I was torn on Al Khazaaliya.  I'd scored with him at a juicy 4/1 in his debut at GPW, and he too was a Pletcher turf runner.  But why wasn't he running here today?  Why ship across the state to Tampa?  For softer company?  THAT would not be a good sign. But, I considered that there was only one allowance race at Gulfstream today, and Pletcher already had Costenia in that one.  The crowd sent him off at 3/5 and he was right there through the turn, but he didn't corner well and was fanned VERY wide into the lane losing valuable lengths.  He was closing fast, but the wire came up too quickly and he was second :(  The third race at Gulfstream was the first of the Claiming Crown Stakes.  I originally had another on top, but when I noted that trainer Jorge Navarro is a Gulfstream 40% Club member with runners in the first 20 days of the meet I elevated JB's Unc to my top choice.  He tracked the 5/2 favorite, my original choice into the lane, but was two back and seemed to be struggling to make up ground.  Jockey Paco Lopez worked him hard and moved him three off the rail.  Within a few strides he'd caught him and the two dueled to the wire at the first finish line right where I was standing......PHOTO FINISH! 

But from where I stood, I thought he was clearly the winner and said so as I filmed the finish.  And he was!  Through the first fifteen minutes of betting he'd been hammered down to 8/5 and was the chalk.  He had floated up to 2/1 as they approached the gate and I'd lost track of his post-time odds.  I was delighted at the nice $8.40 payoff which led to my collecting $42.00!  Very nice! 

Less than fifteen minutes later I was right back in the winner's circle, and this time in New York.  Son of Dixie had run in allowance company, and even a couple of stakes starts last winter - and competitively.  Today he was in a mid-level non-winners of two lifetime claiming event.  He was second off the shelf after a barn change.  He had sprinted in his last and was troubled at the start, but was flying late to be second while nearly five clear of the show horse.  The stretch to two turns looked to be perfect for today.  As they hit the far turn he moved handily to the lead, but a 12/1 longshot went right with him.  They battled through the turn but in spite of having the inside path the longshot would not go away as they straightened for the sprint for home.  It was a stirring stretch battle that Son of Dixie only was able to win in the final strides.  But, I'd doubled the bet and cashed for another $20 and change!  The fourth at Gulfstream was my "Best" on the Claiming Crown card.  Ribo Bobo had dominated this race and then two more stakes last winter.  He was coming in today off a series of races that were not at all like last year and on paper looked to have declining form.  But, his three starts before today this year were against far superior runners than he'd faced last year.  I thought he'd wake up in a big way today with the return to one of his favorite surfaces.  AND, trainer Jason Servis was a Gulfstream 40% Club member with dirt sprinters over the last two winters.  The crowd did not send in any early money, and it was the first bad sign when he was the third choice at 4/1 with ten minutes to post.  But "reason was restored" by post time and Ribo Bobo was the 8/5 favorite.  He pressed and was right there when they turned for home.....but had nothing for the stretch and was an even fourth :(  But I recovered quickly by winning my FIFTH of the day with my "BEST" of the day in New Orleans at the Fair Grounds.  Kim and I will be there this February for their Risen Star Day card - the equivalent to Fountain of Youth Day here - on the final day of prep races before the Louisiana Derby.  In their opener I liked The Sandman.  He figured to be odds-on here.  He'd debuted for Chad Brown in New York and broke behind the field.  He was FLYING late and was second just in front of Big Beast.  This is significant as that colt came back to win next out; then won an allowance and THEN won the Grade 1 King's Bishop Stakes.  Granted this was many, many months ago, but new trainer Larry Jones was 40% with runners making their first start for him and nearly 25% with runners off a long layoff.  The works were sharp and the crowd bet accordingly, sending him off at 3/5.  I thought this was a VERY fair price (considering he was at 1/5 for much of the betting especially!).  He stalked inside to the stretch, then dueled to the furlong pole before running away to a big win!  WHOOOOO HOOOOO!   This was my fifth win in just nine selections.  I LOVE GULFSTREAM!  But unfortunately this was not to be the way the rest of the day went. I was third in the Claiming Crown Tiara with Wild Swava when my third choice won easily at a huge 13/1!  I knew The Marylander for 2-year-olds at Laurel would come down to either Golden Years or Hear The Chatter and I went with the better price, only to see 4/5 Golden Years romp.  Courtney Ryan was a well-beaten 10th at 9/1 in the Glass Slipper at GP as my third choice won again (at 2/1).  In Laurel's Willa On The Move Stakes my 15/1 choice Unbound was sitting as the 9/5 favorite with ten minutes to post!  He was 7/1 at post time and ran to those odds, sixth.  Mr. Online was graded stakes placed on the turf and was the CLEAR class of the field in Gulfstream's Canterbury Stakes going five furlongs on the inner course.  He rallied strongly and was an oh-so-close second.  There was a trainer's objection for interference.......no.  At Aqueduct Willet was the 6/5 favorite in their feature, the Garland of Roses.  She came running and had all the momentum to sweep by, but hung late.  Then at Tampa I went with former student, now jockey Rosemary Homeister, Jr. on Got Winged in the Inaugural Stakes.  He was the 5/2 second choice but trailed throughout.  WOW.

I have to give myself credit however.  The next race on my sheet was my "BET OF THE DAY."  It was the Jennings Handicap from Laurel.  My pick, and the one who figured to be absolutely hammered at the windows was EIghttofasttocatch who was closing out his career today.  He had an excellent 16-for-48 overall record but was a sensational 14-or-27 locally - including the last THREE runnings of this race.  Of the 80 Beyers showing for the others, 79 were below all three of his last figures.  As if all this wasn't enough, he was THE LONE SPEED!  I went $50 to win!  One nice thing about today, which had come about this summer when Calder and Gulfstream came to their agreement, was that I could now connect to the TwinSpires web site.  This enabled me to watch simulcast races at my seat (instead of leaving Kim every fifteen minutes or so).  Eighttofasttocatch glided easily to the front as they ran down the long backstretch in Maryland going a one-turn mile.  As they moved mid-way on the turn the third choice was swooping up on the outside and then.......and then......and then.......the signal froze on my phone!  REALLY?  My BET OF THE DAY and the video freezes?  Finally I went down to bet the next race at Gulfstream and as I walked in I saw the rider turning Eighttofasttocatch around and his name listed as the unofficial winner!  Brief panic averted! 

His payoff of $2.60 was fair considering how much better he was than his rivals, and I was delighted to have a $65 winning ticket in my hands.  The 8th at Gulfstream was the Rapid Transit and it would be the last race we'd watch live before heading over to the Yardhouse (our favorite restaurant, even more so because it overlooks the paddock here at Gulfstream).  I liked Goodtimehadbyall who'd won this last year.  He sat off the pace, made his move, was clear at the 16th pole and was nailed in the final fifty yards.  GRRRRRRRR.  I watched The Emerald from the restaurant on my phone and saw Dreams Cut Short trail throughout, eighth, at 9/2.  Once we were home I watched the replays of my last four picks.  Viramundo was bet down from 20/1 to 6/1 in the finale at Gulfstream, the $200K Jewel but showed nothing - 12th. 

At the Fair Grounds I had three final selections.  Billy Two Hats was a big 9/1 and was right there from the start to deep stretch, a solid third.  That would have been nice.  Grand Isle was third as the 4/5 favorite in the eighth, a turf allowance.  But in the New Orleans finale I was able to get a score to close out the day when Contrarian Bet went to the front, dueled, was headed, but came back again driving between horses in deep stretch to score at a generous 7/2.  The $9.60 payoff was the biggest of the day, if only I'd had more than the minimum on him!  The good news for the day as I added up the totals was that I'd cashed on seven-of-twenty-three selections, a click over 30%.  The bad news was that five of them had been odds on winners.  I've found that to make money on any given day I have to have at least two nice prices or I need to win close to 40%.  I know it's easy to say, but over the 15,000 races I've handicapped over the last ten plus years I've come to be "ok" with the day if I can say one or two second place finishes would have made me a winner on the day.  And so it was today.  If Mr. Online wins and Goodtimehadbyall wins I cash for an additional $75 and it's a glorious day!  But, so it goes......it was a great day to be at the races; I enjoyed being back at Gulfstream, being with my honey, and was rewarded by hitting my "BET of the Day!"  I'll be back tomorrow, well virtually, for the Sunday card and my "BET OF THE WEEKEND" in the Adventura Stakes!