First Post: Saturday, February 16, 2013

Currently 79°F for your Saturday afternoon in Studio City.

Relative humidity: 5 percent. Is that a plausible number?

Free ones: Rundown…

Aqueduct 5, 6, 8, 9, 10
Gulf 4, 6, 7, 8, 10, 11
Santa Anita 8

Pay-side: Today…

Turfway 5, 6, 7, 11
Hawthorne 5, 7, 8
Oaklawn 1, 4, 5, 6, 10
Turf Paradise 5
Golden Gate 3, 4, 7, 9
Sam Houston 7, 8, 9, 10

Once upon a time, in a galaxy far, far away, they used to run races on the turf at Fair Grounds…zOMG…

Today’s Stakes Pageantry: Trying for a turf race in South Florida today, so GP 8 & 10 are on the free page. Likewise SA 8.

Hou 8 on the pay-side.

Crazy action in Tam 9, the eponymous Grade III Stakes there. Take a number, any number, but how about #7 El Commodore, #3 Allie’s Event or #4 Swift Warrior?

Yesterday’s Activity: The runners-up up, necessarily many: GG 5, Thrillagee, 16-1; Haw 5, Eight Gauge, 22-1; OP 6, Braseana, 11-1.

Thrillagee was a firster up top on the V6 Betting Line and with the requisite trainer/jockey/trainer-jockey percentages. Oh, well. Next time! The 19-10 runner Papaslilprincess was a LifeLiner qualifier, and the insurance perzactor was $50-plus for $2.

Eight Gauge was also top on the Betting Line, but Eight Gauge was an experienced maiden. At 20-1 on the morning line, looked good for a stab, especially at 22-1 actual odds. As in the Thrillagee race, there was a 19-10 winner who qualified on LifeLiner; hence the saver exfecta returned $83.40. Good day for the just-in-case exoticsz!

However, do not ask about Braseana’s race.

There was an interesting third-place finish at GG 7, in which Bonkersmate Thurlow, 31-1, competed with relative distinction. The race was indeed contentious, and the two runners better than Thurlow at the finish were also LifeLiner qualifiers. The tridorka was $225 for $2. A bit of a stretch at not that good a price. A little too much coverage.

Now, there were two $50-plus shockers on the pay-side, and one of them kicked off the new Hawthorne meet in high style. That would be Rare Action, $58.40, top on the Betting Line, good enough on LifeLiner and only 10-1 on the morning line. This was a real headscratcher in terms of the 28-1 price. Of course, we’ve seen many of these also get bet-down to 6-1 or 7-1, so we have no sympahty for the doubters this time! Top four finishers all LifeLiner-capable, with the super-dorka coming back 839-1.

Mescaleress was a $53.20 surprise in the sixth at Houston. Of course it was a contentious race, and of course Mescaleress was sufficient on LifeLiner, though the Betting Line was skeptical. Runner-up Par (!) Lady (!) was a LifeLiner candidate, too, and the dual-precise exotics wager featured a $285 (for $2) payoff.

Come back next time, ill-wishers, and we might have absolutely zero to say. And that would make you smile! Come on, now, admit it!

WMF Report:

Early
Aqueduct 6f
Fair Grounds 6f
Gulf 6f
Turfway 6f, 1m (!) (WMF 252) (!)
Turf Paradise 6f, 6½f

Nocturnal Submission: A chance in PennNat 4 (7:22 p.m. EST / 4:22 p.m. PST) for #6 Speedway Monkey. …As well for #7 Come On Over, #2 Afleet’s Secret and #9 Bruce Alley in the sixth there (8:16 / 5:16). …

Thank you. Best wishes. Goodbye. Take care now.