First Post: Saturday, December 13, 2014

Hoo-boy. Did you catch last night’s Kennie Solarz joint, the rebooted version of the Five-O team? It involved some fantastical story line about the Kentucky Derby favorite getting horsenapped right before the big race and somehow ending up on the islands as part of some big-bucks stud-farm scheme. Yeah. We know. Ugh. Love them Hawaii-bredsz!

Kennie Solarz is typically a good writer and show-runner, but this time he was always going to be out of his depth. For example, Dan-O tells Chin-Ho to call the ‘American Thoroughbred Association’. The stolen horsey’s name is ‘Urban Myth’. Horse and trainer are reunited at the end in a sappy scene straight out of one of those tearjerker Budweiser commercials.

OK, Kennie Solarz. You get a pass this time. Next time please consult with us on the horseracing anglesz. Tyvm.

Free ones: Rundown…

Aqueduct 6, 9
Gulfstream Park Proper 1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10
Los Alamitos Thoroughbreds (Daytime) 5, 7, 8, 9

Pay-side: Today…

Fair Grounds 6
Golden Gate 3, 8, 9
Hawthorne 1, 8, 9
Laurel 5, 9
Remington 2, 3, 6, 7, 8, 9
Tampa 1, 2, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10
Turfway 1, 3, 4, 6, 7
Turf Paradise 3, 7, 8

Today’s Stakes Pageantry: Gulfstream 8, 9, 10 and Los Alamitos 8 are on the free page. On the pay-side it’s Hawthorne 8.

A stakes-heavy card at Fair Grounds, and in Race 4 there, #4 Sunbean is 2-5 on your morning-line — and that’s probably fair. In the same vein, #6 Heitai dominates Race 7.

More chalk now, this time in Gulfstream 3: #4 R Free Roll.

A second-morning-line choice seems best in Hawthorne 3: #1 Razamajazil.

Yesterday’s Activity: Take a gander at Aqueduct 8, in which your 2-1 fave Irish Sweepstakes was vulnerable or perhaps even false, at least from this perspective.

Buried toward the bottom of the conventional V6 Betting Line and not endowed with much of a LifeLiner Speed Column analysis score, Irish Sweepstakes ran fourth, beaten nearly 7 lengths.

Unfortunately, we preferred the 17-1 Privately Speaking, ignored on the Betting Line but at least in possession of the top LifeLiner Speed Column analysis rating in your field.

Privately Speaking was not close to the eventual winner, but she did finish second, beaten by…your top V6 Betting Line runner without a qualifying LifeLiner number. What are you going to do? Welcome to The Home of The Runner-Up Finish!

Earlier there, however, there was a similar dynamic. In Race 7, the 19-10 fave Go Olivia Go was not given Fair Odds by the Betting Line, ranked third therein. On the LifeLiner, ’Olivia had the lowest rating in the field.

She ran seventh of eighth. On the other hoof, your 10-1 winner and 4-1 runner-up were LifeLiner-eligible, and your perfecta returned $194-even.

Finally, you had another vulnerable-/false-fave in Golden Gate 5, courtesy of 2-1 Amber Moon. She was sixth-best on the V6 Betting Line in a contentious race, no Fair Odds; her LifeLiner was also sixth-best. Not a good sign for this fave, probably.

The race was lousy with LifeLiner qualifiers in and around of Amber Moon, certainly at way better odds. In this case, the 4-1 winner and the 13-1 runner-up deserved consideration, and their exacta paid $119.60.

Of course, not all these faves who are dually challenged on the Betting Line and LifeLiner will wind up losing; but in terms of looking for a green light to swing for the fences on what appears to be a juicy pitch coming up on a 3-0 count (what?!), this could be the one. These might be the random-style events we wish all races were.

WMF Report:

Early
Chas. Town 6½f
Keystone 6f
Tampa 6f

Nocturnal Submission: Sifting through the wreckage…

Thank you. Best wishes. Goodbye. Next time!