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#1
05-28-2012, 02:15 AM
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Met Mile Day Pick 4
I've always been partial to the racing fan's adage that summer in New York starts the second the horses hit the wire in the Met Mile. With NYRA's smart additions to the Memorial Day staple card, New York's most eventful Monday now has the look of the blockbuster event it has long been thought to be by Big Apple handicappers. One of my favorite live racing moments was Ghostzapper's chill-inducing romp in the 2005 Met, a race that would unfortunately be the final chance to witness him in person. Watching the sports world shift its focus to Belmont for the first time in four years certainly helps the excitement, and despite its issues, NYRA still houses the centerpiece meet of the racing calendar in Saratoga. As anyone who reads the Selections threads will attest to, I resemble the grumpy horseplayer archetype more than occasionally, but Memorial Day is a great time to step back and be thankful for the things in life you still look forward to as eagerly as ever. For me, one of those is the summer racing season in New York, win or lose.
Good luck everyone.  7th: Gr. II Sands Point It's a serious possibility that Somali Lemonade will end up as the best 3-year-old turf filly in the country by season's end. However, she was predictably compromised by pace in her last start and may be again here today. While it's true that there are no frontrunners of Dayatthespa's quality in today's race, it's still tough to swallow even-money on a dead closer facing an extremely murky pace scenario. She may be good enough to win anyway, but the value won't be there. Better Lucky exploded with a dominant win in the mud last time out, and with the stretchout, a hedge draw and a shrewd turf rider in Castro aboard, she seems the most logical gate-to-wire threat. For my money, Regalo Mia ran a better race than today's favorite in the Appalachain going four-wide around both turns and taking the first serious crack at the frontrunning winner. Obviously, Somali Lemonade has more right to move forward off that than Regalo Mia, but the latter is a hard-trying sort who could get the jump on the favorite. Firehouse Red has moved forward nicely this season and was the only one within shouting distance of much-the-best Stephanie's Kitten in the Edgewood last out. Preach Tome Daddy has to deal with a major step-up in class, but she's the other one that could benefit from the slow early fractions. A: 1 Better Lucky 3 Somali Lemonade 5 Regalo Mia B: 6 Preach Tome Daddy 8 Firehouse Red 8th: Gr. I Ogden Phipps I've never had much luck playing against Awesome Maria, but that won't stop me from trying again. Her Gulfstream races simply dwarf her races everywhere else, and unlike in last year's renewal of this, she actually faces another legitimate star today. It's Tricky appears poised for a big season to follow up her impressive three-year-old campaign, in which she repeatedly locked horns and held her own with Royal Delta and Plum Pretty - two runners who I would also rate above Awesome Maria outside of Florida. Cash for Clunkers gets the acid test here, but she's razor sharp and could prove the speed of the speed. I doubt she'll go off at the 12-1 she is on the morning line, but with the boatloads of money that'll be steered to the two favorites, she'll be a square number. A: 4 It's Tricky B: 1 Cash for Clunkers 2 Awesome Maria 9th: Gr. I Acorn Not much to say here. The four logical contenders appear to tower over the field. I prefer On Fire Baby and Aubby K to the other two. The former ran better than it looked in the Oaks, and the latter gets the major advantage of drawing outside of Contested. Zo Impressive appears the slowest of the four, but her first two races were flawless and she's got brilliance in the pedigree. Loved her half-sister Zaftig and thought her Acorn win would've been a springboard to big things had she stayed healthy. A: 3 On Fire Baby 6 Aubby K B: 1 Contested 4 Zo Impressive 10th: Gr. I Metropolitan Caleb's Posse developed into the best one-turn horse in the country last year and has picked up right where he left off this season, running two enormous races in the Tom Fool and Carter. He was more than a little unlucky to lose both and he strikes me more of a grinding miler than a typical closing sprinter with a huge turn of foot. Jackson Bend's New York races are head and shoulders better than his races elsewhere and is the main threat to the favorite. A repeat of the Carter exacta wouldn't surprise me. Shackleford looks like the controlling speed and has proven tough to pass in the stretch, but I think the Carter showed that he's just a cut below the top two. He had everything his own way and was still clearly third-best. To Honor and Serve obviously has a good deal of talent and should be expected to move forward off his facile Westchester score, but who's the best horse he's beaten thus far? Hymn Book? Boys at Tosconova? Mucho Macho Man? Calibrachoa at a distance too far for him? He obviously wouldn't shock if he won, but he's got something to prove against a field of this quality. A: 3 Caleb's Posse B: 6 Jackson Bend Main Ticket: 1,3,5,6,8 / 1,2,4 / 1,3,4,6 / 3,6 All A's: 1,3,5 / 4 / 3,6 / 3 
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#2
05-28-2012, 03:36 AM
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Good work and good luck today Joseph.
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#3
05-28-2012, 10:01 AM
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Game Over
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