Horse Racing: Today at Del Mar, August 20

Post Time 2:05 p.m.

Race 1 – 1 1/16th miles (turf, rail at 24 feet), Purse $58,000, Claiming $50,000, Fillies, 3-year-olds

1 Lookin for Money – Boring pick after a day full of land mines on Wednesday; beat a similar group in last and need only repeat to be competitive again.

4 Belle Et Bete – Claimed by Philip D’Amato, which always puts a horse on my map; key vote comes from Rafael Bejarano who rides as often as he can for the barn.

Long Shot – 2 Revenue Virginius

Race 2 – 1 mile, Purse $70,000, Maiden special weights, 3-year-olds and up

1 Power of Hope – You should know how much I like the rail post in a 2-turn mile dirt or turf; short run to the first turn and saving ground are huge edges.

3 Dream Police – Consistent sort did run for a price tag two races ago; loses his rider to Big Discovery, but Flavien Prat is having a great meet.

Long Shot – 2 Lucky for Danny

Race 3 – 5 furlongs (turf, rail at 24 feet), Purse $64,000, Claiming $62,500, 3-year-olds

1 Rocket Heat – Exits a sharp turf sprint win last out; he won at 24/1 so the key will be if he can repeat the effort, speed and the rail.

7 City of Vengeance – A ship and win candidate is a solid angle for the Del Mar meet; the first race out of the box is the money shot, nothing else matters.

Long Shot – 2 Jazzy Josh

Race 4 – 5 ½ furlongs, Purse $26,000, Maiden claiming $30,000, Fillies, 2-year-olds

3 Some Caan Job – Taking the biggest class drop in racing from MSW to maiden claiming; fact she has finished in the money 3 times is a godsend.

2 Swiss Rosalee – Another taking the huge drop from MSW to maiden claiming; sometimes this move wakes up horses that look absolutely horrible on paper.

Long Shot – 4 Pulpit Rules

Race 5 – 1 mile, Purse $22,000, Claiming $10,000, Fillies and mares, 3-year-olds and up

5 Dublin Dancer – I have been using a lot of horses who are racing and training at Golden Gate; I suspect the Tapeta synthetic surface has them in top form.

3 Nevaeh’s Promise – Considering how few horses Andy Mathis has and his limited Del Mar starters, he’s done a terrific job; big class dropper could wake up.

Long Shot – 6 Tell Her Yes

Race 6 – 5 ½ furlongs, Purse $26,000, Maiden claiming $30,000, Fillies, 2-year-olds

9 Fast Escape – Sliding down the maiden claiming ladder to this career low class; need not be much to win, or at least be competitive, with these slowpokes.

7 One Bye Two – Trainer Mike Harrington has an uncoupled entry so caveat emptor; the other horse is a 20/1 morning line She’s too Wild who has a puncher’s chance.

Long Shot – 8 She’s too Wild

Race 7 – 1 1/16th miles (turf, rail at 24 feet), Purse $37,000, Starter allowance $16,000, 3-year-olds and up

1 Saint of Saints – Ship and win candidate makes his SoCal debut for trainer Philip D’Amato; has tactical speed to use with the turf rail out 24 feet.

8 Olympic Blue – Claimed by Peter Miller in last and is protected in this spot; that is a positive sign for the barn who must think he has some upside to him.

Long Shot – 5 Small Town Cop

Race 8 – 7 furlongs, Purse $23,000, Maiden claiming $20,000, 3-year-olds and up

4 Herbies Thunder – Usually the less career starts the better at this bottom class level; he showed enough in debut for Richard Baltas that he can run a little.

6 Show and Tell – Tepid chalk in a really uninspiring event; ran a career topper in last and a simple repeat of that race will make him the one to beat.

Long Shot – 11 Better Luck

Best Bet - 3 Some Caan Job (race 4)

Del Mar Wednesday - Picks/Winners/Mutuels, 16/1/$6.40; Long Shots, 8/1/$12.20; Best Bet, 1/1/$6.40

Del Mar Totals - 425/95/$645.00; Long Shots, 210/30/$377.80; Best Bets, 24/9/$39.60

SIMULCAST PLAY OF THE DAY - #7 Beyond Empire (3/1) in race 6 at Saratoga. For scoring purposes, we'll make a hypothetical $2 win, place and show bet, $6 total. On Wednesday, Fish Trappe Road ran out at Saratoga. Stats - 121/82/$642.60; Follow him on Twitter: @richeng4propick