Horse Racing: Today at Del Mar: August 21, 2014

Post Time 2 p.m.

Race 1 - 7 furlongs, Purse $33,000, Claiming $16,000, 3-year-olds

6 Pillar of Strength - Ship and win candidate goes for Bob Hess and Kent Desormeaux; they have been terrific in tandem.

3 Sudden Rumor - Sliding down the claiming ladder to this career low level; his races over Santa Anita dirt were better.

Long Shot - 4 Newport Red

Race 2 - 6 1/2 furlongs, Purse $28,000, Claiming $12,500, 3-year-olds and up

5 Newfound Gold - Claimed by Kristin Mulhall off a win in debut over Del Mar synthetics; repeat effort would beat these too.

2 Gal Has to Like It - Claimed by Ted West off a decent third; barn has won 3-of-6 starts at the meet, flying under the radar though.

Long Shot - 4 Senator Bob

Race 3 - 5 furlongs, Purse $38,000, Maiden claiming $50,000, Cal-breds, Fillies, 2-year-olds

7 Haaay Sexy Lady - Taking the biggest class drop in racing from MSW to maiden claiming; expect a pure speed effort.

8 Moonie - FTS has been working well for the small Eddie Freeman barn; watch the tote board for additional clues.

Long Shot - 11 Brazilian Barbeque

Race 4 - 1 mile, Purse $31,000, Claiming $25,000, 3-year-olds and up

8 Kochees - Taking a solid class drop in search of victory; switching from turf to synthetics and stretching out in distance again.

5 Counting Days - Did everything but win last time and is now aggressively raised in class; tactical speed to sit a nice trip.

Long Shot - 1 Run Hide

Race 5 - 6 furlongs, Purse $75,000, Maiden special weights, Cal-breds, Fillies, 2-year-olds

9 Stormy Adieu - Ship and win candidate ran well in career debut over Arlington Polytrack; rare Cal-bred racing in Illinois.

5 Ashley’s Sassy - Typical green debut, slow early, fast late; figures to improve a step in second career start.

Long Shot - 10 Appealing Lady

Race 6 - 5 1/2 furlongs, Purse $43,000, Starter allowance $40,000, Fillies and mares, 3-year-olds and up

10 Bunuska - Facing winners for the first time after an impressive debut win; $40K price tag made her eligible for this.

5 Pearl de Vere - Peter Eurton barn has some live runners today; has run second in six synthetic starts, so she can handle the stuff.

Long Shot - 8 Fly to Freedom

Race 7 - 1 3/8th miles (turf, rail at 30 feet), Purse $77,000, Allowance, 3-year-olds and up

6 Christopher Street - He ran the 1 3/8th distance last time out; marathon distance is truly a gallopers race.

10 Skip Tony - Figures to draw in off the also eligible list; won sharp in first race off the claim by Jerry Hollendorfer.

Long Shot - 1 Brother Pete

Race 8 - 6 1/2 furlongs, Purse $25,000, Maiden claiming $20,000, 3-year-olds and up

11 Gospel Music - Really underachieved in last; the key for me is if he runs the speed figure he did two races ago, chance to upset.

6 Salt Power - Exits a bullet workout; Rafael Bejarano for the suspended William Antongeorgi, who got a raw deal last week.

Long Shot - 8 Golden Chalice

Best Bet - 5 Newfound Gold (race 2)

Del Mar Wednesday - Picks/Winners/Mutuels, 16/5/$35.60; Long Shots, 8/0/$0; Best Bet, 1/0/$0

Del Mar Totals - 424/91/$642.40; Long Shots, 209/20/$189.80; Best Bets, 23/5/$30.40

SIMULCAST PLAY OF THE DAY - #4 Harbor King (12/1) in race 3 at Saratoga. For scoring purposes, we’ll make a hypothetical $2 win, place and show bet, $6 total. On Wednesday, Miss Melinda ran third at Saratoga paying $4.90 to show. Stats - 129/79/$7666.40; Follow him on Twitter: @richeng4propick