Horse Racing: Today at Del Mar, July 18

Race 1 – 1 mile, Purse $40,000, Claiming $25,000, 3-year-olds

4 Afleet in Time – At some point soon, Rafael Bejarano will start to dominate this meet; he has a new agent which tells me both men are very hungry.

2 Dynamite Ride – Sliding down the claiming ladder to this career low class; has run consistent speed figures, so maybe the drop can really help him.

Long Shot – 3 Tiz Jolie

Race 2 – 1 1/16th miles, Purse $36,000, Claiming $20,000, 3-year-olds and up

3 I Don‘t Care Who – Claimed two races ago by John Sadler; looked overmatched in last but his race two back is definitely fast enough to beat these.

1 Macho Sox – Claimed by Peter Miller off a sharp win at Santa Anita; takes a minor class rise, but the keys will be the rail and the back class.

Long Shot – 6 Knock Em Flat

Race 3 – 5 furlongs, Purse $70,000, Maiden special weights, 2-year-olds

1 Toews On Ice – Bob Baffert FTS been working fast, what else is new; is named for the captain of the Stanley Cup champion Chicago Black Hawks.

7 Rockin Bayou – Jeff Mullins has started this meet like a ball of fire; key vote comes from HOF Mike Smith who can be pretty picky with his mounts.

Long Shot – 4 Dare to Believe

Race 4 – 1 1/8th miles (turf), $400,000 Eddie Read, 3-year-olds and up

7 Finnegans Wake – He‘s a traveling man who has made a lot of stops; his last 3 starts have been at Churchill Downs, Belmont Park and Santa Anita Park.

3 Midnight Storm – Did everything but win last time in an big effort; stretching out another furlong, suspect a horse like Big Cazanova to escort him.

Long Shot – Gabriel Charles

Race 5 – 6 furlongs, Purse $23,000, Maiden claiming $20,000, Fillies and mares, 3-year-olds and up

2 Quality Chimes – When you take as big a class drop as her, you have a big chance; off the turf, need not be much to compete with these.

6 Sailor‘s Cry – Another taking a huge class drop, this one for Peter Miller; he needs to win races like this to win the trainer title.

Long Shot – 7 Sweet Mz. Poppet

Race 6 – 1 mile (turf), Purse $50,000, Claiming $40,000, 3-year-olds

3 Ernest Shackleton – Tiny edge in maybe the hardest race on the card; we have a bunch more class droppers so we know they have back class.

8 All Indians – Gets class relief from the Singletary where he ran a classic pop and stop; the pace may be softer, but he should be tighter.

Long Shot – 7 Trifecta

Race 7 – 5 furlongs, Purse $70,000, Maiden special weights, 2-year-olds

5 Irish – Hard to believe a name as simple and effective as this was not taken; West Point Thoroughbreds loves to win races at Del Mar.

1 Gavin Streetsense – Rafael Bejarano and Richard Baltas have been a tough tandem; your edge over me will be seeing the tote action on these FTS.

Long Shot – 2 Salutation

Race 8 – 1 1/16th miles (turf), $80,000 Osunitas, Fillies and mares, 3-year-olds and up

3 Elektrum – Had a tough trip in the Gamely or she could have won a grade 1; big rider switch to the now jockey in Victor Espinoza.

7 Istanford – I really expect the Michael Stidham barn to be very competitive in SoCal; like that Rafael Bejarano has opted to take first call.

Long Shot – 10 Personal Diary

Race 9 – 6 furlongs, Purse $72,000, Optional claiming 440,000, Fillies and mares, 3-year-olds and up

3 Stealth Drone – Takes a huge class drop but is still protected by Peter Miller; sneaky good way to win a race while not losing the horse.

4 Pattitude – Interesting ship and win candidate; is transferred to Mike Pupye who legs up Rafael Bejarano, that tells me she should be live.

Long Shot – 8 Dr. Fager‘s Gal

Race 10 – 1 1/16th miles (turf), Purse $72,000, Optional claiming $80,000, 3-year-olds

7 The Gomper – This colt still has high hopes for the connections; he runs good races but still figures out a way to lose, different today.

3 Seve‘s Road – Philip D‘Amato barn has started out hot in the first couple of days; got black type in the Singletary but is eligible for NW1X still.

Long Shot – 5 Zinvor

Best Bet – 3 I Don‘t Care Who (race 2)

Del Mar Friday – Picks/Winners/Mutuels, 15/3/$20.20; Long Shots, 7/1/$9.20; Best Bet, 1/0/$0

Del Mar Totals – 35/7/$62.20; Long Shots, 17/1/$9.20; Best Bets, 2/0/$0

SIMULCAST PLAY OF THE DAY – #9 Bold Ambition (2/1) in race 9 at Woodbine. For scoring purposes, we‘ll make a hypothetical $2 win, place and show bet, $6 total. On Friday, Fantastic Eyes ran out at Belmont Park. Stats – 98/67/$517.40;

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