Horse Racing: Today at Del Mar, July 23

Post Time 2:05 p.m.

Race 1 – 5 ½ furlongs, Purse $36,000, Maiden claiming $50,000, Fillies, 2-year-olds

2 Wish I Understood – Bob Baffert has only started a few the first week of the meet; all of them have run in the money, switch to Martin Garcia.

6 Fast Escape – Like the chalk, is taking the biggest class drop in racing from MSW to maiden claiming; her debut race was pretty decent.

Long Shot – 3 Vronsky’s Devka

Race 2 – 6 ½ furlongs, Purse $19,000, Claiming $8,000, Fillies and mares, 3-year-olds and up

6 Twelve Folds – Sharp second last time at Los Alamitos; Art Sherman got the best news of the meet when told California Chrome will race in 2015.

4 Rosewhitenblue – Sliding down the claiming ladder to this lowest rung; consistent sort but not particularly fast, facing a very week group.

Long Shot – 8 Lexie Arleen

Race 3 – 5 furlongs (turf, rail at 6 feet), Purse $72,000, Allowance, 3-year-olds and up

2 Roy H – Last seen graduating down the hillside turf course at Santa Anita on May 31; he is extremely quick and figures to take some catching.

12 Labour – Mike Smith chooses his mounts very carefully, so when he lands on a horse pay extra attention; must overcome a parking lot post.

Long Shot – 8 Incline Village

Race 4 – 6 furlongs, Purse $31,000, Maiden claiming $40,000, 3-year-olds and up

9 Out of Mischief – Tiny edge in an extremely difficult heat; ship and win angle is a strong one, part of Michael Stidham Midwest contingent.

11 Gravity Force – Sliding down the maiden claiming ladder to this career low class; Rafael Bejarano for Richard Baltas, a top SoCal combination.

Long Shot – 6 Simplicityizgenius

Race 5 – 1 1/16th miles (turf, rail at 6 feet), Purse $70,000, Maiden special weights, Cal-breds, Fillies and mares, 3-year-olds and up

8 Just Got Lucky – Spoke too soon, this is another really difficult heat; if you hit the Pick 5, like yesterday, you’ll be handsomely rewarded.

3 Redo It – Mario Gutierrez is riding in good form, but not getting enough chances; Kentucky Derby winning rider is a good judge of pace.

Long Shot – 7 Unusual Storm

Race 6 – 6 furlongs, Purse $50,000, Claiming $40,000, 3-year-olds and up

6 Oligarch – Most contenders in the field are dropping in class, this one is moving up in class; claimed in razor sharp form by Kristin Mulhall.

7 Midnight Transfer – Tepid chalk in one more difficult heat; should enjoy the cutback to a 1-turn sprint from a 2-turn mile at Santa Anita.

Long Shot – 1 Ain’t No Other

Race 7 – 1 3/8th miles (turf, rail at 6 feet), Purse $72,000, Optional claiming $40,000, Fillies and mares, 3-year-olds and up

3 Halljoy – Lots of gaps in her resume, but like that Rafael Bejarano takes the call; gets class relief from the Possibly Perfect in last.

1 Circling – Rail shouldn’t matter much as she has not one ounce of early speed; Mike Smith can save ground and find his way home in the stretch.

Long Shot – 9 Diamond Stilettos

Race 8 – 1 mile, Purse $22,000, Claiming $16,000, Fillies and mares, 3-year-olds and up

6 I Heart You – Has been claimed out of four straight starts; popular claimer gets reunited with Kent Desormeaux who is riding well this meet.

7 Emerald Green – Trainer Andy Mathis won the first race of the meet and has another live one here; tactical speed to sit a perfect trip.

Long Shot – 2 Kantina Kowgirl

Best Bet - 2 Wish I Understood (race 1)

Del Mar Thursday - Picks/Winners/Mutuels, 15/4/$30.00; Long Shots, 8/0/$0; Best Bet, 1/0/$0

Del Mar Totals - 86/19/$145.00; Long Shots, 39/7/$64.80; Best Bets, 5/1/$5.00

SIMULCAST PLAY OF THE DAY - #2 Maydell (3/1) in race 7 at Gulfstream Park. For scoring purposes, we'll make a hypothetical $2 win, place and show bet, $6 total. On Thursday, Charlie Again won at Delaware Park paying $2.80 to win and $2.20 to place. Stats - 101/69/$547.80; Follow him on Twitter: @richeng4propick