Beer: Tampa Bay pick four play for Saturday, Dec. 19

Race 7: The morning-line favorite for this maiden special weight for 2-year-olds going one mile on turf is Bluegrass Tiger (#4). He goes for top connections, and he is likely facing easier competition than he saw in Kentucky in his first two starts, but he has done little running to this point. I could use him as a backup, but will focus my play on others. Gio Whiz (#6) makes his third career start in this spot, but his first routing on turf, and that could prove to be the key. By Gio Ponti, he is out of a dam who was graded stakes-placed on grass, and he finished up well from off the pace in what looked like a prep on the dirt last time. Cajun Colonel (#8) also makes his turf debut in this spot, with pedigree to improve with the switch (his dam posted both career wins on turf and was graded stakes-placed on that surface). Of those with prior turf experience, I’ll give preference to Tin Whistle (#10), who raced greenly in his debut at Parx, though he has a tough post to overcome. First-time starter Park Drive South (#5) will make the play somewhere, as he shows up with a solid series of works for a good trainer, and has plenty of pedigree.

Main horses: 6,8,10

Backups: 4, 5

Race 8: The $100,00 Inaugural Stakes for 2-year-old sprinters goes through Ishaq (#3). Impressive in his debut over this track for a dangerous trainer, his Beyer Speed Figure of 86 that is faster than anything his rivals have managed to this point. He won’t be easy to beat if reproducing that race in this spot, but I’ll also use Jay’s Way (#7) in this race. He is a game finisher who can run from off the pace, and I like that he turns back for this after trying way too tough of a spot in the Grade 2 Nashua last time.

Main horses: 3,7

Backup: None

Race 9: The $100,000 Lightning City for female turf sprinters looks wide open, but it does feature plenty of speed. With that in mind, I’ll focus my main ticket on three horses: Joya Real (#6) is an established turf sprinter who fired a good shot to win her local prep for this on Nov. 28; Katie’s Kiss (#7) has an adaptable running style, and she earned a strong Beyer of 94 when closing to win a turf sprint over this distance two starts back; Desert Steel (#10) has shown an affinity for these shorter sprints out in Southern California, winning each of her last three over this distance while earning competitive figures.

Main horses: 6,7,10

Backups: 11,12

Race 10: A big field of 2-year-old filly maiden claimers closes out the sequence. I didn’t love the most recent effort of morning-line favorite So Saucy (#4) last time, but I do like that she got in a race over this track in the process. Both Undefeated Mind (#8) and Mettemarlamelva (#9) are hard to trust based on their most recent efforts, but they drop way down in class for top trainers, and they both have some speed. I also want to use Unique Greatness (#11). She exits a slow debut at Delaware, but she made an early run into that race, which ultimately collapsed at the end, and she will get Lasix for her second start, which comes for new connections.

Main horses: 4,8,9,11

Backup: None

:: See Mike Beer’s pick four play in DRF TicketMaker and bet it with DRF Bets