BreezeFigs Quick-Pix, Saturday, July 18th

We got lucky with our Pick last week-Lookin At Lucky just got up and posted a miserly $3.40, but he won at least-as did another 11 BreezeFigs horses during the week in maiden races (plus two stakes winners). Not every one of those BreezeFigs maiden winners were "qualified"-i.e., Group 1 or Group 2, or within the Par margin of error, but the most of the ones that weren't running in maiden specials at major tracks. That brings up a point: BreezeFigs can be used very effectively in maiden claiming races, especially lower-end ones at second level tracks, where many of the prices are pretty good when these beasts pounce. Pay attention every day and you will soon get the knack of it. Also, it's interesting to note that this year has seen very early carding of seven-furlong maidens for 2-y-os (mostly at Arlington), and mile races (mostly turf at several tracks).

Before we get to the business of Pix, we remember we've changed our format for the 2-year-old sheet. There are two BreezeFigs sheets for each date, one for the 3-year-olds from the 2008 sales (to be posted through June 30th), and one for the 2-year-olds from the 2009 sales. The 2009 sales sheet has a major addition in the SALE column: It's now labeled SALE & HIP, the "HIP" referring to the catalogue number for that horse in that sale. This reference will enable you to go to the website of the sales company involved and easily find the short video of the horse's breeze at that sale.

The web links for each sale are listed in the NOTES section of the 2009 BreezeFigs Report and you will find all the information as to why we have done this and how you can benefit from this addition to the service by downloading the document which explains it all here: and get the BreezeFigs cards.

Our rules still hold about BreezeFigs "qualified" runners: You can get a good idea of what "qualified" BreezeFigs horses are by clicking on BreezeFigs Information underneath the two BreezeFigs links in the DRF-PLUS box in the right hand column on the home page and downloading files there. Remember, keep stride length (SL) in mind when handicapping from the BreezeFigs sheet and take advantage of all the tips that we provide on those sheets as well.

If you click here you will get a document which details our latest study. The conclusion for those who like to know the bottom line fast is this: When it comes to 2-year-old racing only, horses that earned Group 1 or Group 2 BreezeFigs and had longer-than-average stride lengths at the five major 2-year-old sales of 2006-07-08, won more races, won earlier, and earned more black-type, than horses with shorter-than-average stride lengths, regardless of BreezeFigs Group. There's a lot more to it than that, and a review of this document, which is the first in a series, will strengthen your hand at the windows, or, if you are a buyer, at the sales or claim box. So, download it and absorb.

Also, refer to a study we did which shows that using BreezeFigs for 3-year-old maiden races in just as viable as using them for 2-year-old maiden races. Go to the DRF PLUS box on the .

If you'd like to learn a little more about how we come up with BreezeFigs, take a look at our new website by clicking here: .

There are nine maiden races on Saturday's card and this one caught our eye. Good luck!

Belmont Park, , Maiden Claiming ($60,000), 5 Furlongs (Dirt)

This ought to be a wild scramble, but it's also an interesting test for stride lengths and BreezeFigs because of the unique configuration at Belmont where the race starts just before the sweeping turn. We say that because horses with longer SLs ought to have an advantage on this track, while those with shorter SLs would likely do a bit better on tracks with tighter turns-they use more energy around Belmont's turn than they do around, say, Aqueduct's or Calder's. That being said, two of the contenders come out of the OBSAPR sale (synthetic track) with interesting profiles: Paris Heiress, whose sire is on fire, was seven-over-Par Group 1 at that sale at a quarter mile, with a 24.13 SL, about a third of a foot longer than average. Lucy N Thunder went 1/8 at the sale and posted a three-over-Par Group 2 profile with a 22.36 SL, which was almost a half-foot below average. She may be quicker, but she is going to have to match strides with the top one as well as Sonny's Lady, who is the sleeper here. At this level, she could make her one-under-Par, Group 3 rating at EASMAY look OK because she did that on dirt, at a quarter mile, on a half-mile track with real tight turns, and had a 24.23 foot SL, more than three-quarters of a foot longer than average that day. These three could be serious gimmick plays, though Paris Heiress looks like the key. Good luck!