DRF's Horse Racing Playbook for Friday, April 25, 2025

Daily Racing Form has served as the most trusted source of news and information about the sport since 1894, and moving forward we have decided to provide a free daily playbook – something that both hardcore horseplayers and casual observers can reference to get informed of each day’s action.

1:32 KEE 3rd BEACH QUEEN (#8, 8-1) based all winter at KEE and has worked many, many times on the local dirt track. There's video of the most recent drill, and while it picks up well after she broke from the gate, the move was quite impressive for a horse debuting in $40K maiden-claiming. Outside post a plus for firster. – Marcus Hersh | Get PPs for this race

1:34 GP 2nd ROMERO (#11, 20-1) broke his maiden on this dirt and going this distance all in his second start (at 6-1). He gets a faster pace today and win rider stays put. We always favor this outside post in an elongated sprint. Class drop rounds out the appeal while full field helps all exotics. – Scott Ehlers
1:45 TAM 3rd STORMY DISCO (#5, 8-1) was off the board in his return to turf racing last time, which marked his second start following a long break, but she hardly ran a poor race, under pressure on the lead from the break and yielding only late; takes the blinkers off today but she still should be expected to be on or near the lead, as usual. – Kenny Peck | Get PPs for this race

2:45 AQU 4th EMPTY TOMB (#5, 5-2) clearly isn't in top form right now, though the frequent breaks between starts over the past year make him a tougher read. He actually did some racing last time when moving into contention around the turn, only to weaken in the final furlong; entered back right away off the claim, and his good race makes him tough in here. – Mike Beer | Get PPs for this race

3:05 KEE 6th CENTRAL AVENUE (#7, 6-1) made her comeback from an extended layoff last year going 9 furlongs. Now, she's back from another layoff in a long one-turn race - which I like for the filly. She definitely has the quality to win this, and liked what I saw on the one available recent work video. – Marcus Hersh | Get PPs for this race

3:17 AQU 5th LAST MANGO (#6, 9-2) is a DRF Best Bet (Mike Beer). | Get PPs for this race

3:22 TAM 6th CATATUMBO (#1, 10-1) is a prime upgrade candidate today after racing against Speed-friendly race flows in each of his last four, as indicated by the bold "S" symbols in those running lines; thinking he'll get at least an honest tempo up front today, and that would certainly move him up. – Kenny Peck | Get PPs for this race

3:41 GP 6th STARSHIP MELODY (#2, 3-1) is a DRF Best Bet (Scott Ehlers). | Get PPs for this race

4:22 AQU 7th LI'L LANG's (#2, 10-1) turf win came via DQ, though he gave Final Verdict a real fight in that race, and that rival returned to win twice after that with Beyers of 86 and 91. LI'L LANG ran well in an off-turf race in his next start, then endured an unlucky trip in his next turf start; might have had an excuse when last seen while caught outside all the way in a race that inside runners dominated; threat at a fair price if ready off the layoff. – Mike Beer | Get PPs for this race

5:20 GP 9th DREAMBUILDER (#3, 6-1) was right there at the 1/8th pole in both of his turf starts. He puts races together and goes for a new barn that is 12% off the claim. A stalking trip from this post is fine and we like that Paco stays put. – Scott Ehlers | Get PPs for this race