Meadowlands: Analysis for Friday 3/17
?q=100)
WINTER MEET STATS: 248-64-51-32 / $408.00 (-$88.00)
BEST BETS: 18-4-7-2 / $27.60 (-8.40)
SPOT PLAYS: 18-4-2-2 / $27.40 (-$8.60)
BEST BET: SHEER FAITH (12th)
SPOT PLAY: UPTOWN LADY N (9th)
Race 1: GSY 1 Pace - Pick 5
(2) CHIEF OF STAFF finished with steady pace in his first start for this barn from a tough outside post. Six-year-old seems likely to stay much closer to the action now. (4) MAKE IT BIG put up a career-best mile over this track last year. Veteran moves into a new barn and could be ready. (5) SIGHTS ON YOU was driven a bit too aggressively by the trainer in his debut for that barn last week. Improvement is certainly possible.
[DRF HARNESS: Get Harness Eye PPs for this card]
Race 2: Non-winners 2 (NW L3 3) races or $20,000 (NW L3 $33,401) life/Maidens draw inside
(2) FRIENDS AFTER SIX put in a nice steady performance in her 2023 debut. Three-year-old filly faces boys and older but seems to have the talent to overcome. (5) SENNA hasn’t been right since returning to the races this year and he's missed a month of action. That said, he's certainly fast enough. (6) HOLY BEING owns a field-best 1:54 lifetime mark and his last qualifier was improved.
[DRF BETS: Wager on tonight's Meadowlands card at DRF Bets.com!]
Race 3: Non-winners 2 (NW L3 3) races life/Maidens draw inside - Survivor 7
(4) METAL MAN certainly blew out two big qualifiers at Pocono. The second one wasn't posted but he actually laid off the gate and still made the front in the first. He also looks to have some size to him, which means the big track could be to his liking. (5) BULLVILLE STEPHANO made a little move last time in his first start of the year before tiring. He can be much tighter here. (2) THIRD PILLAR has been in the money almost every start in his career.
Race 4: Non-winners 1 race or $10,000 (Not 3rd L3 $11,000) life
(3) MARGOT HANOVER got caught sitting behind a horse that set soft fractions and had a big kicker in her pocket. There doesn't appear to be any monsters in here to stop her from getting win #1. (8) ALWAYS A SHOW OFF finished willingly two back and lost to a horse that looked revved up in that last qualifier. If put in play she can make some noise. (2) ALWAYS A DANCER beat #8 in a qualifier last out. Maybe there is even more in the tank now?
Race 5: GSY 1 Pace
This field seems to have plenty of potential early speed so we’ll try (4) A B COLLINS from hopefully off the pace at a price. Driver Lee is smart enough to read the race and set him up in a good spot. (2) JERRYTONE has finished second in two of his last three starts in this class. (7) SO TAKE THAT raced steadily from behind in his first start since December and can certainly show more here.
Race 6: Winners 4-7 races or $51,750 life/NW4 (NW L3 5) draw inside - $50K GTD Pick 4
The Pick 4 kicks off with a field full of contenders and with that we'll try price-play (9) DREAMONHIGH. Four-year-old makes her seasonal debut with Lasix added off a very nice qualifier. Everyone can see she’s made some money in her career and was racing in Opens at Yonkers. The only question is whether she'll be put in play off the bench. (5) FRANK THE ELDER should be heading to the front and will likely face less resistance than last weekend. (1) A NEW LEADER edged out #5 a week ago and he's very much a contender who could offer a double-digit price. (6) RACER DAN has come back to the races in good order at Pocono and lands in a field where he should be competitive.
Race 7: TrackMaster 74.5 (NW L3/2L5 75/75.50) or less
Here's another tough race to handicap in the Pick 4 sequence. (10) NARCIAN JEWEL went a very long mile last week from an outside post and held very well. Veteran has plenty of back class and earned more than any of his her peers in 2022. (1) UNSTOPPABLE HALL posted a credible mile from an impossible spot in her first start of the year. She adds a catch-driver and should improve. (3) ONE MORE TRY also gets a new pilot this week. She was second in this class two starts back. (8) PERFECT QUEEN was third last time and second a few starts back in her last two tries versus TM74 types. (2) TRANS MEANIE got fried in her first start with Lasix. Don't toss her out just yet.
Race 8: TrackMaster 74.25 Final - $10,174 Pick 6 Carryover
Looking back after (7) CRAZY FOOL won last week I felt like a fool to not take a shot with him at 40-1. This guy showed some ability as a 2-year-old and started his sophomore season off right. Maybe he is this good or better. (4) BET BIG ON BLUE has turned in two solid performances in this class and figures to be in contention. (10) GOES DOWN SMOOTH has turned the corner of late and while post 10 isn't ideal, this guy can take air. (6) SCIROCCO PATRICK has a win and a third in this TrackMaster condition. (8) NORTHERN BLIZZARD deserves at least some consideration with Tetrick in the bike this week.
Race 9: Non-winners $7,500 in last 5/TM 83 (NW L2/2L5 83.5/84) or less
This is a very interesting spot for (3) UPTOWN LADY N. She raced well and seemed fresh from off the pace after missing a few months of action. With a decent journey there is no reason she can't beat this field. (5) CASH ROLL and (6) LADY ROCKNROLLA A looked like the early speed in the race and they could be sitting one-two controlling the action all the way.
Race 10: Non-winners $7,500 in last 5/TM 82.5 (NW 2L5 83.65) or less - $50K GTD Pick 4
(1) NO DRAMA PLEASE was a very solid second best behind a nice-looking trotter last time in his first start since December. Classy veteran should take care of business unless (3) GOTWUTEVERITTAKES or (5) SHINKANSEN decides this is one of the weeks they want to race well. Both are capable and very unpredictable.
Race 11: Non-winners $3,000 (NW L3 $3,331) in last 5/TM 77.5 (NW L3/2L5 78/78.75) or less/Opt. $12,500 Clm.
(1) SPECIAL OLIVIA qualified back nicely and you have to wonder why the connections bring her down from Saratoga to race for less money than the class she fit up north. To me that says despite the layoff and lack of big track experience, she's ready to roll and will take advantage of the cheaper spot. (3) SHELLIE DE VIE gets a monster drop in class. She makes a ton of sense on the win end but I fear the price will be unbearable. (4) ENGLISH ROSE N is capable of finishing fast if things set up nicely in terms of pace. (8) LITTLE HONEYBADGER also rallied well - at 33-1 - to be second in her last try in this class.
Race 12: Non-winners 2 (NW L3 3) races or $20,000 (NW L3 $33,401) life/Maidens draw inside
(6) SHEER FAITH looked awfully good winning her 2023 debut against many of the same foes she faces tonight. Unless she regresses or one of these steps up in a big way, she's a logical Pick 6 and Pick 4 single with Gingras coming back from Yonkers to take the drive. (9) HEADOVERBOOTS AS hasn't thrown in a bad race this year while hampered with some bad posts. (2) FLAMING ROADS was never getting to the top pick last time. Perhaps he was a touch green in that start so the possibility of improvement is there.
[DRF HARNESS: Sign up for our FREE DRF Harness Digest Newsletter]
Race 13: TrackMaster 74.5 (NW L3/2L5 75/75.55) or less/TM 76.92 who have started for $12,500 Clm. or less
(10) BRUSHING UP lands in a very soft spot and is first-time Izzy Estrada on the training end. If he picks this horse up even a touch, he'll have a big shot of overcoming the bad draw. (6) ONLYTHETUFFSURVIVE was aired out for the new barn last time and that ended badly. I'm willing to give him a second chance. (1) DISMISSAL SLIP hasn't been bad in his last two and I could make a case that he drops into a softer spot now.
Race 14: Non-winners $3,000 in last 5/TM 77.5 or less
(4) HOROSCOPE drops down for Burke/Gingras and while his form is sketchy, I'd expect to see anything he has in the tank against this soft group. (3) CRAZY FOR CJ gets a better post and a new driver; maybe. (9) MASSIVE MATTER comes out of the same race as the top pick and finished just ahead of him that night. (1) LOUIS has been stopping every week. Perhaps the barn change can make a difference.