Meadowlands: Analysis for Saturday 1/21

2022 STATS: 28 - 111 / $172.80 (-$49.20)
2022 BEST BETS: 4 - 8 / $14.20 (-$1.80)
2022 SPOT PLAYS: 1 - 8 / $14.60 (-$1.40)
BEST BET - WAHS FIRE BUG N (5th)
SPOT PLAY - ADRIANO HANOVER (11th)

Race 1 - NW5000L5/Not 3rd or Better in Last 5 Starts Pace - Pick 5

(5) SOUTHWIND PETYR takes a second shot at this class in his third start back after a layoff, and I'll hope that's the charm against a beatable group. (3) DE LOS CIELOS DEO came up second-best on 1-7 after brushing to the point before the half. He could certainly be sharper here as that was his first pari-mutuel try since last July. (2) OCEAN COLONY gets significant class relief as he drops from the NW10500L5 level, and that could put him back in the hunt.

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Race 2 - 20000CLM Pace

(4) I'M J BEE N tallied in the corresponding class to this one at Harrah's Philadelphia two back and then raced in too tough a spot in a subsequent appearance. I will use. (6) BIONIC comes up from Dover off a victory and is in good form overall for a barn that's sent out some live horses at the track lately. (2) BETTER THAN SOME just missed two weeks ago in a solid effort and landed another inside post.

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Race 3 - TrackMaster Rating 80 or Less as of 1-17-23 Pace - Survivor 7

(3) ACTON HANOVER finished third at this level on January 6 after doing most of the pace-making and is making his third start back in the Ron Burke stable. (5) VESPA N completed the trifecta at Harrah's Philadelphia on New Year's Eve and might be in a softer spot here than that NW7300L5 contest. (10) REGAL ESCAPE moves back to an outside post but is sharp and tallied from the nine-hole on 1-6.

Race 4 - 5YO & Under 15000-20000CLM HCP Pace

(8) SPORTS ADVISOR closed well after a second-over trip to grab a runner-up finish in this class last Saturday, and I'll look for him to do one position better tonight. (4) MADDOX HANOVER moves up in claiming price tonight but scored in dominant fashion on January 13. (1) LONE WOLF AMERICAN chased down my top pick to get the win in their common race a week ago. He moves inside to the pole position tonight, so maybe he'll be closer to the action.

Race 5 - F&M NW12500L5/TrackMaster Rating 84.5 or Less as of 1-17-23/NW7 Ext. PM Races LT/4YO Non-Starters in 2023 Drawn Outside Pace

(2) WAHS FIRE BUG N showed plenty of pace on the end of her mile last Friday, rallying from tenth to second. Here, she moves inside on the gate to post two and that should make a big difference. (1) THINK OF GALAXIES got up for third on January 23 after taking a middle-half shuffle and gets additional post relief tonight. (4) SO IRRESISTIBLE saw her streak of on-the-board finishes end on 1-6, but she did gain from eighth to fifth in the final quarter. I will include.

Race 6 - NW10500L5/TrackMaster Rating 86.2 or Less as of 1-17-23/NW1581 Per Start in 2022-23 Combined Pace **$50,000 Guaranteed Pick 4 Pool **

(1) KING TRITON A slides down from the NW14000L5 level here. He's paced back-to-back fast last quarters and starts from the pole after having post ten last Saturday. (6) BALLERAT BOOMERANG has two straight second-place finishes coming into this event, and he's shown versatility, racing well from both off-the-pace and on the lead. (4) PASSA-GRILLE BEACH is also moving out of the NW14000L5 class, and I wouldn't be suprised if he was handled more aggressively from a better post than he had a week ago.

Race 7 - Winners of 2 But Not More Than 4 Ext. PM Races or NW50000 LT/50000CLM Pace

(5) QUICK SNAP has a couple of fast final quarters in his last two tries, but he was too far back on 12-17 and got no pace to chase two weeks ago. I'll give him a shot. (2) STONEBRIDGE REEF doesn't have any recent wins but often finds his way onto the board, and I'd want him underneath in exactas, tris, and supers. (1) LUC ROCKS held sway gamely on the front-end last Saturday, getting the better of Stonebridge Reef. That effort came from post two, and he drew inside again this time.

Race 8 - 25000-30000CLM HCP Pace - Pick 6

(5) ALWAYS BETTER debuts for trainer Travis Alexander tonight off a qualifier where he had a little late pace. I'll hope the barn change helps him out and he can come through with some value. (8) SECRECY got sharp over at Yonkers late in 2022 and has kept it going into this year. He's the one to beat. (9) BOILER MAKER is another in-form horse in this event, and he's definitely usable as well.

Race 9 - NW14000L5/TrackMaster Rating 88.5 or Less as of 1-17-23 Pace

(3) SUGAR ME N exits a NW20000L5 race where he parked a ways to get to the point and then wound up fourth. When he raced at this level two back, he rallied home in 25 and change to finish second, beaten just a neck by the winner. (1) BOBCAT BAY is on a nice run of good performances and drew the pole to help his chances tonight. (6) CARBINE defeated NW10500L5's a week ago from first-up. Given some of this horse's performances a year ago, I think he's capable of handling the step up to the NW14000L5's.

Race 10 - NW10500L5/TrackMaster Rating 86.2 or Less as of 1-17-23/NW1581 Per Start in 2022-23 Combined Pace **$50,000 Guaranteed Pick 4 Pool **

(6) DECISION DAY returns to the Meadowlands tonight after racing at Harrah's Philadelphia and Freehold lately. He won at the corresponding level to this at Harrah's Philadelphia in his final start of 2022 (December 18). (9) WATER SPORTS TEEN drew the outside post but makes his second start back after a layoff and came up just short in deep stretch a couple of weeks ago after taking command from first-over. (4) TWIN B DELUXE hasn't been seen since 12-10 but paced a 26 1/5 final quarter that night and looks like he's in a softer spot if he's tight enough.

Race 11 - TrackMaster Rating 86 or Less as of 1-17-23 Pace

(2) ADRIANO HANOVER got slammed by back-to-back post tens to start 2023, but he drew well tonight, and I'll hope he still has that closing kick he showed at the Meadowlands in mid-December. (6) LINNYCALLEDFRANKIE is making his third start back off the shelf, and I think this should be a softer spot than the NW14000L5 class. (8) HOPNROLL HEAVEN rallied from sixth to second at this level a couple of weeks ago and hails from the high-percentage Per Engblom barn.

Race 12 - TrackMaster Rating 83 or Less as of 1-17-23 Pace

(6) SERIOUSLY HANOVER hikes up from the TrackMaster 80's, but he converted an inside trip into a win on 1-6, and I think he can handle the bump in class. (2) ANDRES HANOVER rallied from seventh to third in the final quarter of his race on January 7 and looks to be in a softer spot on this occasion. (3) LIKE CLOCKWORK has significant post relief tonight after starting from the ten-hole a week ago and finished third against TrackMaster 83's on the 17th of December.

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Race 13 - NW7500L5 Pace

(9) UNDRTHSOUTHRNSUN moves another notch down in class tonight after finishing third against NW10500L5's most recently. I'm going to anticipate he'll be on the engine. (3) DONTPASSME HANOVER also exits the NW10500 level and has post relief to go with it. Let's see if that also results in more aggressive handling. (1) WALKNAFTER MIDNITE won in 1:48 and change at the Meadowlands a year ago and is making his second start back after a layoff tonight.

Race 14 - TrackMaster Rating 74 or Less as of 1-17-23 Pace

(8) MARVALOUS ONE owns victories at the Meadowlands in his past, and the connections might want to strike while they can since this horse made only five starts in 2022. (4) IN NEVADA N downed GSY 1 foes on January 13 and was third in this class on December 30. (6) ITS ROCKIN RANDY qualified impressively last Saturday but is just four-for-62 in the win column lifetime.