Meadowlands: Analysis for Saturday 12/12

MEET STATS: 31 - 142 / $181.80 (-$102.20)
BEST BETS: 4 - 11 / $12.80 (-$9.20)
SPOT PLAYS: 2 - 11 / $14.80 (-$7.20)
BEST BET - SLIPPIN THE CLUTCH (8th)
SPOT PLAY - WHITTAKER N (7th)

Race 1 - NW4/50000LT Pace *$50K GTD Pick 5 Pool*

(3) FLYINGEVENBETTOR N makes his second start back off the bench tonight and was able to finish third against better last Saturday. (4) TRU LOU also moves out of the NW6/NW8 class like my top pick and was the Burke horse in here that Gingras wound up on. (2) CLAYTONS BETTOR N threw in a clunker on 11-28 but had been reliably hitting the board prior to that, and I'll look for a return to that sort of performance here.

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Race 2 - TrackMaster Rating 73 or Less as of 12-8-20 Pace

(8) JUST WAVE GOODBYE beat the TrackMaster 73's in mid-September at the Meadowlands for his lone win this year, and I think he's been facing tougher since. Wide-open race. (5) GRANDPA DON has been victorious the last two times he's raced in this class and returns to it here with Andrew McCarthy taking over in the bike. (9) SHARKNADO was second to the runaway Durant on 11-28 and gets George Napolitano Jr. to drive again.

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Race 3 - NW2500L5/Winners TrackMaster Rating 73 Last Start Pace

(8) CHASER HANOVER gets a chance with Scott Zeron this week and has been racing pretty well against tougher, including a third-place finish in a NW4 two back. (2) CHIEF ALTAWICK picked up his performance in his first start out of the Yogi Sheridan barn last Saturday and has Dexter Dunn at the lines again. (5) OCEAN COLONY lands at the bottom level tonight and was third against NW7500L5's as recently as Halloween. He needs a smoother trip.

Race 4 - NW7500L5/Winners Base Class NW6000 or Less Last Start/20000CLM Pace

(4) BARBADOS was a gaining fourth against a pretty tough NW7000L5 at Harrah's Philadelphia most recently, and I think meets up with an easier group tonight. (2) UNLOADED N rebounded from the equipment break on 11-28 with a game second-place effort a week ago. He does have to step up a notch, but I think is capable of handling it. (5) ITS JUST TOO MUCH has some post relief here after finishing with interest and gaining spots in the last quarter on the 28th of November.

Race 5 - NW4500L5/Winners Base Class NW3500 or Less Last Start/20000CLM Pace

(7) STAR COMMANDER N had a bunch of 26 and change last quarters and even one sub 26 final kicker prior to last week when he had post ten and then wound up first-over. I'll look for Callahan to get him a cover trip tonight and for him to pounce on these. (3) ROCK ON LINE was Dunn's pick and joins the Williams Hernandez barn, which should attract some attention. He had little chance in his last pair from outside posts at Hollywood Dayton and The Meadows. (5) BARNABAS delivered off the shelf with a front-end steer by Napolitano Jr. a week ago, and though he moves up, he looks like the controlling speed again in here and might be sharper with a start under his belt.

Race 6 - NW14000L5/Winners Base Class NW12500 or Less One of Last Two Starts/50000CLM Pace *$50K GTD Pick 4 Pool*

(7) LET IT RIDE N looked sensational last Saturday in his Meadowlands debut and is primed to get a similar trip tonight. (1) MINDTRIP is in for the optional claiming tag tonight, so he gets to race in the same class he scored a hard-fought win in a week ago. (5) BOILING OAR comes in from Harrah's Hoosier Park for Cullipher. He was in the Open the last three times out there, and based on the speed he showed on 11-20, is the type of horse Napolitano Jr. will get along with.

Race 7 - NW7500L5/Winners Base Class NW6000 or Less Last Start/20000CLM Pace

(9) WHITTAKER N seems overdue for a speed try and gets an aggressive driver in Anthony Napolitano to perhaps deliver it. He won in this class on October 31. (3) IN ROCK WE TRUST has post relief this week and has been doing well since Gingras took over the driving recently. (8) ITALIAN DELIGHT N got the nod from Dunn over several others in here and drops out of tougher classes over at Yonkers. He took his mark at the Meadowlands earlier this year.

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Race 8 - NW2/25000LT / NW3/30000LT, NW Last 3 Starts Pace

(7) SLIPPIN THE CLUTCH romped over NW2's over at Yonkers in late October and early November and gets to drop down a level after finishing third versus NW4's last Saturday. (6) NOTAWORD N is the one of the two Kelvin Harrison trainees I prefer in here based on his efforts against NW2's and NW3's in Canada. (3) DOUBLEAGENTMAN makes his second start out of the Burke barn tonight and just missed a couple weeks back.

Race 9 - Preferred Handicap Pace

(9) HIGHALATOR returns to his favorite oval tonight and had to need that race at Dover on 12-3 given he hadn't made a pari-mutuel start since October the 24th. (5) ANA AFREET N beat Highalator at Dover most recently and has been sharp for quite a while for Cullipher. (8) AMERICAN HISTORY is another red-hot horse right now with three straight wins and took the Preferred last Saturday.

Race 10 - NW10500L5/Winners Base Class NW8000 or Less Last Start Pace *$40K GTD Pick 4 Pool*

(7) CAVIART LUCA normally plies his trade over at Yonkers, but he's won here before, too, and gets some class relief after facing better across the river, including a couple of recent appearances in the Open. (1) DECISION DAY was Anthony Napolitano's choice of a pair in here and drops down another level tonight. (6) ROCK THE DEVIL picked up a confidence-building victory against NW7000L5's at Harrah's Philadelphia and was third in this class at the Meadowlands on the 21st of November.

Race 11 - NW4500L5/Winners Base Class NW3500 or Less Last Start/20000CLM Pace

(2) LIKE CLOCKWORK made one start down at Harrah's Philadelphia and now returns to the Meadowlands with additional class relief. I expect Abbatiello to be quite aggressive with him. (3) ODDS ON LAUDERDALE is another horse dropping in this race as he exits a solid third-place performance from first-over against NW7500L5's. (7) NO EASY DAY might get more pace to chase in this race than he did last Saturday when he had to go three-wide before three-quarters and then seemed to flatten out a bit in the last eighth.

Race 12 - 10000CLM Pace

(1) HALUSKY didn't show anything in his two tries down at Harrah's Philadelphia since returning to action, but I think those were significantly tougher fields, and he did win back in June. He was Marcus Miller's choice of a pair in here, and I'll swing and hope for a price. (6) ALL WEEK is certain to take plenty of action as everyone will see the barn change, but I'm not interested in odds-on on a horse that hasn't won this year. (7) FERNADO is the other potential trainer swap bonanza in here as he goes to Jenn Bongiorno. This horse has tailed off since getting hot during the summer at Tioga, but I respect his ability to find the winner's circle.

Race 13 - 12500CLM Pace

(7) STATESMAN N suffered from the post eight blues in his last start over at Yonkers, but he upset a 1-9 favorite over there prior to that, and I think is worth a shot. (4) HAYMITCH has been pretty sharp both locally and at Freehold recently and is another one who was post compromised in his most recent effort. (5) WATCHMENEIGHNEIGH was a good second in the GSY Series final behind the well-meant Tailgunner Hanover and was Dunn's selection in here.