Meadowlands: Analysis for Saturday 12/18

MEET STATS: 7 - 27 / $33.80 (-$20.20)
BEST BETS: 2 - 2 / $6.80 (+$2.80)
SPOT PLAYS: 0 - 2 / $0.00 (-$4.00)
BEST BET - TRUMP NATION (11th)
SPOT PLAY - ROGERTHAT BLUECHIP (13th)

Race 1 - 50000-60000CLM HCP Pace

(6) MR DS ROCK gets to stretch his legs tonight by getting off the half-mile track at Yonkers and also drops out of their $75,000 claiming class. (7) ALWAYS AND AGAIN raced against higher claiming company the last time he was at the Meadowlands back on 10-30 and was Dexter Dunn's choice. (4) PASSA-GRILLE BEACH has been finishing off his miles well but with little to show for it. He slides down a notch tonight and is worth a shot on the ticket.

[DRF HARNESS: Get Harness Eye PPs for this card]

Race 2 - Toys For Tots Series Final Pace

(5) HURRIKANE JONNYBOY romped to two wins in this event and appears he might just be faster than the others right now. (6) GOTAFOOLISHDESIRE made an impressive first-over move to the lead a week ago and then got picked off at the wire. He picks up Yannick Gingras here. (4) ICEY SHADOW chased my top pick willingly in both weeks and can be used.

Race 3 - 20000-30000CLM HCP Pace

(3) COOL BLUES MAN closed in 26 3/5 to finish third to Mindtrip last Saturday and has a trainer change tonight with Jenn Bongiorno taking over off the claim. (4) JUST N ACE has hit the board the last two weeks in this class and got the nod from Dunn. (6) SHAMMA LAMMA gained spots and ground in the final quarter to finish second to a well-meant winner last week. He adds Tim Tetrick in the bike here.

[DRF BETS: Wager on tonight's Meadowlands card at DRF Bets.com!]

Race 4 - Winners of 5 But Not More Than 7 Extended PM Races or NW80000LT Pace

(4) HURRIKANE EMPEROR faces a field of 3-year-olds here and appeared ready in both of his qualifiers. I'll bank on them being aggressive with him in just his third start of 2021. (5) BETTORS DONTTELL is razor-sharp for Ron Burke right now and prevailed in game fashion last Saturday. (8) KOMODO BEACH was a big money claim on 12-4 and starts for Noel Daley for the first time. His new connections might be keen to start collecting some purse money on their investment.

Race 5 - 20000-30000CLM HCP Pace

(4) CHICKEN NUGGET continues to be popular at the claim box and is with Travis Alexander for the first time here. Hopefully he gets some pace to chase and can sweep by like on 12-3. (5) GO WEST GO FAST showed some late interest last Saturday and picked up spots. He makes his second try for trainer Juan Cano and was Jim Marohn Jr.'s choice. (9) MINDTRIP is going to be the one they have to beat, but he did get tripped up by an outside post two back.

Race 6 - NW20000L5/TrackMaster Rating 92 or Less as of 12-14-21/NW70000 in 2020-21 Combined Pace *$50K Guaranteed Pick 4 Pool*

(7) PATRIKTHEPIRANHA A was scratched sick last Saturday, but he closed well against better two back and was in the Open before that. Trainer Nik Drennan is capable of having one ready to fire, and the horse gets reunited with George Brennan. (4) DA DELIGHTFUL has gotten sharp in his last three for trainer Mark Silva and has a driver switch to Dunn here. (2) SONNY WEAVER N makes his second local appearance and closed in 26 2/5 a week ago.

Race 7 - NW14000L5/TrackMaster Rating 89 or Less as of 12-14-21/Winners Base Class NW10000 or Less Last Start Trot

(4) DOUBLE ACCOUNT made an uncharacteristic break in stride last Friday in the Preferred, but I'll bet on him rebounding tonight. He romped the last time he raced in this class on November 5. (2) KINGS COUNTY has hit the board in three of his last four but looks like a horse you want to slot underneath and try to beat for the win. (9) DAYSON won handily on 12-10 in his comeback after a lengthy layoff. I can only see him being tighter tonight, and I don't forsee Gingras taking back.

Race 8 - 75000-100000CLM HCP Pace

(7) FOREVER FAV invades from Yonkers with seven straight top-three finishes, including wins two and three back. He is a first-time starter for Alexander off a claim, as well. (4) TELLITSABB gets some relief here out of the straight $100,000 claimer at Yonkers, picks up Dunn, and hails from the high-percentage Izzy Estrada barn. (5) LEON DAVID has folded on the lead the last two times he was there, so I don't think that's his preferred trip. He switches back to Tetrick here, and I imagine he's going to sit in and follow.

Race 9 - Twas The Week Before Christmas Series Final Pace

(10) J M MANDAMIN faces the same situation here that he had on 12-4 when he was in post ten. He dominated that night, and I will bank on him getting the job done again tonight. (7) SAVE ME A DANCE pounced off a second-over trip to win last Saturday and might have the same trip here from a similar draw. (2) PALOMAR has hit the board in his last two with 26 and change final quarters both times. If they mix it up, watch for him to be charging.

Race 10 - Preferred Pace *$50K Guaranteed Pick 4 Pool*

(1) VETTEL N came up completely luckless in the lane Saturday as he was boxed in behind a wall of horses. He should be ready to fire tonight off that. (3) BACKSTREET SHADOW makes his second start back after a layoff here and should be tighter after a front-end try a week ago. (8) LET IT RIDE N tallied in the Preferred last week but does move outside on the gate as he was assigned post eight.

Race 11 - NW10000L5/TrackMaster Rating 88 or Less as of 12-14-21/Winners Base Class NW7000 or Less in 1 of L2 Starts Pace

(6) TRUMP NATION finished with all kinds of pace last Saturday in his first start after a lengthy hiatus. He gets out of the ten-hole tonight and switches drivers to Gingras, so I can see him going right down the highway here. (2) CHASER HANOVER is also making his second try back off the shelf here. He scored his last win in the corresponding class to this one at Harrah's Philadelphia back in early July, so he's capable if he's tighter this time. (4) FIZZING N gets off the half-mile tracks this week and slides down off a second-place finish at the NW15000L5 level at Yonkers.

Race 12 - Fall Harvest Series Final Pace

(6) TUAPEKA TRICK N kicked home nicely for a second-place finish a week ago and now picks up Dunn's services. (1) SWEET TRUTH came to life on the drop down to face bottom level foes last Saturday as he rallied to win. He gets to team with Joe Bongiorno again here and drew inside again. (5) BEANTOWN SPORTY appears to have some quirks, but he's also definitely capable of winning. Andy Miller gets a chance with him tonight.

Race 13 - Bring on 2022 Series/Winners of 2 Ext. PM Races Life to be Claimed for 30000 Pace

(1) ROGERTHAT BLUECHIP drew inside here after a number of outside posts over at Yonkers, and the connections moved Jason Bartlett to this horse when he was listed on another one for them in the race. (3) HURRIKANEKINGJAMES overcame post ten to finish a rallying second last Saturday. He moves inside on the gate tonight. (5) MANHOLMES gets a new driver for the first time in a bit with Scott Zeron taking over, and he picked up spots and gained ground in the final quarter a week ago after taking a shuffle.

Race 14 - NW7000L5/TrackMaster Rating 85 or Less as of 12-14-21 Pace

(3) WRAPPERS DELIGHT A has a trainer change to Brett Pelling tonight and was second in the corresponding class to this one at Harrah's Philadelphia the last two times he raced in it. (2) STRAIGHT TALK made a powerful brush to the lead in the backstretch last Saturday before tiring in the lane. He drops a level off that mile and adds Gingras. (1) DECISION DAY is about due to come to life, and it could come here as he gets additional class relief and shows three straight sub-27 second last quarters.