Meadowlands: Analysis for Saturday 12/9

2023 STATS: 33 - 176 / $275.30 (-$76.70)
BEST BETS: 8 - 13 / $25.60 (-$0.40)
SPOT PLAYS: 1 - 13 / $103.40 (+$77.40)
BEST BET - BEACH COWGIRL (6th)
SPOT PLAY - SPORTS ADVISOR (4th)

Race 1 - 10000-12500CLM HCP Pace

(10) RACING MONEY takes a second shot at this class after finishing a gaining third from this same outside post last Saturday night. (8) WINWOOD JACK has been victorious in four of his last five outings, including at the Meadowlands on November 17. (7) SGT PAPA DADDY racked up the wins to close out the meet at Vernon Downs, and I can overlook his last dull performance at Saratoga as he was hampered by a bad draw on the half-mile oval.

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Race 2 - NW2/20000LT Pace

(5) THIRD PILLAR was a solid second to a well-meant winner at this level last Saturday, and this barn continues to send out plenty of live horses. (3) THE GOOD DOCTOR drops in class tonight and is probably the one to beat, but his one-for-18 win record this year makes him worth taking a stab against. (2) COUNTRY SQUIRE outraced his long odds a week ago by finishing a strong-closing fourth in a NW2 dash. He gets significant post relief off that effort.

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Race 3 - 20000-30000CLM HCP Pace

(3) GOOD ROCKIN finished with plenty of pace last Saturday in his first start back after a layoff and gets to move inside on the gate off that mile tonight. (5) HEREITTIZ improved to two-for-two for trainer Edwin Quevedo a week ago and has the same mid-pack post to start from here. (7) SUGAR ME N has been outside of the top two just once in his last four efforts and was second to HEREITIZ last week.

Race 4 - 15000CLM Pace

(4) SPORTS ADVISOR had to wait to angle out of the pocket last week, and by the time he had clearance, the winner was gone. He's from the same red-hot barn as my top pick in race two. (2) FLASHY DUDE turned a second-over trip into a victory over my top selection last Saturday. He has post relief off that performance tonight and also tallied twice recently at Freehold. (5) CONBOYVILLE makes his second start back after a layoff tonight and advanced from ninth to fifth in the final quarter of his mile a week ago. He moves in from the nine-hole to post five, too.

Race 5 - 15000CLM Pace

(1) HOMESTRETCH WES gets to drop a notch from the $20,000 claiming handicap level tonight and starts from the pole for a barn that can have one ready for a big performance. (5) STRETCH THE LINE grabbed a second in this class on November 18 and backed that up with a rallying third-place result in a NW5000L4 test a week ago. (8) LOVIN ON YOU has a gap in his schedule due to a sick scratch last Saturday but was a closing third in a $15,000 claimer prior to that.

Race 6 - 3YO Fillies Winners of 3 but not more than 7 Ext. PM Races LT Pace ***$50,000 Guaranteed Pick 4 Pool***

(5) BEACH COWGIRL sat in the pocket and was a closing second to a very classy older rival in Racine Bell last Saturday. She faces just 3-year-old fillies tonight in her second start for Ron Burke. (1) TALK CURDY TO ME was fourth in the same race that BEACH COWGIRL exits from a week ago and won impressively at the Meadowlands prior to that. (6) ONEDERFULBEACH downed NW6 foes most recently at Yonkers and is a second-time starter out of Per Engblom's stable.

Race 7 - NW7500L4/TrackMaster Rating 83.5 as of 12-5-23 Pace

(2) AS ALWAYS won the last time he competed at the Meadowlands back on 10-21 and drops out of tougher classes over at Harrah's Philadelphia. (7) SAN DOMINO A makes his second start off a layoff here and was third in a NW10000L4 tilt last Saturday night. (6) YNOTTHISHOS has been facing NW10000L4 company since coming to the Meadowlands from Kentucky and gets to drop a notch tonight.

Race 8 - NW14000L4/TrackMaster Rating 88 or Less as of 12-5-23/NW Starters in NW14000 in Last Start or NW6501 1st Money in L4 Starts Trot

(4) MAY BABY comes in from Harrah's Philadelphia with a win and a third in her last two outings, and she's had plenty of success through her career on the bigger track at Harrah's Hoosier Park. (7) TOCCOA FALLS has a pair of second-place finishes in his two starts in this class and also won at the Meadowlands on November 4. (2) VELVET STYLE made a miscue on 10-27 at Yonkers but has gotten sharp since then with four straight top three results, including a victory at the Meadowlands on the 3rd of November.

Race 9 - NW10000L4 Pace

(10 MY PAL JOE starts from the outside but is at a very low spot on the class ladder, and I believe he is capable of overcoming it and winning. (2) PACINO HANOVER faded last Friday night but had to do the first-over work in that race. He was racing well in Pennsylvania prior to that and should have a good chance of a quick rebound. (6) COLOSSAL STRIDE A downed NW7500L4 rivals a week ago and was second and third in two chances in this class back in November.

Race 10 - NW20000L4/Winners Base Class NW14000 or Less in Last Start/NW10 Ext. PM Races LT Pace ***$50,000 Guaranteed Pick 4 Pool***

(6) SOARING NOW is a horse that his connections have had a lot of belief in and he's steadily worked himself into form after missing some time, having won two straight. He takes another step up in class tonight, but I think he's capable of handling it. (9) SOUTH BEACH STAR won in this class at the Meadowlands on 11-4 and is having a great 5-year-old campaign. He packs plenty of early speed, so the outside post will likely be no issue. (5) HUNTINTHELASTDOLAR enjoyed a strong stakes season in both New York and on the Grand Circuit and debuts for Engblom here off a winning qualifier last Saturday.

Race 11 - NW5000L4 Pace

(5) ALWAYS B SWEET has had to settle for a couple of fifth-place results since his victory on 11-11, but comes out of the same high-percentage barn as a couple of my earlier selections (Third Pillar and Sports Advisor), and I'll swing with him. (6) AFLAME HANOVER turned in a good second-place finish last week at long odds and gets further class relief here. (1) CALIBER faded in the last quarter a week ago but drops out of the NW7500L4 level and was third when favored two starts back.

Race 12 - NW3000L4 Pace

(6) BEACH VIBES slides down from the NW5000L4 class after picking up a couple of spots in the final quarter last Saturday, and he also gets some post relief as he started from the ten-hole in that test. (7) PASSA-GRILLE BEACH was fourth in that same event that my top pick comes out of and won a NW5000L4 event at the Meadowlands back in late October. (1) REVOLT roared from eighth to third in the final quarter a week ago and starts from the pole tonight in his second start for trainer Pat Lachance. The recent addition of Lasix seems to have helped this horse.

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Race 13 - NW5000L4 Pace

(4) MR IBIZA A drops out of the NW7500L4 class after finishing fifth last Saturday and is making his third start back after a layoff tonight. (2) LYRICAL GENIUS A turned in a strong performance in his U.S. debut a week ago as he rallied to get runner-up honors. He moves down from the NW7500L4 level and moves inside on the gate here. (1) STONEBRIDGE REEF is another horse with a class drop/post relief combo, and he has plenty of success at the Meadowlands before.

Race 14 - TrackMaster Rating 74 or Less as of 12-5-23 Pace

Plainridge shippers are usually not my cup of tea, but (3) IMABEACHBOY is one I'm willing to give a chance as he has an always usable angle in that he's a first-time starter for trainer Izzy Estrada. (5) ISITFRIDAYYET also invades from Plainridge and changes barns to Travis Alexander. Alexander has been sending out lots of live horses over at Yonkers lately, so I'll include him, too. (2) ITHACA HANOVER finds a softer spot here than the $20,000 claiming handicap tilt he was in a week ago, makes his second start back off the bench and has post relief.