Meadowlands: Analysis for Saturday 2/20

MEET STATS: 64 - 283 / $423.40 (-$142.60)
BEST BETS: 9 - 21 / $32.20 (-$9.80)
SPOT PLAYS: 4 - 21 / $75.80 (+$33.80)
BEST BET - FOCUS POCUS (4th)
SPOT PLAY - GODS SPIRIT N (8th)

Race 1 - NW7500L5 Pace

(7) GLOBALDOMINATION N sharpened up his speed with a brush-and-fade effort last Saturday and is worth another shot as he gets additional class relief tonight. (4) HEZA REAL DIAMOND is getting a fresh set of hands tonight with Dexter Dunn taking over. We've seen that work with others horses time and again, and I'll bank on it happening here and include. (3) STONEDUST is an underneath-type only, and I will include since this is the class where he's done his best racing.

Race 2 - Winners of 2 But Not More Than 4 Extended PM Races LT/NW35000LT Pace

(1) ENVIRONS HANOVER qualified in eye-catching fashion last Saturday and took a quick mark at Harrah's Philadelphia last year. This is a pretty wide-open group it looks like, so I'll give him a shot. (4) BIG CITY BUD beat NW2's here on 1-23 and has a second and a fourth since then in this class. (3) UNIQUE BEACH finished out his mile in 26 4/5 on February 6 and has the potent tandem of Dunn and trainer Nifty Norman going for him.

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

Race 3 - NW4500L5/Winners Base Class NW3500 or Less Last Start/15000CLM Pace

(1) BRUCE'S MAGIC is a horse we've seen win at the Meadowlands many times before, and he meets up with a beatable crew here from the pole. Andrew McCarthy has gotten along with him well in the past and gets in the bike here. (7) CHEYENNE RYAN LEE scored his last win in the NW4500L5 class and finally gets to return to it here after finding the NW7500L5's too tough. (10) ODDS ON LAUDERDALE moves up a level and from the pole to post ten, but that was a nice win over NW2500L5's last Saturday, and it looked like he had something left.

Race 4 - Winners of 2 But Not More Than 4 Extended PM Races LT / NW2/20000LT Drawn Outside Trot

(8) FOCUS POCUS scored convincingly over NW4 foes at Pocono a week ago, and if anything, this is a drop from that class here. (4) BEYOND ORDINARY is back after a couple of tries down at Dover. He topped NW3's at the Meadowlands in mid-January and appears to be a contender. (5) MISS MCKEE finished a solid second to the well-meant Chaptiama last Saturday and remains at the same level tonight.

Race 5 - 12500-15000CLM HCP Pace

(9) FOREVERNALWAYS wound up way too far back a week ago and had to settle for rallying from 11th to fifth in the last quarter. He faces a softer group tonight, and I have to think he'll be switching tactics back to being on or near the lead. (3) RUTHLESS DUDE has a win and a pair of thirds in his last two and was pretty game last Friday, taking command from first-over in the stretch before being caught. (1) MCNULTY Z TAM shows a couple of tough trip lines that could easily be excused. He was victorious back on the 30th of January and might appreciate getting to start from an inside draw.

Race 6 - NW11500L5/NW7/Starters Big Game Final or Consolation Starters Pace *$50K GTD Pick 4 Pool*

(2) DECISION DAY posted back-to-back 26 and change final quarters against better in his last pair and drops into a winnable race tonight. (5) WESTERN FAME picked up some confidence with a crunching win over NW9000L5's at Pocono. He bottomed out that group on the front-end, and he'll probably be on the lead in this event, too. (6) GOOD ROCKIN changed tactics to a much more aggressive approach last week, and it did not work out well. I think he'll be back to racing off-the-pace tonight and drew an inside post for that approach.

Race 7 - NW11500L5/Winners Base Class NW8000 or Less Last Start/NW35000 in 2020-21 Trot

(7) HENDERSON SEELSTER might get a chance on the lead tonight the way this race looks, and he's always done his best racing when he can get there. He's pretty sharp right now and is overdue to win. (4) DOUBLE ACCOUNT finished a gaining third to stablemate Kenziesky Hanover when he returned to this class a week ago and has post relief. (5) PAPPY GO GO receives the class relief he's been in search of here as he's faced tougher both locally and at Yonkers since finishing second at this level on 12-26.

Race 8 - NW11500L5/NW7/Starters Big Game Final or Consolation Starters Pace

(9) GODS SPIRIT N will be a bet-back for me here after he roared home from ninth to third in the final half of his mile a couple weeks ago. (6) ALWAYS AND AGAIN got a shot with Dunn last Saturday and won in a life's-best effort. He raced well at this level back on 1-23, gaining from seventh to third in the final quarter. (1) LEVINE lost all chance a week ago when he got shuffled from first to eighth in the middle-half. He closed out his mile well to grab second behind Always And Again, and any smoother trip here raises his profile.

Race 9 - Play Meadowlands Final Pace

(5) COLOSSAL STRIDE A showed up last Saturday with just one qualifier at Miami Valley on 1-20 since arriving from Australia, but it didn't matter as he rallied to win anyway. I imagine he should be sharper tonight with the start under his belt, and he drew well, too. (7) NUTCRACKER SWEET suffered a tough beat a week ago when he got caught at the wire after taking the lead in the lane following an extended first-over grind. He's definitely a usable horse. (3) SADIQ HANOVER has gotten along well with Scott Zeron, winning over NW2500L5's and backing that up with a second-place performance behind my top pick last week.

Race 10 - Winners Over 11500L5/Winners Over 50000LT Trot *$50K GTD Pick 4 Pool*

(2) BUCK DANCER changes drivers to Andrew McCarthy tonight. McCarthy drove him to his last victory with aggressive handling on 1-23, and hopefully he makes a difference here. (1) SCIROCCO ROB put in an excellent effort a week ago to finish second to JL Cruze after making the lead in the stretch. JL Cruze is taking the week off, so I imagine the connections are pretty keen on taking advantage. (5) MELADY'S MONET makes a rare pari-mutuel appearance at the Meadowlands tonight. He usually races on the half-mile ovals at Freehold or Yonkers and comes in having won three of four at those two tracks in 2021.

Race 11 - NW7500L5 Pace

(9) BILLY LINCOLN N lost his chances past the start at Pocono last Saturday when he made an interference break. I remember his qualifier here at the Meadowlands on 1-30 being quite good, and he races for a trainer in Tahnee Camilleri who is capable of having one ready to fire a big mile. (1) AMERICAN BOY N looks more attractive as a win option tonight as he drops back to the level of his last victory on the 16th of January. (7) ON ACCIDENT also slides down in class after facing off against NW11500L5's in his last pair. His one chance against NW7500L5's on 1-23 resulted in a second-place finish.

Race 12 - NW7500L5/NW $1 L3/20000CLM Trot

(4) EXPLOSIVE RIDGE drops, moves inside on the gate, and gets reunited with Corey Callahan tonight. Those are all things going in his favor, and I'll put on top. (3) COOL CLIFFORD raced well in his Meadowlands debut last Saturday, finishing fourth after taking a shuffle. He gets class relief and moves away from the likes of Get Legs. (8) SKY CASTLES exits the same race as Cool Clifford. He makes his third start off a layoff tonight and has been in pretty tough spots thus far.

Race 13 - NW2500L5/Winners TrackMaster Rating 73 Last Start Pace

(6) TJ BLAST improved significantly last Saturday in his third chance against NW2500L5's. He remains at the bottom level tonight, and trainer Dennis Watson had an impressive winner in Lyons Steel a week ago. (1) OHIO VINTAGE paced home in 27 and change in his last couple against NW4500L5's and the drop from that class to the NW2500L5's is usually significant. (3) SMILEANDSAYCHEESE was a good second two back and then ran into Nutcracker Sweet, who stomped that group on 1-29. Hopefully there's no lingering issue after the sick scratch a week ago.

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

Race 14 - Winners Over 11500L5 Pace

(4) ITALIAN DELIGHT N appeared to have pace last Saturday but was blocked in the lane after taking a shuffle. He's worth another chance tonight in the hopes of a clear trip. (7) SPRINGSTEEN isn't always the most reliable horse, but he won two back and returned last Saturday with another quality effort, finishing second. Watch for him to rally off cover. (2) MY PAL JOE takes on a group of mostly older foes here, but you have to respect how sharp he's been for an extended period of time.

Race 15 - 10000CLM Pace

(7) PANTHER'S PINOT had something go wrong at Pocono on Sunday as he finished distanced, but I guess it must not be serious since he's right back in the box. His mile two back at the Meadowlands was quite promising as he closed in 27 seconds against better, and anything like that performance would make him a threat in this class. (2) PIRATES ALLEY found pretty deep water in the NW8000L5 and NW6000L5 classes at Freehold in his last couple. I believe this is a signifcantly easier spot, and the horse took his mark on the mile track at Hawthorne last year. (5) DULL ROAR downed $10,000 claimers last Saturday when Dunn gave him the second-over trip. I couldn't blame anyone for giving him another chance tonight.