Yonkers: Analysis for Thursday 5/2

MEET STATS: 77 - 277 / $480.80 (-$73.20)

BEST BETS: 17 - 27 / $68.40 (+$14.40)

SPOT PLAYS: 5 - 27 / $76.40 (+$22.40)

BEST BET-LAZ (11th)

SPOT PLAY-DYLADMAR (7th)

Race 1 - 40000CLM Trot

(1) MAX was competitive against NW15000L5 foes in two tries at Yonkers and returns here after finishing fifth in a track record mile down at Harrah's Philadelphia most recently. (4) ALL CHAMPY responded to an aggressive drive and won last Thursday. He is definitely usable again here as he should have picked up some confidence and raced well at higher levels than this in an excellent campaign in 2023. (7) DARBYSHIRE ships north from Delaware and Harrah's Philadelphia. He shows racing multiple times in the Open Handicap at Dover, so I have to think this class is a good fit for him.

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Race 2 - NW30000L5/NW12 PM Races LT/75000CLM Trot

(5) KEG STAND tallied in this class a couple weeks ago, and I will look for him to do the same here against several rivals that are stepping up the ladder. (4) HERODOTUS qualified well at Harrah's Philadelphia and makes his 2024 debut tonight. He finished off last year in the Open Handicap at Yonkers and earned over $250K during his season. (3) JULA MUSCLE PACK moves up from the NW2000L5's but has hit the board in three straight, including victories two and three starts back.

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Race 3 - 30000CLM Pace

(3) ON THE VIRG finally has a good draw tonight after a series of outside posts and has finished off his last two miles with solid final quarters. (2) KERFORD ROAD A comes in with four straight victories at this level and knows where the wire is as his last three tallies have come by a neck, a head and a nose. (6) HURRIKANEKINGJAMES came up just a nostril shy of defeating KERFORD ROAD A last Thursday and has been inside the top three in four of his last five appearances.

Race 4 - Invitational Trot

(3) NOWS THE MOMENT moves inside on the gate tonight, and I have to believe he's going back to being fired out of there after a couple of off-the-pace tries, especially since the likes of Hillexotic aren't in here. (5) SWAN IN MOTION finished with a strong kick to finish second in the Invitational a week ago and had great form down in Delaware prior to that. (6) I GET IT was third in the same event that SWAN IN MOTION exits and did tally in the Invitational back in late March.

Race 5 - 40000CLM Trot

(4) BAR COINS makes his fourth start back after a layoff tonight and gets some post relief to go with it. I think he'll continue to offer value and hopefully is ready to switch back to aggressive tactics. (3) MANCLANE has hit the board in four straight tries, including twice from the eight-hole in this class. He moves way inside on the starting gate this time. (2) THE BALLYKEEL DEAL was a solid second to the classy All Champy at this level last Thursday and drew another inside starting spot.

Race 6 - NAADA Amateur Spring Series Leg #8 Trot

(6) BEACON BEACH switches to the amateur races tonight and looks like he's been facing way tougher foes in his recent outings than he does tonight. I'll use based on that. (3) DOO WOP KID exits the top level over at Monticello, and trainer Alan Schwartz has sent out a few other live horses in this series thus far. (1) MUSCLE DAN overcame a break before the start to finish third last Thursday and starts from the pole here. He's been in good form in this series both here and over at Monticello.

Race 7 - John Brennan Series Consolation Trot

(4) DYLADMAR looked like to me he was full of trot in the pocket last week but miscued on the final turn as he was getting ready to angle out. I'll look for him to bounce back and hope gets a similar trip. (6) SEA CAN had enough points to make the final but was forced into the consolation as trainer Ron Burke had another entrant in the final. I expect he'll be heavily favored again. (5) IMMANUEL K S put in three good efforts in the prelims and gets to slide in a bit on the starting gate this time.

Race 8 - John Brennan Series Final Trot

(2) TACHYON came up empty on the front-end in the lane last week, but he gets significant post relief here, and I think he looked like the best horse in this event prior to that most recent attempt. I think that might inflate his price a bit and I'll swing with him. (6) WARRAWEE YANG is on a lengthy win streak, including a three-for-three run through the prelims. I can't knock him at all and will include. (8) ROYALTY BEER drew the eight-hole but has five straight finishes in the trifecta and had two wins and a second to WARRAWEE YANG in the prelims of this series. I'll bank on him working out a trip and toss him in.

Race 9 - John Brennan Series Consolation #2 Trot

(7) COVENTRY HALL starts from a poor post but has easily the best results in the prelims out of the horses in this race, and I'll make him my top selection based on that. (4) CAL MILES N SHELL didn't make much noise in this series in the first two rounds but won an overnight race impressively last Wednesday. (5) BLACK TIE BASH was second in a NW20000L5 tilt a week ago and did gain ground in the final quarters of both of his series tries.

Race 10 - F&M Invitational Trot

(1) PERFECT VIXEN owns a victory in this class back on 3-21 and doesn't have to face the tough Tipsy Moni this time after finishing third to her last week. (6) P L NOTSONICE starts from the outside but won the F&M Invitational two weeks ago and was second to Tipsy Moni most recently. (2) NO MAS DRAMA closed out her mile in 28 and change last Thursday, and she's certainly capable of firing out of there and cutting the mile if the connections wish to switch back to more aggressive tactics.

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Race 11 - 3-5YO 30000CLM Pace

(1) LAZ finished out his mile very well last Thursday in a fourth-place result and did win in this class back in late March. He moves in from post seven to the pole here as well. (4) BIG DREAM FELLA has been very sharp outside of the one start where he miscued on 3-28. He was uncovered a week ago but kept trying all the way to the finish and came up just a neck shy of winning. (7) FINAL CHEESERECIPE moves outside on the gate this time but held off BIG DREAM FELLA to win last week and was a rallying second at this level prior to that.

Race 12 - NW22951L5/Winners in the Last Start of the Base Class NW15000L5/NW10 PM Races LT/60000CLM Trot

(2) DW'S POINT MAN scored the last time he raced in this class back on 3-14 and has been facing tougher rivals since then. (1) STORMONT DIVIDE comes in from Pocono having won five straight races and six out of his last seven tries. This will be the first time he's raced on a half-mile track in his career, but that's the only possible negative I can find. (4) OUTSIDE THE FIRE put in a strong performance last time out at Harrah's Philadelphia, finishing second in a track record mile by the winner. I will note that he has struggled with breaks at Yonkers this year