Yonkers: Analysis for Wednesday 10/20

MEET STATS: 234 - 789 / $1,305.30 (-$272.70)
BEST BETS: 39 - 73 / $128.80 (-$17.20)
SPOT PLAYS: 8 - 73 / $56.30 (-$89.70)
BEST BET - HUNTING AS (2nd)
SPOT PLAY - MY MIND IS MADEUP (6th)

Race 1 - F&M NW2/25000LT Pace

(2) EARLYBIRD SPECIAL closed well to finish second when partnered with Jordan Stratton on 10-6, and he's back in the bike tonight. (3) AERIAL VIEW owns six wins, which sticks out in this class, and debuts for trainer Gil Garcia-Herrera. She comes in off back-to-back wide trips. (6) BEACHBLANKETLINDY remains in search of her first victory of 2021 but often hits the board like she did a week ago.

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Race 2 - NW5000L5/12500CLM Trot

(3) HUNTING AS has the drop/improved post combo going for him and probably needs to take advantage. (2) SHOWMEYOURGUNS showed positive intent by blasting out last week from post seven. He moves inside on the gate tonight and has Joe Bongiorno to drive again. (6) MIGHTY SURF was a good second in this class the last time she raced at Yonkers and returns tonight after competing in the Open at Monticello recently.

Race 3 - F&M NW5000L5/12500CLM Pace

(3) QUITE A DELIGHT N paced a 27 and change final quarter on 10-7 and gets to slide inside on the gate tonight. (6) TELL ME A JOKE drops to the bottom level and gets a pilot change to Bongiorno, perhaps signaling she's going to gun out. (8) FREE EXCHANGE won that race my top pick comes out of, and although she moves from the pole position to post eight, she's pretty sharp and can definitely be included.

Race 4 - 25000CLM Pace

(4) THISJETSABOOKIN drops out of the $30,000 claimers in his third start for trainer Nick Devita, and I'll swing with him. (5) HASH-TAG SWAG is one of the very few horses out of the Bongiorno barn that hasn't been able to find the winner's circle, but he has hit the board in four of his last five. (3) ARCANE SEELSTER held second after cutting the fractions last Wednesday and was Matt Kakaley's choice.

Race 5 - NW5500L5/12500CLM Trot

(3) THANKS FOR LEAVING invades from Saratoga and is now with Devita. She showed enough in the corresponding class to this one up north to make me head in her direction, especially with her new driver/trainer. (2) WHETHER OR NOT FI is capable of winning at this level if he minds his manners again like he did a week ago. He gets another pilot with Scott Zeron taking over. (6) MAKING SPARKS aimed pretty high against NW4's on 10-7, but he's hit the board in his last two tries in this class.

Race 6 - 25000CLM Pace

(7) MY MIND IS MADEUP will need them to mix it up on the lead, but I see that as a distinct possibility in here, and he did gain from sixth to third in the last quarter against $25,000 claimers on 10-1. (2) BAMSKI went down the road and dug in gamely to win in his debut for these connections a week ago. (4) UNICO LEGEND N has three straight third-place results and was Stratton's pick over others.

Race 7 - 30000CLM Pace

(3) KASEY JOHN A starts for a high-percentage operation off the claim here and also has an improved post from his last try on 10-11. (5) BLUEBIRD RECON was a solid third in his debut for trainer Travis Alexander in the same event my top pick exits, and he might have needed that effort off the sick scratched on September 27. (6) SPORTSKEEPER drops out of the $40,000 claimers. It's hard to discount any Devita starter, so I'll include.

Race 8 - F&M NW7/75000LT Pace

(2) PODIUM GIRL should appreciate getting to exit stakes company, and I was impressed by her second-place finish to the talented Grace Hill two back at Freehold. (4) MILIEU HANOVER appears to be another contender for Devita tonight as she won at Yonkers on 9-22 and then overcame post eight a week ago to get a third-place finish. (3) DELIGHTFUL Z TAM never got involved in that same race Milieu Hanover comes out of. She was too far back, but was much closer to the action prior to that, and she could definitely switch back to those tactics.

Race 9 - 50000CLM Trot

(6) BLENHEIM took plenty of wagering attention a week ago but lost all chance when he broke on the last turn. That looks pretty out of character and might inflate his price a bit here, so I'll give him a try. (1) BLUE AND BOLD won pretty handily at this level last Wednesday and has the pole to make him even more imposing. (4) BLUFFINNER was third to Blue And Bold on 10-13 and gets another shot with George Brennan.

Race 10 - NW4/50000LT Pace

(5) VIOLETS RAINBOW prevailed in her first start at Yonkers and out of the high-percentage Jared Bako barn on October. She was my top choice that night and will be again here. (2) SHE KNOWS IT ALL was second to Violets Rainbow when they matched up on 10-6, and I will look for the same result. (3) KEYSTONE DELIGHT moves up from the NW2's, but she was able to overcome post eight to win on the 6th of October and picks up Joe Bongiorno.

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Race 11 - NW10000L5/Winners in Last Start of the Base Class NW7500L5/20000CLM Trot

(3) SWAN BEFORE ALL was a strong second from first-over the last time he raced at this level on 9-8, and hopefully he continues to offer some good value. (6) WARRAWEE SHIPSHAPE won on October 6 after changing up the strategy to race from off-the-pace. Obviously he packs strongly early foot, too, giving Stratton options with im. (7) CASINO CUITE IT owns a pretty good history at Yonkers. She returns from Pocono tonight and meets a group I think she can compete with.

Race 12 - F&M NW4/50000LT Pace

(7) DASHINTOTHEBEACH N missed a scheduled start last week and has now been off since 9-29, but her U.S. debut that night was quite good, and her qualifier at Pocono before that was very sharp, too, so I will swing. (2) FRENCH SHAKER has a second and two wins since joining the Bongiorno barn and won over NW4's last Wednesday. (1) MORROCKIN K gets to slide down from the NW6 class after finishing third a week ago.