Yonkers: Analysis for Wednesday 2/21

MEET STATS: 17 - 84 / $91.30 (-$76.60)
BEST BETS: 2 - 8 / $9.20 (-$6.80)
SPOT PLAYS: 0 - 8 / $0.00 (-$16.00)
BEST BET - WICHITA LINEMAN (11th)
SPOT PLAY - BOOM TOWN BOY (6th)

Race 1 - Stake Your Claim 15000CLM / 20000CLM Price Pace

(2) ZIGGY SKY got locked in the pocket until it was too late last week and had to settle for third. I'll give him another shot as he was Matt Kakaley's choice and hopefully he can get a clean trip. (3) I'M J BEE N is riding a two-race win streak in this class and goes for trainer Nick Devita here after being claimed on 2-7. (5) LIBERTY N FREEDOM gets a bit of post relief here after finishing third following a front-end try a week ago. Mark MacDonald has the call with Kakaley on my top selection.

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Race 2 - F&M NW2/25000LT / F&M NW3/29238LT Drawn Outside Pace

(1) VARSITY BLUE CHIP picked up a bunch of spots in the final quarter in her career debut last week and moves in from post eight to the pole position this time. (7) LINEMUP KNOCKMBACK went down the road to win a week ago, beating a huge favorite in the process. She was Yannick Gingras's choice of a pair in this tilt. (4) SILKEN SMILE had the one dull performance on 1-24 but hasn't missed the board other than that. She loses Gingras here but is reunited with Jason Bartlett instead.

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Race 3 - Winners of 6 but not more than 9 PM Races or 125000LT Trot

(6) DIAMANTE TRIO IT has had the misfortune of running into the blistering-hot Bontoni Degato S in her last two tries. She gets away from that rival here and is still in sharp form. (1) TACHYON woke up with a much-improved effort last week in a tougher class and was George Brennan's choice over my top selection. (3) MANCLANE is moving up from the winners of 3 but not more than 5 level but is doing so off a victory and is another horse who had to chase Bontoni Degato S in some recent efforts.

Race 4 - Winners of 3 but not more than 5 PM Races or 60000LT Trot

(4) WILD WAY makes her first start since late October here. She had a pair of solid qualifiers at Monticello and Pocono and shows a victory against NW4 company at Yonkers on 10-11. (2) CAL MILES N SHELL gained a bit of ground in the final quarter of his first effort of 2024 on 2-7 and gets another chance to partner with Jordan Stratton from an improved post. (6) BEACON BEACH finished fourth at this level on the 7th of February and did have a gap in his schedule coming into that try. He hit the board a couple of times against NW4 foes at Yonkers last fall.

Race 5 - F&M Winners of 3 but not more than 5 PM Races or 60000LT Pace

(4) FAVORITE BEACH never got involved last week from an outside draw but moves inside on the gate tonight. She won in this class on January 24 and recently added Lasix. (1) BETTA WATCH OUT N looked the part in her U.S. debut on 2-7 by scoring convincingly. She does move up the ladder here but was Bartlett's choice. (8) HURRIKANE LADY LOU took a local qualifier on the 9th of February on the front-end. She's been off since last July but did defeat NW6 company in that appearance, and driver Mark MacDonald isn't afraid to hustle one out of there.

Race 6 - Stake Your Claim 15000CLM / 20000CLM Price Pace

(2) BOOM TOWN BOY shifts to this level out of the age-restricted $30,000 claiming races. He will need a win to have any chance of making the final as this is his first start in this series and he gets a driver switch to Brennan off a rallying second-place result most recently. (1) ATLANTIS is also a first-timer in the Stake Your Claim Series and has been racing well for a number of weeks. Add in the pole position and Bartlett, and he's a logical contender. (4) CAPTAIN T HANOVER has flattened out late in his last two efforts but did tally over $15,000 claiming company on January 31.

Race 7 - NW10261L5/Winners in the Last Start of the Base Class NW7500L5 Pace

(4) HIMSELF N closed with a solid last quarter in his U.S. debut on 2-12 and advanced from eighth to fifth. He drops and gets post relief here. (7) FAMILY RECIPE cut the fractions and wound up fifth against NW15000L5 base class rivals most recently. He slides down a notch tonight and kept Gingras. This horse shows a victory in a NW30000L5 test as recently as early December. (6) REVOLT comes over from the Meadowlands with 26 and change final panels in his last three outings. I'll toss him in and hope he can rally to get on the ticket.

Race 8 - Stake Your Claim 15000CLM / 20000CLM Price Pace

(4) ITALIAN DELIGHT N enters this event off a sick scratch, but he's been so good for quite a while (including two wins over $30,000 claimers this year) that I think he's going to be too tough for this group. (1) PRESTIGE SEELSTER didn't fire in his last couple tries but was claimed by Dennis Laterza last week, and Laterza won with him back on January 31. (5) BRUSHING UP was unable to threaten from post eight on 2-7 but drew better here and was third in a $20,000 claiming event prior to that. He gets reunited with Brennan tonight.

Race 9 - Stake Your Claim 15000CLM / 20000CLM Price Pace

(4) SWAGASAURUS REX debuts for high-percentage connections off a claim here. He was third in leg one of this series, and I'll look for some improvement in his performance tonight. (3) NOB HILL FLASH owns a pair of second in his divisions of the Stake Your Claim Series thus far and gets post relief this time. (2) NEVER SAY NEVER N tallied in his 2024 debut last Wednesday and could certainly be sharper with that start under his belt.

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Race 10 - Winners of 3 but not more than 5 PM Races or 60000LT Trot

(6) I GOT THE TAB is back in action tonight after being idle since mid-November. His one local qualifier against a couple of pacers and two trotters was good enough and he shows a win in the NW6 class at Yonkers on 11-1. (1) CASSIUS hit the board in all of his efforts against NW4's at Yonkers in December and finished ahead of my top pick in their qualifier on February 9. (3) STONEBRIDGE BRAVO was a gaining second in his debut for Mickey Burke Jr. last Wednesday and might be sharper this time as he'd been off for just about a month coming into that test.

Race 11 - NW7500L5/Winners in the Last Start of the Base Class NW5000L5 Pace

(4) WICHITA LINEMAN finds a much easier spot than he's been in lately and Gingras remains at the controls. (1) SARANAC BLUE CHIP moves up from the bottom level but won on the front-end on 2-7, and the horse who was second in that tilt (Nautical Hanover) came back to tally by open lengths last week. (5) INDICTABLE HANOVER also prevailed over NW5000L5 base class rivals on February 8 and was a closing second in this class prior to that.