A recent Eclipse Award-winning trainer has on several occasions expressed his deep preference for running dirt horses. Less chaos, less randomness than with grass horses. Too much of turf racing comes down to luck. Welp. We got three grass races in the hopper this week. Let’s get lucky.

Yellow Ribbon

At first glance, the Yellow Ribbon came forth as a blank, unsolvable puzzle. No pace. Not much separating the recent form of many. Clearly, Heredia at her best wins. The issue: Heredia’s best came 22 months ago running a straight-course mile at Newmarket.

We’re rolling now. From Sovereignty and Nysos a week ago to a wonderful Whitney Day card at Saratoga and a fine renewal of the Clement Hirsch at Del Mar. Good racing is always better when you’re cashing tickets.

Clement Hirsch

Handicappers can access more information than ever in their quest to correctly parse form. Sometimes an ocean of data can drown obvious considerations.

Take the Clement Hirsch – take it at face value.