A big recent winner at Los Alamitos could prove key for a late pick three on the Sunday card (races 7-9) that also incorporates a competitive Grade 2 San Clemente renewal and a contentious, full-fielded restricted claimer.

So much for the hope that rain would stay away through Saturday and leave the turf portion of the Indiana Derby card alone. Nope. Indiana Grand is getting pounded again Friday, the $100,000 Ta Wee Stakes late in the card had to be taken off turf, and I think it is highly doubtful that grass racing will be conducted Saturday.

On turf in Race 1, I was going to play GOING BALLISTIC (#5, 12-1) to win and place and bet him in exactas, but if the race is rained onto dirt or run on a soft course, I will watch instead.

The marquee race of the Delaware Park meet is the Grade 1 Delaware Handicap, and the pick four ending with that event looks very playable indeed:

RACE 7: Really like MY TEAM (#6) as the main speed in the Kent, but not enough to hang the whole piñata on him. So I will also include SYNTAX (#5), an impressive winner of a Belmont allowance last time despite slow fractions up front, as well as ALL I KARABOUT (#8), who was second behind Syntax in that first-level allowance as the favorite.

The later races on the final Saturday of the Belmont meet appear extremely tough, so I’ll pick my spots early by pairing up a race 2 single with the two favorites in the Saginaw (race 3) and spreading elsewhere in trying to nail a caveman-style pick five.

Every once in a while there’s a horse on a particular card on which you can key your day. The horse has all sorts of positives for said race, but it’s also the placement of his race on the card and the attractiveness of others racing against him that allow him to be your linchpin for numerous multi-race and in-race wagers. We may have such a situation Saturday at Del Mar with ERNEST SHACKLETON in race 6.

Despite some short fields on the card, the placement of his race provides some opportunities.

Trainer Stephen Dunn saddles Help the Children (#4, ML 15-1) in Friday's seventh race at Indiana Grand, the five-furlong Brandywine Stakes on turf. Since Jan., 1, 2014, Dunn is winning at a 48 percent clip in turf races, for a return on investment of $5.16.

Check out the Positive ROI report as part of DRF Plus.

Printasticat (#1, ML 6-1) returns in Friday's ninth race at Monmouth Park, a six-furlong optional claimer. It will be her first start since finishing first by 1 1/4 lengths in an optional claimer June 6 at Monmouth Park. The second- and fourth-place finishers from that race came back to win their next starts.

Get the Key Race report as part of DRF Plus.

Lesson from last week: Two-year-olds will be two-year-olds.  Our strong Pick, Parker Lily, hit the gate at the start and lost most of her momentum but still managed to finish second to a 28-to-1 shot as the favorite, which if you keyed her returned at least $154 for an exacta.  So much for leftovers.  Sticking with the babies, Cajun Schill, our Pick a couple of weeks ago, came back quickly to score by five at Gulfstream, and there was a $16 BreezeFigs exacta at Monmouth last Saturday as well.  There were three oth

Although not long on quality – no surprise there, what with the stakes-loaded Stars and Stripes Festival happening just two weeks ago and Saratoga opening next week – the final Saturday card of the Belmont Park spring-summer meet does have a few races I found interesting. So, I’ll center my pari-mutuel day, at least in terms of Belmont, around them. Here they are: