It is not hyperbole to say Sunday’s races at Gulfstream Park are collectively the best since Florida Derby Day at the track in late March. The 12-race card offers nine stakes, three of which are graded.
There are stakes for babies, turf stakes, and of course, the traditional Summit of Speed dirt races, which for years were run at Calder.
I am most intrigued by value plays in the following races:
Race 6: Bob Umphrey Turf Sprint
It's a star-spangled, stakes-laden extravaganza at Belmont on the Fourth of July.
I will key the following horses in multiple-race wagers and will play them to win if they meet my personal value line requirements:
Race 11, Belmont Sprint Championship - The Big Beast (2) - Morning Line (7-2) - Value Line (5-2)
My focus for this Los Alamitos program will be the end-of-the-day pick four (races 6-9) as it appears to offer some opportunities. While there may be some confusing aspects to three of the legs (maiden races in legs 1 and 2, then restricted claimers in leg 4), a short field with a couple strong combatants in the Los Alamitos Derby (leg 3) may allow you to branch out in those other races to try to snag a price.
Race 6
Our juvenile Pick last week, Cajun Schill, ran a very good race finishing second at a distance not suitable to him, while our 3-year-old Pick, Magnettes, apparently did not care to be competitive at all. Such is horse racing. Still, 10 of the 3-year-old BreezeFigs maidens won last week, at Belmont (two), Delaware, Gulfstream (three), Monmouth, Penn National and Woodbine. On the juvenile side five broke through with initial victories at Belmont (a $53 BreezeFigs exacta on Sunday), Gulfs
The Independence Day card at Belmont Park is filled with quality, and the late pick four could prove to be a lucrative one – if you can beat one (or two) of the likely heavy favorites throughout the sequence. The late pick four consists of races 8-11.
Race 8, Belmont Derby
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Nite Delite (#2, ML 5-2) returns in Thursday’s eighth race at Los Alamitos Race Course, a six-furlong maiden special weight race. It will be her first start since finishing fifth by four lengths in a maiden special weight race May 23 at Santa Anita. The first-, third-, and sixth-place finishers from that race came back to win their next starts.
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MILES SISTER
Trainer: Cliff Sise
Last race: June 25, 5th
Finish: 3rd by 3 3/4
Beyer: 49
A 2-year-old first-time starter, this filly lacked speed, raced wide, and finished okay. A full sibling to stakes winner Mile Rules, she is likely to produce more speed next out.