Saturday, Nov. 22

Gulfstream Park West - Tropical Turf Handicap (race 7)

COMMENT: Lubash, known primarily for so much good work versus NY-breds in New York, showed he could take his show on the road as the veteran became a millionaire with a game tally. He sat fourth as Reporting Star went out to a long early lead. That advantage quickly diminished as the field moved closer to Reporting Star, and Lubash remained in stalking mode, angled out into the lane, and came home resolutely to get the win.

When I do this “Pick X” feature for DRF.com, I try to go for something with the potential for a bigger payoff such as a pick five or a pick four. Unfortunately, I can’t do that for Sunday’s card at Aqueduct. Not with the way this card is constructed.

While always looking for opportunities to play multi-race exotics in the quest of winning a lot for a little, that’s not happening for me in Sunday’s early pick four, or the pick five because of the dastardly positioning of a maiden race for 2-year-olds as the anchor leg.

Some favorites are solid, others are vulnerable. It helps to know the difference, don’t you think? Sunday at Del Mar includes some of both.

Race 4 is the first leg of the pick six, and program favorite NIGHTTIMING (1) appears formidable. She crushed a special-weight race last out, yet is eligible to this starter allowance (non-winners two that started for $40,000 or less, $50,000 statebreds) because she ran for a $30,000 tag way back in February.

I’m a player who usually focuses on early in the card (pick five, early pick four), or late in the card (late pick four). But the card Saturday at Aqueduct is a little different. I find my attention drawn toward the middle of the program, specifically races 5 and 6.

The fifth race is the female division of a New York Stallion Series stakes, and the horse I want to leverage is Sunny Desert.

Let’s try a pick three for Saturday at Aqueduct.

The fifth race is the filly and mare division of the New York Stallion Series, and I will try and beat the morning line favorite, SUNNY DESERT (6). A multiple stakes winner, Sunny Desert loves Aqueduct and certainly has the back class to win this race. But she hasn’t reached the winner’s circle since being transferred to trainer Bruce Levine from the now-retired John Parisella, and I wonder if she’s getting a bit long in the tooth as she closes in on her sixth birthday.

A middle-of-the-card pick three (races 4-6) holds some interest on Sunday because it does not include a maiden race, so you have some established form on which to base your wager.

Race 4

Although there are small fields throughout Saturday’s card at Del Mar, I do believe there are two decent wagering opportunities – one being the 50-cent pick five, the other being the featured event on the card, the Grade 3 Red Carpet Handicap.

Let’s start off with the pick five using DRF TicketMaker.

:: Build your pick five ticket with DRF TicketMaker

RACE 1

DEL MAR, Calif. – A conservative pick three wager Saturday at Del Mar spices up the middle of the card. At $1 minimum, the bet cost is $15. The payoff could be anywhere from $50 to $250.

The bet begins with a single in the first leg, three deep in the next, and five deep to finish it off.

Race 4: Single

First of all, Happy Thanksgiving!  Secondly, it wasn’t a total loss when it came to our Pick last week—if you liked the favorite, who wasn’t a BreezeFigs horse, and you also liked the two we really liked and one we didn’t care for all that much but had the experience, you might have hit an exacta, trifecta and/or superfecta since BreezeFigs horses finished second, third, fourth.  How’s that for red-boarding?  In any case, it was another very good week for BreezeFigs maidens with 20 of them winning across