Any turf race where the top two choices on the morning line are unproven on the surface should be a prime betting opportunity for value-oriented players.
Although both Paddington and Irish Laddie have been keeping classy company on dirt, each is an unknown commodity on grass, and they appear vulnerable at probable short odds in Sunday's $75,000 Nick Shuk Memorial, a 1 1/16-mile turf race for 3-year-olds at Delaware Park.
The $2 will-pays for the Acorn-Belmont Stakes Double, Acorn winner Island Sand with Belmont Stakes starters:
1 Master David - $321
2 Purge - $134
3 Caiman - $1834
4 Birdstone - $466
5 Rock Hard Ten - $96
6 Royal Assault - $524
7 Tap Dancer - $1848
8 Eddington - $172
9 Smarty Jones - $15
SAN MATEO, Calif. - The claiming game is not for the timid, and it is being played hard these days in northern California.
"It's like Russian roulette," said trainer Brian Koriner, who in 2000 claimed Hoovergetthekeys for $32,000 and turned him into a multiple graded-stakes winner.
Through the first two months (41 racing days) of the current Bay Meadows meeting, 243 horses have been claimed for a total of $3,013,200. On the four days from Friday through Memorial Day, 33 horses were claimed for $373,600. There were multiple claims on nearly half of the horses.
ETOBICOKE, Ontario - Niigon and Alleged Ruler both wintered in Florida and have spent very little time at Woodbine since returning to Ontario, lodging and training at nearby Chiefswood Farm.
But both Niigon and Alleged Ruler have made their presence felt when they did appear here, and if all goes well they could give Chiefswood and trainer Eric Coatrieux a one-two punch for the $1 million Queen's Plate June 27.
FORT ERIE, Ontario - Rundle, a close second to Woodbine shipper Krz Ruckus here May 10, heads a seven-horse field Sunday in the $40,000 Expedite Plus at Fort Erie, the first of 24 stakes scheduled for the meet.
The five-furlong Expedite Plus, restricted to horses who have had at least three starts here in 2003-2004, is one of 12 "in-house" stakes in which specified previous starts at the track are required for eligibility.
There is an additional bonus of up to $20,000 for Canadian-breds, offered by the Canadian Thoroughbred Horse Society.
ELMONT, N.Y. - There is no clear-cut leader in the male turf division, but on Saturday at Belmont Park the winner of the Grade 1 Manhattan Handicap could stake claim to the top spot.
The horse who will be the favorite among 10 runners in the $400,000 Manhattan is Stroll, the 121-pound highweight. Stroll is part of a distinguished cast in the 1 1/4-mile grass race. Each of the runners is a graded stakes winner and some are coming off career-best efforts.
ELMONT, N.Y. - Take a hot trainer, add in a talented horse who gets in light and looms the main speed, and you have a pretty salty contender for Saturday's Grade 2, $250,000 Riva Ridge Stakes at Belmont Park.
After beginning the meet 3 for 22, trainer Todd Pletcher has won with 8 of the last 22 horses he has saddled at Belmont since May 21. Pletcher entered both in the Riva Ridge, but plans to only run Value Plus. Either one would be the horse to catch and beat in the seven-furlong race.
ELMONT, N.Y. - It's tough enough to compete against trainer Bobby Frankel when he has one of his female turf runners in a stakes race. It's double trouble in Saturday's $250,000 Just a Game Breeders' Cup Handicap at Belmont Park, in which Frankel sends out the Juddmonte Farms-owned entry of .
A brilliant seven-furlong horse is not necessarily a brilliant six-furlong horse. And while trainer Todd Pletcher knows he has a brilliant seven-furlong specialist in the talented Speightstown, he's eager to find out whether the horse can pay dividends at six furlongs, where the rewards are potentially far greater.