Horse Racing: Garrity picks 3 in Texas and signals in on Marconi

It's been warmer here in the Northeast the past few days, and while it's still winter, the sunshine and the more pleasant temperatures have got us thinking of spring, of rapidly-developing three-year-olds, sunshine, grass racing, and the end of the winter doldrums. And what says spring more than a dozen Thoroughbreds in full flight, preferably with the one you picked making a charge on the outside?

With that in mind, we will head to Sam Houston Race Park in Texas, where there's a good midweek Thoroughbred card with some interesting and bettable races.

Race 2 (post time 1:50 pm Eastern) is a $10,000 claiming sprint for older horses at 6 furlongs on the main track. There are two horses here who look better than the rest, the 1-Lookiecookie (7/5 morning line) and 5-Get the Bling (9/5). They have similar speed figures, but we like the No. 1: He has more tactical early speed than the 5, and we think that will make the difference today. We will bet $15 to win on Lookiecookie.

The 5th (post time 3:20 pm Eastern) is a mile on the grass for three-year-olds, $50,000 maiden claimers. We like a horse at a big price here: 3-Mister Strange is 20-1 on the morning line, and a cursory look at his race record would justify that: he finished dead last in a maiden race at Remington Park in October. On that basis, he'd be a throw-out. But there are several signs that we like: out of English Channel and a Galileo mare, he's bred to love the grass; he makes his first start for a new trainer; he gets Lasix for the first time; and his work tab shows steady, if not spectacular, morning breezes. In a race that lacks a standout favorite, we think he's worth a shot, so we will bet $15 on Mister Strange.

The 7th (post time 4:20 pm Eastern) is another mile turf race, an allowance/optional $35k claimer for older males. We like 2-Humor: He’s been running against tougher, at the Fair Grounds and Remington Park, but here drops in for a tag. We think he will find this lesser company to his liking, and we will take his 3-1 price, and bet $10 to win on Humor.

There's also one race that we want to play in South Florida. Gulfstream Park’s feature race today is the 9th (post time 4:41 pm Eastern), and it is another allowance/optional claiming race for older horses, a one-turn dirt mile. We love 6-Marconi: He was last seen on last year's Kentucky Derby trail; he got hurt in the Blue Grass Stakes in April, and has been away since. He has always been highly regarded -- he sold for $2,000,000 as a yearling, is trained by Todd Pletcher -- and he has been absolutely tearing it up in the morning: his workout tab shows a horse who is fit, and raring to go. We think this is a very soft spot for a horse with his ability, and we are giddy over his 7/2 morning line. We will bet $25 to win on Marconi, and say a novena that he goes off even remotely close to that price.

That's it for today. Good luck at the windows.