Thoroughbreds Wednesday: McMudder picks the card at Delaware Park and looks at four races on Friday’s card at Pimlico

Short fields and short odds. These two things typically go together as money gets concentrated on just a few horses in each race. As a result, the payouts seldom justify the investment on the longer horizontal and vertical plays. Thankfully, more turf racing helps since those fields tend to be larger, but in the meantime, Friday and Saturday bring lots of full fields at Pimlico on Maryland’s largest weekend of racing. Eliminating not-possibles and focusing on the best of the rest gets the punter to manageable race sizes. So starting below, Mick will start to break down the possible in the weekend Stakes races at Pimlico.

Picks for May 15, 2019:

The winds picked up and the track should be fast by first post.

Delaware Park Race 1
1-Trusting Friend comes back after trying Starter stakes company at Aqueduct last out. Even with that performance, this is a super consistent sort that seems to run the same race every time. He draws Alex Cintron to ride which is a positive. 4-Odds On is coming back after spending the winter on the shelf. His best puts him in the mix but these connections don’t win off the shelf very often. He may need a race. 5-His Name Is Sue arrives from Gulfstream having run just once since October. Looks to be another one that may need a race to get cranked up.
$10 W/P/S 1-Trusting Friend
$2 Exacta Box 1,4,5
$1 Trifecta Box 1,4,5

Delaware Park Race 5
6-Smokin Princess gets the outside post and keeps the rider in the family. The biggest plus is that this barn wins at 31% first off the claim and this one was claimed at the end of Tampa’s meet with Delaware in mind. 1-Sweetheart Lady ran second at this level last out and should have enough speed to take advantage of the rail. Lots of zeros in the win columns for the connections gives pause. 3-Redneck Lady finished behind the 1 last out and a similar result would not surprise here. 5-Heather Hills is a five-year-old maiden that has only been ahead at any call twice in her career. She may be a pack animal that doesn’t want to be at the front.
$10 W/P/S 6-Smokin Princess
$2 Exacta 6/1,5
$1 Trifecta 6/1,5/1,3,5
$0.10 Superfecta 6/1,5/1,3,5/1,3,5

Mick’s Quickies

Delaware Race 2
2-Jamaican Magician is today’s best bet. Trainer Andy Simoff is very good buying horses out of town and dropping them in at Delaware. This one fits the form.

Delaware Race 3
6-Thaddeus has the advantage of good recent form in this race. 5-Kowboy King may be better on most days but he will need this one after having one of his few career vacations.

Delaware Race 4
6-Starting Tour looks very well positioned for success here. She gets in light with the bug, was on the lead at this distance last out, and draws outside to ease a stalking position. Much needs to go right for any other horse to be close.

Delaware Race 6
6-Lorden’s Love is getting two things in her favor here, a cut back in distance and a weaker field. Scott Lake must know something about these kind. He has won with about 6000 of them.

Delaware Race 7
4-Creedibility combines the hottest trainer/jockey pairing in the region. Jeremy Rose is winning at 80% for Tony Pecoraro. Looks like that may go up after this race.

And now for your consideration on Friday at Pimlico:

Race 7: 3-Chalon gets a soft spot to come back to the races. Just missed in the BC Filly and Mare Sprint last out.

Race 8: 5-Congrats Gal carries local colors but needs to show that she has improved since finishing her 2-year-old campaign in November. 6-Never Enough Time looks to move up in class after dominating in her first two races. Two top Maryland barns for the exacta.

Race 10: 13-You’re to Blame seems to relish the distance and will look to pounce at the finish line, a ploy that has worked for this one on multiple occasions. This race is a stepping stone to get this guy to the breeding shed for his next career.

Race 11: 6-Always Shopping is nothing if not progressive. This is the next logical step. All the locals will be pulling for 9-Las Setas as she is the best filly that Katy Voss has trained since Wood So. Remember her?