Garrity's Sunday Horse Racing Picks: Plays at Aqueduct & Santa Anita before the Eagles vs Chiefs in Super Bowl

The attention of most of the sporting world, and virtually all of the sports gambling world, will be focused on the tackle football game in Arizona tonight. Ours will too, but there is still time to sneak in a few plays before kickoff. We have opinions in two races, one on each coast, and expect fast dirt and firm turf for both. Let’s go.

Aqueduct, Race 8, 4:25 pm ET

Allowance, 1 mile, Dirt, New-York-breds 4 & Up

Seven older horses go in this first-level allowance at the Big A. They were all bred in the Empire State, which makes it kind of odd that the standout is a 4-year-old gelding who’s never run in New York before: It’s 7-Late Night Larry, who has competed exclusively thus far on the mid-Atlantic circuit, in Delaware and Maryland. He is in good form, which is nice; what is even better is that he is trained by Brittany Russell, a young trainer, based at Laurel Park, who is as skilled at conditioning racehorses as she is shrewd at placing them. Russell seems to have found a very soft spot for Late Night Larry here; look for him to sit just off the pacesetters early, and to blow the race open with a big move when the field moves into the stretch. We will bet him to win at 2-1. The bet: Aqueduct, Race 8, $50 to win on 7-Late Night Larry.

Santa Anita, Race 8, 5:30 pm ET

$100,000 Shamrock Stakes, 1 mile, Turf, 3-Year-Olds

A field of seven 3-year-old fillies lines up for the Shamrock. The pick is 2-Tea N Conversation, a Mike McCarthy trainee who is the best late runner in a race that should favor that running style in a big way. The early pace should be swift, and we see this daughter of Candy Ride doing what she did when she broke her maiden two starts ago, galloping easily toward the rear of the pack early, and earning a trip to the winner’s circle with a powerful stretch rally. We will bet her to win at 5/2. The bet: Santa Anita, Race 8, $50 to win on 2-Tea N Conversation.

That’s all for today. Until the next time, enjoy the racing, be safe, and, as always, good luck at the windows.