This will be the final Saturday night of this nine day meet. We’ll have one more Friday night card here before the thoroughbred season in New Jersey concludes for 2026. The rails will be all the way in at 0 feet for all six races tonight.
| Race | Top Pick | A | B | C | Exotics Menu |
| 1 | 8 | 8,6,10 | DBL, PK3, PK6 | ||
| 2 | 1 | 1,9 | DBL, PK3, PK5 | ||
| 3 | 3 | 3 | 5 | DBL, PK3, PK4 | |
| 4 | 6 | 6,5 | 1 | DBL, $3 Late PK3 | |
| 5 | 6 | 6,3,7 | $5 Late DBL | ||
| 6 | 8 | 8 | 9 |
Race 1:
The night starts with a maiden special weight race for two year old fillies dashing five furlongs. The experienced runners in this race aren’t doing it for me, so I’ll be three deep with first timers, making Golden Safari (#8) the top pick. I don’t think it’s much of a secret that she’ll be sent for the lead. She had a three furlong blowout last week at Monmouth in preparation for this race. She’s sired by the speedy Nashville, who might turn into a strong turf sprint sire. Alexis Delgado had a few nice firsters paying some prices recently. Jorge Delgado has a strong track record with firsters, especially in New Jersey. He sends out Charisma Command (#6) with Relyu Gutierrez in the irons. The works are solid and the dam was a debut winner herself. Her lone foal to race was competitive in her debut and competitive in turf sprints. The other one to use is Paco’s mount, Gin Gin’s Firework (#10). City of Light gets 14% winners from his turf sprinters, but I do wonder if this one would prefer to go a little longer. Trombetta doesn’t have great numbers with firsters so I do wonder if this race is to set her up for a longer race at Laurel next month. I’ll be a little cautious if her number is too short.
Race 2:
Fillies and mares, three and up, will sprint five furlongs on the turf in the beaten $5K claiming race. Paco Lopez is here to ride again tonight and he’s riding the heavy favorite, Pure Bliss (#9) in this race. Early speed is the name of her game and she’s been sharp in four starts at this distance in the past. She is dropping in class after narrowly missing with $7,500-$6,500 N3L claimers in her most recent start. She led every step of the way before being nailed on the wire in the final stride that night. It hasn’t been easy to carry speed over this course this season. Perhaps that won’t make a difference with this one tonight, but if someone can nail her late again, I think it would be Rockyta (#1) on the rail. She came from off the pace to break her maiden at this distance at Gulfstream back in February. She has been struggling with tougher foes of late, so the class relief may be welcomed. She went from a barn with a 14% winning percentage to a barn with a 22% winning percentage on the year. She makes sense as a rebound candidate and the price will be more inviting. She’ll be the top pick for me here.
Race 3:
New Jersey breds will sprint five furlongs in this optional $15K claiming/N1X allowance race that starts the lone Pick-4 of the evening. As per usual, Paco Lopez will be riding some short prices tonight, and the one that I like the best is Matthew’s Ticket (#3), who will be trying state bred allowance company for only the second time in his career. He’s been competitive in all of his turf races, most of which have come at Laurel or Colonial. He did make a cameo at Monmouth this summer where he finished third, just a ½ length behind the winner. He often comes close, but I think between getting some class relief and getting Paco in the irons, that should put him over the top. The backup for me in this race will be Just Comply (#5). He had a troubled trip second place here with N3L claimers last weekend. I do think he’s best when sprinting and while there weren’t a ton of state bred allowance sprints offered at Monmouth this summer, I do like this level for him. I do think he’s running into a tough customer tonight, but if the top pick doesn’t career for the course here, I think he’d be the one to benefit.
Race 4:
11 runners are entered in this $12,500-$10,500 claiming race that starts the $3 Late Pick-3. Edgar Espinoza makes a surprise appearance here in New Jersey with a pair of runners that were familiar with each other at Canterbury this summer. Bizzee Channel (#6) is a ten year old gelding that may have lost a step or two, but he’s still competitive when he’s running at the right level of competition. He was better than Stradivarian (#2) the two times they met in Minnesota. He’s a 12 time winner who has banked over $606K in his career and he’s still winning races this season. He makes sense with this field to me. Create Trouble (#5) was a winner in this same race last fall and Rick Dutrow has him in very good form coming back to town tonight. He has two wins in his last three starts and he just missed in his latest try at Colonial. This is the right level for him and he figures to be right there at the end. On deeper tickets, I’ll throw in Sebastianthe First (#1), who is making his first start since being claimed for $6K here last weekend. He certainly seemed to appreciate getting back on the grass and Relyu Gutierrez has ridden exceptionally well on this course during this meet.
Race 5:
The feature is a wide open $36K allowance race for three year olds and up going one mile. Patrick’s Promise (#6) is coming off a tough effort at Colonial in starter allowance company where he was absolutely flat in that nine furlong contest. He had four consecutive sharp efforts in a row prior to that effort, so there’s reason to believe that with Paco Lopez getting in his saddle, we’ll see this one revert to better form. Orator (#3) ran a strong second in the same race that the top pick struggled in. Then this gelding came back to run second again in a first level allowance at Laurel. He ships to the Big M in career top form and is another horse that has a live look in this race. Distinct (#7) is going to be a pace factor and if no one wants to go with him, that could give him every chance to take this field all the way on the front end. He was pushed hard last out at this level and he faded late. Since the course has been used more in the last few weeks, this course has been playing more fairly.
Race 6:
We’ll end with the night with a $10K maiden claiming race where Target Market (#9) is going to be another big favorite. Both of his two races earlier in the year would likely be good enough to win this race, however, this is a very suspect drop for a horse that cost $110K. I would have liked to see him face $40K maiden claimers once again before dipping this low. Instead, I’ll make Howitzer (#8) the top pick. His two turf races were much better than his two dirt races. He just missed with bottom maiden claimers three back at Monmouth and his third place finish with $40K-$30K maiden claimers there last month was strong. He’s a candidate to move forward in this spot tonight.
