Right now at Monmouth, almost 11,000 people came out for Belmont day at the Jersey Shore, setting a handle record for the season ($5,545,860). The card was subtly marred, in my opinion, by some ludicrous late odds drops, which I attribute to "auto-bettors" as the most likely cause. Basically, some large bettors have computer programs set up, which automatically place bets on horses the system deems overlays. Unfortunately, this kills the odds on a ton of horses, often very late in the wagering. There should be a way to stop this, and perhaps at some point in the season, I will figure it out.
Race 1 (Printasticat, Claudio Gonzalez-Daniel Centeno, 1:45.2)
Case one of the late odds drops: Printasticat. 8/5 going into the gate, drops to 1/1 on the last flash. Moogily googily.
She ran well, though, running wide the entire race and overtaking longtime leader Star of the Forest at the 1/8 pole. Boss's Rules went off at a really generous 3/1, but made a premature four-wide move going down the backstretch and faded to finish third, beaten seven lengths. With a better trip next out, I'm "shore" she'll do better.
Race 2 (Ima Wildcat, Greg Sacco-Gabriel Saez, 1:04.3)
I watched this race on a TV screen at Belmont, next to a particularly excited fan who bet (from what I gathered) the 2, Antoine's. He kept yelling louder and louder as it became obvious that Antoine's was not going to get there, before throwing his glasses at the screen and walking off in a huff. Fun times.
Anyway, Ima Wildcat--who, too, was bet down to 1/1 from 8/5 in the last flash--cleared to the early lead, and drew off in the stretch for an easy victory. Antoine's contempolated dueling with this leader, but was backed off and had no re-rally. Does this merit a spectacle like that guy pulled off? I don't think so.
Race 3 (Proven Warrior, David Jacobson-Elvis Trujillo, 1:09.2)
It was over the split second the gates opened, as Proven Warrior went to the early lead and never received a challenge for an easy score. Elvis Trujillo returns to his winning ways at the Jersey Shore with this win, while David Jacobson wins--and I'm just guessing here--his 384th race of the meet.
Race 4 (Jarrod's Commando, Jamie Ness-Daniel Centeno, 1:10.0)
Jarrod's Commando opened up at 9/5, before the bettors realized it was too good to be true. And lo and behold, it was! He was 4/5 going into the gate and closed at 1/2. He rated three-wide off the duel of No More Strippers and Boss Cat, and then just rolled by them at the 1/4 pole for an easy score. Joey Whispers had a similar trip while rating inside, and angled out three-wide for a rally. He ran a suck-up second.
Race 5 (Dujac, Chad Brown-Kendrick Carmouche, 1:46.1)
If you had offered in-race wagering on this one, you probably could have gotten 100/1 on Dujac at the eighth pole. Indeed, Deep Consideration sat a great trip off the pace, and looked like a "shore" winner once he caught leading All Day Sucker. However, Dujac got into high gear late, and rolled on by to get the job done. Tough beat for anyone who had Deep Consideration.
Race 6 (Don's Escapade, Terri Pompay-Navin Mangalee, 1:12.4)
Channel Surfing and Lara Lucy moronically decided to get involved in a speed duel, three lengths clear of the rest of the field, and shockingly neither had anything left on the turn. Don's Escapade, who was closer to the rail than favored Twist and Turn, rallied stronger and won by about two lengths. Both Royal Cashmere and R Jolley Cassie had great trips, being the closest ones to the duel, and neither one had anything when the leaders folded.
Race 7 (Rico Suave, Patricia Farro-Ramon Moya, 1:44.4)
Heads-up ride from Ramon Moya, who cleared Rico Suave to the lead from post position 11, and never let that lead go. A bunch of horses bunched up behind him down the backstretch, but nobody actually bothered to go for the lead, which was a mistake on their part. Best Actor, who sat a terrific trip inside off the pace, made a move in the stretch and looked as if he would go by, but Rico Suave fought on and scored.
Race 8 (Percolator, John Servis-Kendrick Carmouche, :52.0)
Percolator won this one gate-to-wire--appropriately, John Servis, trainer of Smarty Jones, won a race on the day American Pharaoh won the Triple Crown. Don't sleep on the second-place horse, Full Salute, who broke slowly and had to rally wide late, getting up for a clear second. He will definitely improve next out, and hopefully will be a good bet.
Race 9 (Shesfromboston, Mike Mullin-Orlando Bocachica, 1:51.4)
Red Letter looked like a easy 9/1 winner going into the stretch, after sitting a great trip off the pace. Shesfromboston, however, made a big three-wide rally, kept on charging, and got up to win it.
Race 10 (Dickinson, Kiaran McLoughlin-Orlando Bocachica, 1:38.2)
That's the third winner on the day for Orlando Bocachica, as Dickinson allowed Forever Loyal to establish a clear lead, then moved up in the two-path around the turn and ran off to an easy victory.
Race 11 (Lady Shipman, Kathy O'Connell-Eduardo Nunez, 1:04.2)
I saw Lady Shipman win a stakes at Pimlico from the announcer's booth there, so it was cool to see her win the Crank it Up Stakes easily. The time wasn't super fast--only 1:04.2--but she took the early lead and dusted off all competition to go gate-to-wire. Hey, that sounds familiar!
Race 12 (One For Don, Jorge Navarro-Abel Castellano, 1:10.1)
One for Don was around 9/5 for most of the betting, before being sent off at a ludicrous 3/5. Those auto-bettors strike again...
He still won, however, rating off the pace and drawing past leader What the Chub.
That was the Saturday card at Monmouth. After that, something bigger happened at Belmont.
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