Saratoga 8/21 Pick 3 Plays

Little Pete
Aug 21, 2020
6 min read

For being such a chalky day yesterday, there were some very nice payouts. Sometimes what you think should happen actually does happen. With that being said, yesterday is in the past and we are only looking forward. We are locked in on a pair of pick 3 plays on today's card. I will be keying in on races 4-6 and Big Pete will be keying in on races 7-9. We will also be providing our "Play of the Day" for a race we feel we can attack to make some $$. I am remaining humble, but the "Play of the Day" I provided yesterday was a ~$400 PK5. But again, we are locked in moving forward; this game is too tough to live in the glory. Make sure to sure to subscribe to the newsletter to receive new blog post notifications and a weekly blog sent to your email. GOOD LUCK.

Little Pete's $1.00 Spot Pick 3:

R4: 4, 6, 7, 8

R5: 5, 6, 7

R6: 2, 6, 9

Cost: $36.00

Big Pete's $1.00 Late Pick 3:

R7: 3, 4, 5

R8: 4, 6, 8, 9

R9: 6, 7, 8, 9

Cost: $48.00

Little Pete's "Play of the Day":

Race 3:

I am going to try and beat the two Wesley Ward horses in here that are even money. (5) Fauci is going to get an aggressive ride from Gaffalione and I think will be vulnerable late. I am unsure on how the 3/5 (6) Golden Pal will handle the Saratoga grass, so will be looking to beat with (4) Sky's Not Falling. I think this horse will have a perfect ground saving trip from Jose and be able to pass the tiring horses to hit the wire first. I will also play the OTHER Wesley Ward horse in the (1) Sunny Isle Beach who showed great closing ability first time out and should have a chance to take this one.

$5.00 WPS 4 Cost: $15.00

$3.00 Ex 1,4 w/ 1,4,5,6 Cost: $18.00

Big Pete's "Play of the Day":

Race 2:

Pletcher has two in here. (3) Obsessed will likely play the roll of rabbit. Irad will gun him to the front, If no one goes, they will be tough to catch. His stable mate (2) ASHIHAM will be the one coming late. He wants all of this 9F distance and will be short odds to do it. I’ll put this one on top and juice up the exacta with his barn mate 2nd as well as (6) Lucky Asset. Lucky will also want the two turn distance and was only 2 lengths behind Ashiham last time.

$10.00 Ex 2 w/ 3,6 Cost: $20.00

Little Pete's Spot Pick 3:

Race 4:

We are kicking off the first leg with a maiden special weight filled with two year olds. I landed on four firsters that I think have a great chance of winning first time out. (2) Eagle Orb has the pedigree and the jockey aboard to guide him to victory in this one. The horse has been continuously training well and I think will be forwardly placed; which is the spot you would like to be on the dirt. (8) Citizen K is another firster who has been consistently training well and believe that this horse will show great speed from the gate and not have to worry about dirt being thrown in to his face, which I like because sometimes some kick back interferes with a horse running their best race mentally. (6) Cape Cod Gem should be bet down from the 10/1 morning line odds and I think is a real threat in this one. Mark Hennig has some nice winning percentages with two year olds and first time starters, so anticipating a live horse in here. My last play is going to be (7) It's Gravy who also is coming in from a trainer, Kelly Breen, who has very good numbers with first time starters. This horse has been consistently training well and could be a player here.

$3.00 WPS 4 Cost: $9.00

$2.00 Ex 4,8 w/ 4,6,7,8 Cost: $12.00

$1.00 Ex 6,7 w/ 4,6,7,8 Cost: $6.00

Race 5:

Alright, here is how I am mentally playing this race out in my head. (9) My Man Flintstone shoots from the gate to find the early lead and have an early foe from the inside with (1) Dubai Bobby. I think that this will tire out both of these horses late and set up the following three horses. (7) Standup is the horse to beat in this spot and a must play here for me. This horse has ran well against better and the set up of this race in my head fits in to this horse's running style. (6) More Like It is another horse that has the speed to stalk the lead, but be able to save ground throughout; which should equate to a nice stretch run for this one and could get it done. My last play will be Irad Ortiz aboard the (5) Unprecedented who looks to be in good form and will be able to sit behind the early speed and also have a convincing stretch drive.

$3.00 WPS 6 Cost: $9.00

$2.00 Ex Box 5,6,7 Cost: $12.00

Race 6:

Chad Brown has two entered in this one and (6) Princesa Caroline looks to be the horse to beat in this one, which I will try to do with two other horses. I will leave (4) Duopoly who I think will be a forwardly placed horse and not have enough in the tank to take this one. (9) Passion Factor has the hot jockey aboard in Luis Saez who banged out five wins yesterday and most of those races were him being aggressive throughout. I think this is another spot where he has the horse underneath him to press the field and try and hold them all off down the stretch. (2) Eye of a Soldier is the closer I like in these 1 1/16 mile routes on grass. This horse will be able to sit behind the early pace and Junior Alvarado could have the horse with the most left late and could come swinging around the turn to win this one.

$3.00 WPS 9 Cost: $9.00

$2.00 Ex Box 2,6,9 Cost: $12.00

Big Pete's Late Pick 3:

Race 7:

Favorite (3) JUMP FOR JOY is 2 for 2 on the Spa dirt so she’s hard not to include. But I’ll turn my attention to the 2nd and 3rd choice. (5) FLAT AWESOME JENNY takes a step back and tries claimers for the first time this year. She prefers sprinting and she’s introduced to Irad. Nice work two weeks ago before her road trip to Saratoga. (4) I’LL TAKE THE CAKE has speed and Gaffalione will use it to their advantage. If she can slow them down early, there’s a good chance she takes them all the way.

$7.00 WPS 5 Cost: $21.00

$3.00 Ex 4,5 w/ 3,4,5 Cost: $12.00

Race 8:

Half the field is coming off some sort of layoff so there is concern there. But those that have raced recently don’t stand out. With the scratch of Inside Info, (4) FREEWHEELER will be a short price and very tough if he returns to his 2019 numbers. This guy has breeding and the connection to get him there off the layoff. He’s your likely winner. Both (8) NOBLE EMOTION and (9) CRACK SHOT will duke it out up front unless one of them stubs their toe. That would make either one of them dangerous up front all alone. So we’ll include both. The closer I want to track Freewheeler is (6) BEACHSIDE. His best numbers stack up to the favorite “when” he runs them. They were on dirt but turf is in him somewhere. If the speed develops, he can pose a danger late if the fav is not 100% off the layoff.

$7.00 WPS 4 Cost: $21.00

$3.00 Ex 4,8 w/ 4,6,8,9 Cost: $18.00

Race 9:

The outside runners are where I’ll focus on. (6) GAELIC GOLD and Rosario fell asleep last month when they let the front runners walk up front. That left them too much to do and had to settle for 3rd. Look for them to start their rally sooner to make an impact late. (7) KEPT WAITING was that slow pace in that race, yet she couldn’t hang on to lose by a neck. A similar trip gets her picture taken today. The one I like on top is the Blame filly (8) KILKEA. She was bottled up inside, then tried to quicken too late last time when she tried the turf for the first time. The two turns today will work in her favor instead of the one turn at Belmont. I think we’ll get more than the 5:1 ML. I’m all in. (9) EXCITED FEELING gets the acid test today as she faces MSW instead of MCL runners. Closed nicely going short last time and Luis returns and he won 5 yesterday.