Saratoga: Thursday 8/20 Plays R8 - Pete's Picks

Little Pete
Aug 20
3 min read

Another eight races for this Thursday card at the Spa. Cab Calloway for NY Breds is the feature. I will be condensing my plays down to just the numbers and attacking the early double starting in R2 (Races 1 & 2) and a spot pick 3 (Races 3-5). Big Pete will attack his "Play of the Day" and the late pick 3 (Races 6-8). We appreciate you taking a look at this write-up and GOOD LUCK.

Little Pete's $ 10.00 Early Double:

R1: 6

R2: 3, 6, 8 Cost: $ 15.00

R3: 1, 2, 3

R4: 1, 2, 4

R5: 4, 7, 10 Cost: $ 27.00

Big Pete's $ 1.00 Late Pick 3:

R6: 1, 2, 3

R7: 3, 6, 7

R8: 2, 4, 7 Cost: $ 27.00

Big Pete's "Play of the Day":

Race 3:

Looks like the Drain The Clock colt got everyone's attention with that bullet gate move down at Churchill. Asmussen ships him in while the fire's hot and they have Jose up. Why the MCL tag though??? That's a little scary from this outfit. I'll look for a price because of that, so why not Weaver? (2) BOER WAR also has a bullet leading up to this and is offering 8:1 ML. With speed on the rail, Santana can tuck right behind and make their move turning for home.

I’ll use (1) Medieval and (3) Max O Nidas underneath for the exacta.

$ 7.00 WPS 2 Cost $ 21.00

$ 7.00 Ex 2 w/ 1, 3 Cost $ 14.00

We’ll also use (2) Boer War in R3 and try to cash in on a Daily Double.

(2) Dry Drastic and (4) Cash Burn in the 4th.

$ 7.00 Daily Double 2 w/ 2, 4 Cost $ 14.00

Big Pete's Late Pick 3:

Race 6:

(2) VALTELLINA will get a lot of attention. She has the speed figures that warrant that attention, so she's a must-use. I'll use the speed from (3) SWEETEST PRINCESS to give her a chance in here. The other Jose will try to control and put her in a position to spurt away turning for home. Maybe she can last today. The closer will be (1) BOXED WINE. She's finished well behind the favorite in her last two, but those two races look out of character for this mare. She won here last year, and then something went wrong later in the year to put her on the shelf. The Critical Eye was just a public workout after bumping at the break and dropping far back. Her works are steady which makes her ready for today.

$ 7.00 WPS 1 Cost $ 21.00

$ 3.00 Ex Box 1, 2, 3 Cost $ 18.00

Race 7:

(6) SPIRIT OF NEW YORK handled the two turns fine, just got tired close to home. The slight cutback to 1M could be the difference today. Jose got the test drive last time and is ready to get it done today. (3) A LITTLE AT FIRST will likely come again and also might prefer the 1M. He has the highest speed figures of this bunch. I want (7) JAXER in this spot. They stretched this Slumber out, and he responded by improving each time out. Prat timed the Notebook stakes right and likely will do it again. Funny Factor exited that race to score this past Sunday, so I'm expecting a big run today from Jaxer.

$ 7.00 WPS 7 Cost $ 21.00

$ 7.00 Ex 7 w/ 3, 6 Cost $ 14.00

Race 8:

(2) SHE'S GOT WILL is going first time out for Cox, and her previous speed figures are tops in this group. With the direction of this barn, she figures to improve some more. She looks tough to me. There's just enough speed to include two closers in case the Cox runner is a dud. Both (4) RIVER TAY and (7) QUICK POWER NAP are prices and have a race or two in their pp's that give them a chance if they can dig deep and find that run. River Tay has two wins sprinting, so the cutback after three long races feels live to me.