No stats today as I’m typing this up on the train and my hotspot sucks.

Caleb @CalebWVU

Race 2 – #4 Comedy Town: I think both horses likely to attract money in this 5.5 furlong turf sprint enter with some questionable form. Artemis Citylimits would win if able to recapture his early 2022 form, but he seems have to gone the wrong direction lately. The Mike Maker barn has been rather cold, so I’m not inclined to take him at a short price. King Angelo is the other who may attract money, and he does own a good record at this trip and over this course. However, he also appeared to be tailing off form after the barn switch to Abreu, and he seems to have lost the early speed he once had. If I’m taking spotty form, I want a price, therefore I’m selecting #4 Comedy Town. I get the impression that he truly may just be a 5 – 5.5 furlong specialist. His last two races were poor, but both of those were contested at 6 furlongs over the broader turned courses at Aqueduct and Belmont. This gelding ran the best races of his career at Saratoga at this 5.5 furlong trip, and he projects to be forwardly placed after seeing speed play much more fairly the last two days. He exits a key race with multiple next-out winners, and I think getting back to the tighter turns and shorter distance at Saratoga might allow him to return to his summer 2022 form.

Josh @CherryDrank

Race 4 – #6 Icy Stare Down: At first glance, the #9 Quick Munny looks like a worthy favorite but after taking a look at the Optix plot for this race I’m going against with the #6 Icy Stare Down. Icy Stare Down is coming into the race in good form with two really nice races at Belmont. Was claimed off the red-hot Linda barn last time out, but you are getting a price here at 10-1. Lone Q1 square and lone horse above the par line on the Surface/Distance plot makes this horse a play for me. I also like the #7 I’m Buzzy in this spot at 8-1 ML who last time out closed into a relatively slow pace and beat my top pick.

Mark @Two_Turns

Race 2 – #3 Fluid Situation: The first two weeks of the Saratoga meet saw a pronounced closer bias in all turf distances due to record rainfall in early July. Mother nature has finally let up and for the first time on Wednesday we saw a more “normal” Saratoga bias with turf speed being quite good. It took Terranova 8 starts to figure out that this son of Warrior’s Reward really wants 1 turn on the turf, and since making that change he’s been a complexly different animal. Fluid Situation drew the perfect post for this 5.5f race by being the most inside drawn speed type which will give JJ a ton of options and he doesn’t need the lead as he’s passed others late in his last couple wins. He’s also not just a Tampa specialist as that October Duct race fits in with this bunch quite nicely.