2/16/18
By Shawn Rychling
Presidents Day weekend is upon us and here in New York that means the rarest of rare winter sights – a 5-day racing week from NYRA. Aqueduct will race from Thursday to Monday this week taking advantage of the holiday. There aren’t a slew of exciting races scheduled, but there are some decent NY-bred stakes on tap.
Aqueduct fans better get their fix of racing now because starting next weekend, NYRA moves to a 3-day weekends racing only on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday through the first full week of April. Aqueduct will not return to the usual 5-day racing week until Wednesday, April 10. By no means is this a bad idea since even with 4-day weeks of late the fields have been quite small with only eight races carded on both days.
Perhaps buoyed by the smaller fields, the New York Hot List has lived up to its name in 2018. At the current meet we have given out 37 winners from 127 starters, which is a remarkable 29.1 percent. In addition, 58 percent of out horse have hit the board and we show a flat-bet profit with ROI of $2.38.
With that in mind, here are our selections for the late pick 4, and don’t forget to check out our @NYHotList Pick 3 special on Twitter.
6th race – 5-Strawberry Tequila has taken a liking to the new Big A main track and last two races may be best of career. 8-Awsum Roar may be the horse to beat if she can overcome a 15 ½-month layoff. 3-Satin Sheets enters off a career-best speed figure. 2-Mizzen Max has some talent, but has been away since June.
7th race – 3-Javelin should move forward second off a layoff and note the faster races prior to the bench time. 4-I Want Mo was sharp in getting a big win off a layoff and can likely only improve. 8-Alum drops to an all-time low for Pletcher. 2-Truly a Moon Shot takes a sharp drop to an all-time low and Rice barn is red hot. 6-Daddy’s Home may improve with the blinkers.
8th race – 1a-Wingman has given excellent account of himself in two dirt starts and could compete, while stablemate 1-Mr. Buff enters off sharp career best and may be a more serious contender. 4-Preservationist is the one to beat off strong speed figures. 8-Hammerin Aamer has hit the board in nine straight starts. 5-Borsa Vento enters off a career best and win.
9th race – 5-Breeze Burner took a 25k claimer a year ago and drops well below that level for this race, but must overcome a 9-month hiatus. 3-Power Nap figures to run better at this level and getting a fast track as well. 10-Saratoga Heater needed that last race and figures to run better second off a long layoff. 4-Pegasus Red drops to an all-time low.
The Grid:
A B C
Race 6 3, 5 8 2
Race 7 3 2, 8 4, 6
Race 8 1, 4 8 5
Race 9 5 3, 10 4
Best of luck. Find out how to get all our Hot List analysis at Interbets.com.