Horse Racing: Today at Del Mar, Aug. 31

By Richard Eng

Post Time 4:05 p.m.

Race 1 – 1 1/16th miles, Purse $37,000, Starter allowance $16,000, 3-year-olds and up

3 Lamm – Tepid chalk in the only race not part of the pick 6; today’s pick 6 carryover is $432K, good luck.

10 Joe Carl – Dead late closer gets a big rider switch to Garrett Gomez; poor parking lot post, but has no early apeed anyway.

Long Shot – 4 Big Son of a Gun

Race 2 – 6 furlongs, Purse $32,000, Maiden claiming $40,000, Cal-breds, Fillies and mares, 3-year-olds and up

10 Spring Bloom – Taking the biggest class drop in racing from MSW to maiden claiming; caveat is she’s been away 7-months.

1 Salty Forecast – Claimed by Peter Miller, that’s a good thing; he adds blinkers on and uses good long shot jockey Kevin Krigger.

Long Shot – 11 Rich in Tradition

Race 3 – 5 furlongs (turf), Purse $71,000, Optional claiming $25,000, Cal-breds, 3-year-olds and up

7 Mr. Ornery – Has run well twice, now Marty Jones makes a big rider switch to Rafael Bejarano; appears to have a high ceiling.

4 Daylight Magic – Edwin Maldonado has been a magical long shot rider this meet; this horse is practically a favorite for him.

Long Shot – 6 Shred the Secrets

Race 4 – 6 1/2 furlongs, Purse $32,000, Maiden claiming $40,000, Fillies, 2-year-olds

5 Sharp Bella – Victor Espinoza has had a disappointing meet; he should be able to give this filly a better chance tonight.

4 Swiss Bliss – Taking the biggest class drop in racing from MSW to maiden claiming; long shot rider Edwin Maldonado takes over.

Long Shot – 6 Tribal Rain

Race 5 – 6 1/2 furlongs, Purse $71,000, Optional claiming $25,000, Cal-breds, Fillies and mares, 3-year-olds and up

9 Bella Viaggia – When you get bet down to 2/5, you’re supposed to win; looks like a good looking sprinter prospect.

1 Quizzical – Showed grit last time graduating in a MSW dogfight; saves all the ground inside under Rafael Bejarano.

Long Shot – 11 Easy Goes By

Race 6 – 1 mile, $100,000 El Cajon, 3-year-olds

5 Unusual Heatwave – This colt has knocked heads with tough guys like Nonios, Liaison and Rousing Sermon; likes turf racing too.

2 Fed Biz – Highly regarded Bob Baffert colt has been away 7-months; the question is how tight he’ll be for this.

Long Shot – 6 Jimmy Creed

Race 7 – 1 mile (turf), Purse $70,000, Maiden special weights, 3-year-olds and up

6 Warrior’s Ridge – After 3 close calls, Leonard Powell taps on Rafael Bejarano for the money shot; good tactical speed to sit a trip.

1 Hometown Hero – Lost all chance when disruptive pre-race; second time out, should improve for A. C. Avila.

Long Shot – 2 Money Talker

Best Bet – 9 Bella Viaggia (race 5)

Del Mar Thursday – Picks/Winners/Mutuels, 16/3/$27.20; Long Shots, 9/0/$0; Best Bet, 1/0/$0

Del Mar Totals – 520/130/$862.00; Long Shots, 267/35/$373.60; Best Bets, 30/14/$58.40

SIMULCAST PLAY OF THE DAY – #7 Tamarind Hall (10/1) in race 3 at Saratoga. For scoring purposes, we’ll make a hypothetical $2 win, place and show bet, $6 total. On Thursday, Joha ran second at Saratoga paying $5.30 to place and $3.00 to show. Stats – 136/97/$844.10; Follow him on Twitter: @richeng4propick