Horse Racing: Today at Hollywood Park

By Richard Eng

Post Time 12:30 p.m.

Race 1 – 6 furlongs, Purse $18,000, Claiming $10,000, 3-year-olds and up

2 Fire in the Wind – The only horse in the race to have won last time out; repeat race puts him right in the thick of things.

4 Vaundell – Sliding down the claiming ladder to this career low class; early speed to attend the pace throughout.

Long Shot – 5 Back At You

Race 2 – 6 furlongs, Purse $18,000, Maiden claiming $20,000, 3-year-olds and up

5 Bringon the Wain – Getting long in the tooth with 7-of-12 in the money starts; in races this slow sometimes you inherit the lead.

6 Midnight Raven – Rafael Bejarano has not hit his best stride since the Breeders’ Cup; I expect him to go en fuego soon.

Long Shot – 1 Unsinkable Sam

Race 3 – 1 1/16th miles, Purse $30,000, Claiming $25,000, 3-year-olds and up

4 Lamm – Has been very consistent, in a good way, since being claimed by Dan Hendricks; tactical speed to sit a perfect trip.

1 So Elite – Big class drop can only help this horse trained by TVG Christina’s hubby; saves ground under Julien Leparoux.

Long Shot – 3 Dynamic Host

Race 4 – 1 1/16th miles (turf), Purse $56,000, Optional claiming $100,000, 3-year-olds and up

7 Willyconker – Second start off a 8-month hiatus; very consistent turfer will be OK from a parking lot post.

2 Key Decision – Exits a key race, which is always flattering; suspect was facing tougher foes at Del Mar.

Long Shot – 4 Calimonco

Race 5 – 7 furlongs, Purse $48,000, Optional claiming $25,000, Cal-breds, 3-year-olds and up

5 Master Chef – I always like a winner that ran a slower Beyer speed figure; 4 wins in a year is above average for a racehorse.

8 Husband’s Folly – Dead late closer will hope for an early pace to chase; proven to fit at this class level.

Long Shot – 4 Dugan Bill

Race 6 – 1 1/16th miles, $200,000 Bayakoa Handicap, Fillies and mares, 3-year-olds and up

8 Inglorius – This Canadian champion has had an injury plagued year; she can start making amends with today’s stakes.

3 Lady of Fifty – She gets tested for class today by the maestro Jerry Hollendorfer; key is how much she likes synthetics.

Long Shot – 6 Charm the Maker

Race 7 – 7 furlongs, Purse $45,000, Maiden special weights, 2-year-olds

4 Appealing Tale – Typical green debut, slow early and fast late; he showed enough talent to be picked above the Bob Baffert duo.

9 Flashback – Bob Baffert has an uncoupled entry; be wary of Coastal Breeze who is the longer price odds of the pair.

Long Shot – 7 Coastal Breeze

Race 8 – 6 furlongs (turf), Purse $32,000, Starter allowance $40,000, 3-year-olds and up

7 Rock Off – Had trouble at a key juncture of the race last time out; lacks a killer instinct as all the seconds and thirds shows.

10 Baby Blake – Still waiting for the Rafael Bejarano explosion; maybe he’ll kick in today before Christmas, don’t leave him out.

Long Shot – 2 Klisz

Race 9 – 1 1/16th miles, $500,000 Hollywood Starlet, Fillies, 2-year-olds

4 Blonde Fog – Was very impressive breaking her maiden for Bob Baffert; this is the longer price odds of his uncoupled entry.

6 Executiveprivilege – The record of post Breeders’ Cup runners is not good; reason is they were all in last time in the BC.

Long Shot – 5 Midnight Ballet

Race 10 – 6 furlongs (turf), Purse $45,000, Maiden special weights, 2-year-olds

1 Thunder’s Rollin ‘ – FTS from Steve Asmussen draws the rail and Julien Leparoux; barn has an uncoupled entry so caveat emptor.

10 Say Ow – Logical chalk will have lots of talented unknowns to fend out; your edge is being able to see all the tote board action.

Long Shot – 7 Raven’s Honor

Best Bet – 7 Willyconker (race 4)

Hollywood Park Friday – Picks/Winners/Mutuels, 15/6/$31.00; Long Shots, 8/0/$0; Best Bet, 1/1/$2.80

Hollywood Park Totals – 295/79/$488.60; Long Shots, 150/21/$235.80; Best Bets, 17/9/$37.00

SIMULCAST PLAY OF THE DAY – #6 Southern Honor (9/2) in race 8 at Parx. For scoring purposes, we’ll make a hypothetical $2 win, place and show bet, $6 total. On Friday, Milkyyourway ran second at Aqueduct paying $2.30 to place and $2.10 to show. Stats – 180/123/$1,064.60; Follow him on Twitter: @richeng4propick