Horse Racing: On a dry Thursday, Garrity hits up three tracks

We've looked at the races across the country today, and we've also doped out the weather, and we've settled on races from Gulfstream, Oaklawn, and Santa Anita. The weather in each of these places should be dry, though we've consciously avoided the turf at Gulfstream, as rain took all Wednesday's races off the turf, and at press time the condition of the grass was too uncertain to handicap properly.

But there are still some good races to handicap, and to bet, in Hallandale Beach, Hot Springs, and Arcadia. As always, picks are made for fast dirt and firm turf. So let's get right to it.

Gulfstream, as we noted, was off the turf yesterday, and the dirt races are a minority today in South Florida (six of the 11 races are scheduled for turf). But we've found a bet we like, and it involves the the 10th, a 7-furlong allowance for older females; and the 11th, a 6 1/2 furlong, $25k maiden claimer for three-year olds. Both are on dirt. Post times are 5.:12 pm and 5:42 pm Eastern. These races both have stickouts: 3-Coach Rocks in the 10th, and 2-Jamming Eddy in the 11th. Coach Rocks comes in off a layoff, but when last seen, she was running in graded stakes company. Either of Jamming Eddy's last two races would be good enough to win the 11th, but we actually think he's going to improve today.

Both of these horses are strong win picks.The odds on both are short: 7/5 on Coach Rocks and 2/1 on Jamming Eddy. So rather than take these miserly odds in the win pool, we'll hammer them in the double: we'll play a cold $30 3-2 double.

The 1st at Oaklawn (post time 2:30 pm Eastern) is a 6-furlong starter allowance for fillies and mares 3-and-up who have started for a claiming price of $50,000 or less (like all Oaklawn races, it's on dirt). A cursory glance through the past performances turns up a few logical contenders, horses in good form and with good speed figures, but when we put them side by side, we see something striking: they are all need-the-lead, speed types. By our count, five of the eight runners will all want the lead; we think this will turn the race into a destructive speed duel, cooking any and all horses near the front. So we are going to take a shot here: we are going to pick two closers, and put the one who appears to have more ability, 4-Skamania, on top, and 3-Star Hunter, in second. We'll bet $10 to win on Skamania, and we'll play them back and forth in a $5 exacta: that's a 3-4 exacta box, for a total cost of $10. We'll go to the window, and on the way back to our seat, say a novena for a pace meltdown.

Race 7 at Oaklawn (post time 5:15 pm Eastern) is another sprint, a 6 furlong allowance for older horses. This is a salty race, with several horses in good form. But we like 2-Allaboutmike: this Southern California shipper has superior speed figures, and enough tactical speed to navigate the inside post. We'll put him on top, and bet $15 on Allaboutmike to win.

At Santa Anita, Race 4 (post time 5:15 pm Eastern) is a $20,000 maiden claimer for older horses at 6 furlongs on dirt. We like 4-Rac, a first-time starter trained by Tim Yakteen. We like his breeding, we like his workout pattern, and we like Yakteen's record with firsters; and more important, probably, is that we dislike the other runners. We'll take 4-1 on Rac, and bet him $10 to win, and also pair him with our pick in the 5th race, 5-Sidecheering (7/2), in a $10 double; that is a 4-5 double ticket, and will cost a sawbuck.

Race 8 in Arcadia (post time 7:30 pm Eastern) is the nightcap, and a $50k maiden claimer on the grass for three-year-olds. We are taking a shot here, and it's with 2-Gold N Grand. This first-time starter is entered by veteran trainer Jim Cassidy, who flies mostly under the radar in Southern California, but who gets horses to fire first time out, frequently at big prices. This horse has breeding to suggest that he'll like the SoCal sod, and his work pattern hints that Cassidy just might have him sharp enough to take this. We'll bet $10 to win on Gold N Grand, and hope that we get his 15-1 morning line price.

That's it for today. Good luck at the windows.