Most horse players may ignore the little track up in the Northwest, but if you have ever seen Emerald Downs on a clear day you will know its one of the most beautiful tracks in the states. It is always a beautiful thing to see your horse coming down the stretch for the win, but when you add the majestic Mt. Rainier behind the finish line its second to none.
Opening day comes but once a year! Let us take a closer look at the 10 race card for Saturday, May 18th, 2015. Nine of the ten races will be decided going 5.5 furlongs while the lone standout will mix things up with a 5f sprint in the middle of the card. It’s tough to picture anyone who doesn’t get a decent jump on the field to make a strong move coming down the stretch. The weather has been beautiful and speed should be able to hold. We will be focusing most of our picks on early speed who should be in position to either be on or near the lead as they turn for home.


Race 1

We start on the inside with a nice advantage in HBD early pace with the 1 – GREAT PLEASURE. This lightly raced filly has one start under her belt, but it was a pace setting 2nd place finish by a neck back in Feburuary in the slop. Breeding suggests she will like the dirt and the distance, add the inside post and a better surface and she doesn’t need to improve off her only start to score here. The other interesting horse in the field is the 6 – EXCESSIVELY PRIVATE who is listed as as stalker according to the past performances, but our HBD early pace figures shows that this horse will likely be closer to the front here. Breaking from the outside doesn’t help in the short 5.5 furlong race, but if the 1 can’t hold, the 6 may get the first crack at the wire coming home. The 4 – TOP PLATINUM may produce some value here as a first time starter as well. Trainer Vince Gibson sends out this Filly who has bloodlines with Seattle Slew and has been working out really well here at Emerald Downs in April. If you are playing any exotics this filly has to be on the ticket somewhere.


Race 2 SPD BET

We have a short 5.5f sprint with a horse that qualifies with the HBD SPDBET angle and we ad a possible price as the 4th pick on the morning line? The 5 – WAR WIZARD has an impressive 151.7 advantage in the HBD Early Pace figure, he is breaking from the outside but in this 5 horse field he should still be able to easily hit the turn against the rail and will likely have a lead as they hit the stretch. While he hasn’t raced in 67 days, he was the last to have a live race in this field. Add the bullet workout (1/31) that he produced back on April 13th and this horse could be a steal come post time. The 4 – MR. TOP KAT was brilliant winning four straight before his layoff that started back on groundhog day, and if anyone can catch the 5, its him. But the price won’t be right and he is going to have to come from off the pace on a short track and after a long layoff.


Race 3 SPD BET

We get another qualified SPDBET angle here in the third with the 2 – BLUES ZENZATION who comes in boasting a 115.5 HBD Early Speed figure advantage. The only horse on his inside likes to try to come from off the pace and the this gelding should have no problem grabbing the lead seeing if anyone int he field can catch him. Great pedigree figures and pointing toward his first race on dirt after four straight on Golden Gates poly track, we may not have even seen the best from this one. A couple of first time starters in this one and the 10 – BUSH GIG has a strong HBD Pedigree rating compared to the field and could pop here at a nice price.


Race 4 False Favorite

Our first False Favorite race of the day and we have to go against the favorite here in a couple different ways. Three possible winners here and all could produce a nice price. First the 3 – DELANO who is going to have to break better than he has in his last couple but has shown some great speed coming late and will likely at worst be part of the trifecta or exacta. The PERFECTLY LEGAL who is going to be on the lead from the inside and could hold on to the lead down the stretch. And finally the IMMIGRATION who has is the most consistent horse in the field hitting the board in 8/10 in the last year at EMD. Moves back in class here and could produce a nice run for trainer Howard Belvoir.



Race 5

Here is a race that has a legitimate favorite in the 5 LEGION OF BOOM, the name alone is going to take some money in the Seattle area (Go Hawks!) but this seems like a great fit for this young colt. Two races under the belt both nice looking 2nd place finishes to quality horses and a drop in class here sets up a nice scenario to break his maiden. There are four first timers in this field that represent a little unknown but the 2 – FOOLED AGAIN seems to be the only one with the pedigree rating to pose a legit threat here. Colt from Scat Daddy out of Valour Road has some strong bloodlines, but a 5.5f could be a bit short.


Race 6

This looks like the most wide-open of the fields for the day as any of 5 or 6 horses could find the winners circle in this one. My top pick the 5 – BELLA FABIELA is going to have a shot at the lead. Even breaking from gate 5 the rest of the speed seems to be to her outside. Lightly raced she won her first race prior to finishing a distant 6th last time out. She returns back to a lower class and doesn’t need to improve much to score here. The 2 – SILLY STREAK is a solid horse that may just need more distance to run her best as her best races have come at the route distance. Another interesting horse the 8 – SEADRIFTER unseated her rider last time out back in July and returns to take a shot, she has some work to do to return to form but has ran a number of races that could be best here.


Race 7

3 – OREGON STARTER looked great last time out back in January down in Portland and doesn’t have to do anything different to dominate this field here. He should also get the rail and the lead in a short 5.5f affair. The only horse that has a chance to put him back is the 8 – CARL COMMAND who similarly ran an impressive wire to wire race last time out down in Portland and keeps jockey Jennifer Whitaker aboard. These two will be going head to head down the stretch and it could easily come down to a headbob. But these two are clearly the best of this field and it would take something crazy for someone outside of this pair to win.


Race 8

The largest horse in the field could have the easiest single that we have seen all day, the 2 – Sabrina has an ugly race her last time out which could push money off of her whcih is OK with me. She returns to the spring distance where she has proven that she can win, she comes over from the east coast and looks to show sunsetters what she is made of. She probably won’t produce a huge price but this morning line favorite could still find her way into the gate at 7/2 or better. The 6 – RED RAN BACK is a similar horse that tried the route distance unsuccessfully last time out and returns back where she belongs, she could score here with a nice trip, but is going to have to improve to catch Sabrina.


Race 9

Here is another race that looks to be wide open as less than 5 HBD Overall Rating points separate the top 4. The6 – MOBY has our top E2 value which could be huge in a short 5.5f race, ads a drop in class and an impressive third place finish last time out, but would likely still have to improve to win this one. Another gelding the 7 – PRIVATE BOSS looks to improve after finishing in the money but out of the winners circle in his last four races. It won’t require a huge jump but will require a strong race after more than 200 days off. 5 – O B HARBOR and 1 – WHERE’S MY VOUCHER both need to be included as they will be close to the pace and have won races that should win here against this field.


Race 10 False Favorite

This is an interesting race to end the card the 2 – CREDIT LINE was improving in four straight races before hitting the layoff last year and may be pointed toward longer distances, but has the early speed to get close up front here. If the two has a hard time returning to form the race seems wide open as 5 HBD Rating points separate the next five horses in the field and any of them can take this thing home to close the night.