USTA Play of the Day

by Michael Carter

Meadowlands Racing and Entertainment Race 8 (Pick 4)
Date: 10/13/2018 Carryover: $0  Guarantee: $50,000

Ticket: 5,6,8,9/1,6/1/2,3,5– Cost: $24.00 ($1.00 cent base)

Yesterday’s Recap – We were dead from the start with the scratch of Thunder in the first leg, but if you managed to play your ticket before the scratch happened, then you went one of four with a victory only in leg two.  The Pick 4 of 4/8/7/7,8 returned $354.40.

Breakdown:

Race 8: #5 MESSI N struggled last week at Harrah’s Philly against some tough company, but this week Dexter Dunn returns to the sulky who actually scored the last victory with this gelding.  Look for him to be around with a little bit of post help.  #6 LEAR SEELSTER has hit the board in four of his last five starts and was on or near the lead in all, but one of those efforts.  He draws a hair tough today but does show promise from here.  #8 SANTIAGO STYLE by far has the final times to be competitive with this race, the question is can he get into a good enough position to win.  He is always close to the pace and could score here.  #9 JACKSRLUCKYTOO has hit the board in two of his last three starts, the question today is can he hit the board from an outside draw.

Race 9: #1 ROCKIN CELEBRATION has gotten a couple of tough draws which has definitely affected his performance.  He returns to the mile track where he seems to be a little more comfortable and could bring a price from the inside.  #6 SHOW ME UP is another gelding that has been sort of plagued with some tough draws, but those have been on a half-mile track.  He belongs here and a driver change to Zeron should help here.

Race 10: #1 MACHMEMACKIE is where I take my stand this evening, not just with a good draw to the inside, but his performance on the big track does a lot for me.  He has a big amount of speed and if Callahan can ration out the speed, he will be very tough here.

Race 11: #2 HICKORY TERRIFIC closed gamely last week from post nine at Rosecroft Raceway in his last start just missing in the end.  He gets a good draw this week which could play to his favor against the big horses.  #3 SUNSHINESOMEWHERE gets a big driver change to Brett Miller this week after a couple of tough efforts at Harrah’s Philadelphia.  He does have a little bit of early speed to contend with, which he hasn’t shown as of late so if he can be hustled off the gait he could be tough against this group.  #5 CHARMBRO CURIOSITY is another horse in this field who gets a pretty big driver change to Bongiorno, but he has been doing pretty well in his last couple of efforts.  The move to the big track could really help this gelding.