BANKROLL

BANKROLL: $1,325.63

There are no two ways around it: Hawthorne Race Course closing stinks.

This news, while expected by many, is devastating. It’s the death knell for the Chicagoland racing circuit, which was, at one point, one of the biggest in the country. Alas, Sportsman’s Park closed after the 2002 season, Arlington Park inexplicably followed suit in 2021, and now Hawthorne is set to be buried alongside them.

Many people who work at that venue genuinely care about the future of this industry, one that can’t afford to lose passionate people but that, somehow simultaneously, is struggling to make room for ones abandoned by their tracks closing up shop. It’s a heartbreaking time, and speaking as someone in northern California whose racing circuit was the victim of cold-hearted murder, I get it more than most.

To tracks out there still surviving: Make room for these people and bring as many of them on board as you can.

SUNDAY’S RESULTS: Sunday was a fun day, in more ways than one. In addition to seeing Matthew DeSantis and Megan Burgess chug Big Red Spring water on national television, I saw Silvology somehow get sent away at odds of 5-1. That was a gift, and $41 worth of profitable win, double, and Pick Three tickets (after scratches) returned $408.63.

THURSDAY’S PLAY: If I could, I would lean on #3 MIDTOWN MISCHIEF in the ninth. However, that may be too late for my editors, and I won’t put them in that spot. Instead, I’ll focus on the third, where I’ll key #7 MR SKYLIGHT and #9 HEY TOBY on top of $4 exactas that use those two, #1 NORMANDY COAST, and #3 NORWICH underneath.

TOTAL WAGERED: $24.

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SARATOGA SELECTIONS AND ANALYSIS

Best Bet: Midtown Mischief, Race 9
Longshot: Mr Skylight, Race 3

R1

Authentic Beauty
Bounding Along
Run On States

#9 AUTHENTIC BEAUTY (3-1): Cuts back in distance and drops in class a bit for a wide-open Thursday lid-lifter. Her last-out effort at Churchill wasn’t bad, and the outside draw should give Junior Alvarado plenty of options; #3 BOUNDING ALONG (7/2): Nearly got there in her debut, which came against New York-breds downstate. This is against open company, so it’s a tougher spot, but she’s certainly eligible to move forward at second asking with Flavien Prat back aboard; #6 RUN ON STATES (5-1): Ran like a horse that needed a race last time out, and that’s logical because it was her first try since December. She runs for a tag for the first time, and her 2-year-old form wasn’t terrible. If she gets back to it, she could stand a chance in here.

R2

First Call Bob (MTO)
Blast Furnace
Gun Barrel City

#5 BLAST FURNACE (3-1): Takes a significant drop in class second off the layoff for Mike Maker, and I have no problem drawing a line through the last-out clunker. It was his first race since New Year’s Day, and he runs for a tag for the first time in a while for high-percentage connections; #8 GUN BARREL CITY (5-1): Is another taking a drop for this one, and it’s safe to assume he hasn’t lived up to the expectations that come from his world-class pedigree. However, his running lines include a few talented horses, and this feels like the softest spot he’s run in since he graduated over a year ago; #3 LIGHT FANTASTIC (6-1): Goes first off the claim for Brad Cox and has every right to be well-meant. Two turns is a question mark, and he comes out of the state-bred ranks to run here, but Irad Ortiz, Jr., has been enticed to ride in his second start off a long break.

R3

Hey Toby
Mr Skylight
Normandy Coast

#9 HEY TOBY (6-1): Has run well at this level multiple times and was an OK fourth against allowance foes back in May. He should be able to sit his preferred stalking trip from the outside post, and it helps that he’s run well here twice in as many local starts; #7 MR SKYLIGHT (8-1): Merits a long look at a price coming down in class to what feels like the right level. Many of the front-runners in here have stamina issues, so I want horses that don’t need the lead in order to run well. At a minimum, he should be going the right way late; #1 NORMANDY COAST (4-1): Was competing against stakes foes just a year ago and takes a gigantic drop in class. If he runs back to that early-2025 form, he’s obviously formidable, but this trip down the class ladder is an alarming one, and the price on him may be shorter than I’m willing to take.

R4

Vibe (MTO)
Spirit of St Louis
Salamis

#2 SPIRIT OF ST LOUIS (2-1): Chased Mi Bago in the Kingston last time out, and that one came back to repeat against graded stakes foes. He may not be the horse he was last year, when he won two Grade 1 races, but he’s still pretty good, and he looks like a handful here; #5 SALAMIS (5/2): Is the second half of a powerful 1-2 punch for Chad Brown. If you can forgive his dud in the Grade 3 Poker, you’ve got an accomplished horse that won’t go favored, and the presence of Prat (who may have had some options) is notable; #6 SEA SINGER (10-1): Had every right to need his return to the races last month, and he didn’t run too poorly when beaten just three lengths. He should be more fit here, and he could grab a piece of this at a price if he gets a pace to run at.

R5

Side Quest
Cadillac Mary
Quoted

#9 SIDE QUEST (3-1): Didn’t have an easy trip in her debut and is bred to improve with a switch to the turf. Broodmare sire The Factor is a very strong grass influence, and the blinkers go on for trainer Will Walden, who’s connected with 11 of 33 such runners at a $3.16 ROI; #4 CADILLAC MARY (7/2): Ran a decent third in her debut downstate. That day’s winner came back to repeat at next asking, and the runner-up ran well in her next start despite a nightmare trip. If she moves forward second time out, she’ll have every chance to earn the diploma; #2 QUOTED (6-1): Debuts for Mark Casse, whose barn has been hot to this point in the meet. She only has three published works, which is a question mark, but she’s also bred to be an excellent turf horse, being by Street Sense and out of a War Front mare. My top two runners could be good ones, but of the first-time starters, this is the one I like most.

R6

Tapwrits Temper
Nantz
Ancient World

#10 TAPWRITS TEMPER (8-1): Is a tepid top pick in a race where my strongest opinion is against a horse rather than for one (more on that one later). They took the blinkers off last time, and this gelding responded by rating and drawing away to win by more than six lengths. There’s plenty of speed in here, and he could sit his ideal trip; #4 NANTZ (8-1): Was wide last time out in his first start for this barn, and he could improve if he gets to save some ground. Unlike many others, it doesn’t seem like he needs the lead to run well, and he may be the one to catch turning for home once the front-runners start retreating; #1 ANCIENT WORLD (8/5): Absolutely puzzles me. He was going against stakes foes last year, went to the sidelines in September, and comes back off the bench running for a $20,000 tag. He could win, of course, and the bullet works look good, but there are absolutely red flags here, and at a short price, I’ll try to beat him.

R7

Lady Rose (MTO)
All of It
Celtic Dawn

#3 ALL OF IT (8/5): Has done nothing wrong in two starts to date and is a deserving favorite in the Suzie O’Cain. She’s 2-for-2 with a combined margin of victory of more than eight lengths. The only question is whether or not she can run as well without Lasix, but several others in here have to answer that, too; #5 CELTIC DAWN (5/2): Is 3-for-3 and has won without Lasix twice, which is a big point in her favor. Her question is distance, as she stretches out to two turns for this event. If she can negotiate this trip, she’ll have every chance to make it four in a row; #1 NEW YORK SPECIAL (8-1): Was a gritty winner here last month, and that day’s runner-up came back to find the winner’s circle. It’s not a small class jump, but inside-drawn speed on the inner turf is a big plus, and almost everything this barn has sent out, it seems, has been live.

R8

Beauty Reigns
Senza Parole
Munnings Express

#4 BEAUTY REIGNS (7/2): Is a closer in what looks like a race with plenty of early speed, and she’s run very well here in the past. She was second in last year’s Grade 3 Victory Ride and third in the Grade 1 Test, and the faster they go early on, the better this Bill Mott trainee’s chances figure to be; #2 SENZA PAROLE (5/2): Flashed a lot of potential early in her career and is logical here (even if she’s plateaued a bit). There’s no shame in running third behind two quality mares last time out, as she did, and this is certainly an easier spot without the likes of Ways and Means to chase; #1 MUNNINGS EXPRESS (7/2): Didn’t run badly when third in a turf experiment last time out, but she gets back to what’s probably her preferred surface here. She may very well be the speed of the speed in here, and her three wins in a row prior to the last-out effort were all pretty good (albeit against weaker groups than what she’ll face here).

R9

Midtown Mischief
You Know Better
Garden of Grace

#3 MIDTOWN MISCHIEF (7/2): Drops in for a tag second off the layoff and almost certainly needed her last-out clunker. That race she ran here last year has aged very well, as she led into the stretch before finishing third behind two that went on to win stakes races. There’s a lot to like here, and she’s a very strong lean to end the Thursday program; #6 YOU KNOW BETTER (8-1): Is another going second off the bench, and she ran fine to be third in a similar spot downstate. She gets both blinkers and Flavien Prat in his event, one where she may not have to go very fast to dictate terms out of the gate; #7 GARDEN OF GRACE (4-1): Is starting to feel like a professional maiden, so I can’t use her on top. However, she goes back to turf and drops down to what hits me as the right level. Add in that she’s shown she can pass others late, which is a rare trait in this field, and I can’t ignore her completely.