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Race 1: OC$25k 1M

1^st: #7 Megatherm, 12-1 ML but have a feeling you won’t get anything near that. Fresh off the MdClm $25k win where he added blinkers, first against winners will be tough, especially with a couple other speed horses in the field. Based on recent Laurel speed bias he is attractive and he retains Vargas who could’ve chosen the 6 to ride but stuck with this one.  

2^nd: #4 Johnny Banks, 4, 5, and 6 all have speed outside of him so expect this one to rate close behind, if they destroy each other he is the likely beneficiary. Claudio Gonzalez always the biggest threat.

3^rd: #2 Uno Dancer, 7-5ML favorite, he does have the best Beyers in the field, he just doesn’t seem to want to win much and I’m skeptical with the last race back in November. Could also benefit from a wicked speed duel.

Race 2: OC$25k 3 Year Old Fillies 5 & ½F

1^st: #5 Artful Splatter, another MdClm winner stepping into OC company here for the first time, the win came at the $25k level when he wired the field and beat 10 other rivals by 2 lengths. I love the Beyer improvement from first to second to third tries. Any further improvement should win this one. Has shown ability on dry and wet tracks which should bolster his case with a thawing out track from this week’s cold snap.

2^nd: #6 Lawn Dirt, another rising from the MdClm ranks for the first time, this one’s win came at the $40k level but he was 2-5 that day and the track was muddy. Her win not as convincing as Artful Splatter’s.

3^rd: #1 Past Perfect, 0 for 5 locally, could be the beneficiary of the speed duel by the 5 and 6 if they knock each other out (unlikely given the tremendous speed bias of late). Has shown ability in the past at this level including three back 3^rd place finish. 2 off brief freshening trainer is hitting 50% (2 for 4).

Race 3: MdSpWt F&M 1M

1^st: #7 Atlantic Avenue, is today finally the day? You’re probably rolling your eyes as this one has a penchant for second place finishes (0 for 8 locally with 5 second place finishes), but this field is just that poor! There is little case for any others on top here. Might be a sucker play. We’ll find out, I say today is the day for Atlantic Avenue!

2^nd: #3 Weekend Delight, lovely name, decent Beyers including 3 third place finishes locally. Will be somewhere mid-pack at least.

3^rd: #2 Eifs, debuter with some decent workouts including the gate drill December 6^th. Not much to go off. Weak field.

Race 4: MD-bred Alw35k 1M

1^st: #1 Worth His Salt, the recent form is pretty good for this one out of the Ness barn, he was narrowly edged at the wire last out in a day when closers were doing well and he gets a bit of distance relief. Shows willingness to achieve the lead, should pay off on speed favoring track.

2^nd: #2 Paul the Waiter, best last race Beyer in the field a 77 narrowly missing a win up at Pen. Definite case for him on top, the form seems to vary widely however and his only in-the-money finish locally was over a sloppy track. 

3^rd: #3 Super Buddy, like the last race a lot, finished nearly a length in front  of Worth His Salt but it was son a closers track. Like his ability to be forwardly placed.

Race 5: OC$35k 1M

1^st: #5 Speightsford, love the pattern on this horse, his last two locally really sharp, gets to the lead really quickly and on this surface he should last the whole way. The Beyers are really good and the last workout was sharp going 4F in 47 and 3. If the track is wet, you might want to move on to the next one.

2^nd: #7 No More Talk, the three back was tremendous getting out to a big lead and maintaining his speed the whole way earning an 88 Beyer on a speed favoring track. Sloppy track must concern you based on his last out try over wet track.

3^rd: #6 Measured, two straight really good ones against stakes-level runners including the two back where he lost by just a neck to General Downs who came back to win  in open stakes company.

Race 6: Clm $5k F&M 6F

1^st: #10 Malabar, clear stand out here, the last out effort where he wired the field on a closing-friendly track was tremendous. Gotta think he’s the stand out here, don’t think you’ll even get the ML 4-5 odds, something less than that.

2^nd: #6 Animalistic, tough to pick two others in this field, but this one has 4 in the money finishes locally in 5 tries. Best usually comes on dry track. 

3^rd: #4 Grand Lassie, not sure what to say about this one. Came in second in last out.

Race 7: OC$35k F&M 1M

1^st: #7 Expect Indy, first time out of Kieron Magee’s barn, this one was doing respectably over in Indiana restricted stakes events, and before that under Magee’s tutelage for the first time was cleaning up at this level in the Mid-Atlantic. 2 for 5 locally including 2 second place finishes and one third place.

2^nd: #5 Awesome Singer, here’s a rater that would have a really good shot in the event the speed bias doesn’t prove accurate. The last out event at Pen was tremendous coming from just off the pace to win and earning a 77 Beyer in the process. Similar effort two back at Parx earned her a 78. Should be right there at the end. 

3^rd: #3 Nyx Warrior, here’s a closer out of the Gonzalez barn that appears just slightly overmatched at this level. Consistent diet of Beyers in the 70s, but never seems to get up for the win. Still a must-use in vertical exotics.

Race 8: MdClm $10k 6F

1^st: #5 Jackgreerstubhutch, last two events were very live as second and third place finishers all came back to win in their next out (what’re the odds?) and the three back second place finish behind one that came back to win. Going to get a bit luckier with this field here

2^nd: #6 Arrivederci, has the best Beyers in the field although the last two have not been pretty. Three back was excellent at the $25k level but in 6 starts locally hasn’t finished better than third.

3^rd: #1 Can He Shine, has shown ability to be forwardly placed, but stamina a definite issue here. Maybe will do better on a dry surface.

Race 9: OC$25k 3 Year Olds 1 & 1/16^thM

1^st: #2 Nick Papagiorgio, breaks his maiden at the $25k level and comes back at this condition and just barely nosed out after a game stretch effort going 5 wide on the turn. Better trip wins this one. Best-last effort Beyer in the field.

2^nd: #4 Shoeless, maiden breaking win at Parx at $20k level got field-best 57 Beyer and they tried the OC$50k level after where he didn’t get out of the gate well. Needs a solid start. 

3^rd: #6 McLean House, this closer out of the Chuckie Lawrence barn unfortunately won’t have much pace to run into. The maiden-breaking win at the $10k level was solid but he’ll have to improve big time off that to win this one. 

 Race 10: Clm $5k 1 & 1/16^thM

1^st: #4 Bobby G, far and away the best Beyers in the field, doesn’t appear to be all the way back to his former self, but descends the class ladder to bottom rung for Englehart. Hard to know if he’s just trying to dump him or if this should be an easy purse. Last work is pretty good and he obtains services of the top local pilot Vargas.

2^nd: #2 Quest of Glory, improving figures recently and has a win at this distance going 2 turns. Inside post should help him be forwardly placed in that short run up to the first turn and save some ground and energy. 

3^rd: #6 Disco Express, got run off his feet a bit after setting the early fractions, has been in battles with Runabout recently who is very hot at the moment. Would think McCarthy sends him from the jump and try to use that speed to his advantage.