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Race 1:  Clm $5k 1 & 1/16^thM

1^st: #3 Rum Bobby, no brainer here: this one has a touch of back class, broke his maiden at the class level above this one in the two back and followed it up with a decent and gaining-ground 4^th place in his first again winners. Gets the added sixteenth and another turn, both of which should play to his advantage.

2^nd: #2 Champagne’s on Ice, one of the only ones in this group who’s shown any willingness to run towards the front, will likely inherit the lead I’m guessing and we’ll see how far he lasts. Isn’t exactly in form, though owns the highest dirt course Beyer in the field earlier this year. Scott Lake and Carol Cedeno.

3^rd: #1 Stand My Ground, turf horse, though ran decently on dirt I suppose last winter. Broke his maiden for $25k and has been keeping better company, but hasn’t been very competitive.

Race 2: Clm $10k F&M 1M  

1^st: #3 Team Win, not often you see a Repole Stable horse in for $10k at Laurel; this one has the back class of the field winning twice in NY at higher levels last year and showing some ability when second in an open allowance event locally back in February. Off form at the moment, but willing to take a bit of a price on Lake/Cedeno, second time out for the new barn and dropping to lowest level of her career.

2^nd: #6 Polished Copper, a reclaim by Claudio Gonzalez after he lost her for $10k back in September. She won three times for him over the summer, twice at this price and once at $16k.

3^rd: #5 Olive’s Bumpa, satisfied the N2L condition in the two back win locally before finishing a respectable second, though 9 lengths back, in her first try against beaten claimers. Drops a level today from there.

Race 3: OC$25k F&M 1M

1^st: #8 Margie’s Heaven, this horse showed a new dimension when going a route of ground for the first time last out. She couldn’t hold her speed for the full two turns so a drop back to a one turn mile should be right in her wheelhouse. She had shown ability early on sprinting but it became evident that she couldn’t chase and close at the shorter distances.  

2^nd: #7 M. J.’s Lady, won in open MdSpWt company at this distance this summer and has been even in a couple tries at this distance and competition since. Should continue to improve.

3^rd: #3 Witty Banter, broke her maiden for $16k and immediately stepped up to this condition last out and earned her best career Beyer. Second time against winners today, expect improvement.

Race 4: Alw $42k 1 & 1/16^thM

1^st: #6 Zabracadabra, gotta stick with the chalk here, improved a lot from first to second against winners and the most recent was a strong one: field-best 85 Beyer and was second by just a half length sent away at 9-1. Nice little stamina-producing 6F drill last weekend to get him ready for two turns today. 5lb apprentice doesn’t hurt.

2^nd: #7 Society’s Tiger, Woodbine was forced to close early due to COVID-19 restrictions in Canada but this one was just producing his best starts of the year and I guess they decided to keep him going. Two nice attempts against $25k claimers followed by a class hike is something we love to see. Woodbine + synthetic experience may cause him to be overlooked on the board.

3^rd: #2 Admire, heady claim by Anthony Farrior to get this one for $25k form Keeneland. First start up here was forgettable, likely to improve second time in the barn. Efforts from this summer in Kentucky put him right in the mix.

Race 5: MdSpWt F&M 1M

1^st: #7 Peace With Honor, has increased her Beyer in every race since her debut. Most recent attempt was a bad start but she made up 10 lengths in the final 3/8^ths to narrowly miss at 20-1. Give her an added furlong today and maybe a little extra racing luck and she ought to graduate. Gets top local pilot McCarthy, best bet of the day.

2^nd: #4 Be Good, improved a lot from her debut in January to her second race just 2 weeks ago. She seemed to flatten out at the end only going 6F but perhaps she just needed some fitness.

3^rd: #5 Solid Gold Dancer, actually broke her maiden in July but was DQd in a front running win going 6F, she came back 6 weeks later and surprisingly didn’t take that much money, was still 6-1 that day. Not something you see too frequently and a total red flag, she finished 10 lengths behind that day.

Race 6: OC$35k F&M 7F

1^st: #7 Conjecture, in the first off the claim for Claudio Gonzalez this one jumped back up to 75 Beyer and won against slightly lesser company. Projecting a bit more improvement as well in her third off the layoff and second time out for this barn.  

2^nd: #5 Coconut Cake, the hot hand, she’s won 3 in a row including open allowance company two back before taking a Md-Bred allowance at odds on. Brief freshening since September should help this 3 year old filly who may be bred for the turf but has shown quality on both surfaces.

3^rd: #4 Sailingintothewind, is anyone on Earth hotter than Brittany Russell at the moment? She’s 15-29 (52%) at the winter meeting thus far, absurd numbers. She and her husband Sheldon are teaming up to hit 36% and return $2.41. They may think this one wants turf but her two wins both came on dirt. Beyers don’t match the top in this field, but she’s still only three.

Race 7: OC$35k 6F

1^st: #7 Fiber and Emily, gets that outside post just as last time which saw him break well and challenge a 13-1 speedball through stiff (22.4, 45.1) fractions. That speedball faded to 5^th but Fiber and Emily stayed on only to be passed by multiple stakes winner and earner of over $500k Lewisfield, no shame in that. Who is going to run with Fiber and Emily here today? I see no one. The 3 Reform School has a bit of early speed, but the hope here is that Fiber gets it mostly his own way and can hold off the others. He moves up at Laurel for whatever reason.

2^nd: #5 Big Engine, think if Fiber gets caught it’ll be by this Linda Rice shipper who’s just off a second place finish in the Hudson against NY-breds last out and an open OC$62k win at Bel in the two back (95 Beyer). Going really good at the moment, but I don’t want to lose at 9-5 based on the Linda Rice name.

3^rd: #2 Factor It In, this horse won 3 of 4 at Laurel and is only eligible for this N3X because he was in for the tag in the first of those 3 wins. He had a rough return after the lockdown and they shut him down again after July. Would’ve loved to see him in here on his second time out, look for him in his next one. 3 very nice breezes to get ready.

Race 8: MdClm $16k F&M 5 & ½F

1^st: #4 Grace N Favor, didn’t show much in her debut but drops from MdSpWt to today’s $16k. Dam is by Smart Strike and has produced 4 winners and earners of over $100k each of them. Carl Doran adds blinkers for the first time and he’s 2 for 6 doing so.

2^nd: #8 Lady Magnolia, 5-2ML fav, she ran decently in her debut last year earning a field-best 57 Beyer but hasn’t been able to come close to that effort. Has been beaten double digits in all 4 of her starts, a combined 76 lengths. That’s your favorite?

3^rd: #7 Sand in My Shoes, one of the experienced fillies in here, this one 0-11 lifetime has only hit the board 3 times. A couple starts back at Delaware registered a 44 Beyer in MdSpWt company.