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Race 1- 1^st #1 Sofia’s Slugger is by Tapiture who isn’t as hot as I thought he’d be starting out, but this guy was a $60K purchase who now founds himself closer to the bottom.  Seems to like Turfway, no worse than second in his two starts.

2^nd #7 Florida Flash comes from Churchill with a couple of fourth place finishes which were not bad, he lost by six and seven lengths.  Turfway tends to be easier than Churchill so we will see if he likes the synthetic or not.

3^rd #8 Coming Up Roses has decent workouts and he’s one the Ramsey’s hung onto.  They’ve gotten rid of a lot of their stock and are selective of what they keep so I think this one will be ok but may need an out or two.

Race 2- 1^st #1a Betweenhereandcool has won five out of seven of his races here, so immediately that grabbed my attention.  Lately he’s been on a downward point but now that he’s back at a track he appreciates, he’s worth a shot.

2^nd #11 Modern Tale might be worth a shot at 3/1.  He’s an eight-year old, coming Gulfstream Park on a class drop.  He’s never raced on the synthetic so taking him is a definite gamble but maybe the change will help him.

3^rd #9 Cedar Creek had a tough loss last out as the favorite, he was also claimed in that race.  Thirty-six races and seven wins speaks a bit for how consistent and hard trying he is, even though he is a bottom level horse.

Race 3- 1^st #9 Glad to be Here has eleven wins from thirty starts, which is really good.  Don’t really see that much. Only off the board once at Turfway from five starts.  He’s one hard trying fella, also out of an Empire Maker mare so quality breeding.

2^nd #5 Ed’s Rocket was a nice horse in Chicago.  He had a nice run last out winning by a little over six months here.  He was definitely much the best against a softer field last out. Franklin stays aboard which is also good.

3^rd #6 Blue Mesa ran pretty good last out with a nice win.  That was an easier race though. Sometimes a win can help boost some confidence, and he’s in decent form.  Looks like the connections are trying to protect him since he’s not running for a tag anymore.

Race 4- 1^st #6 Lady to the Max had a really poor run last out.  Now that they take her from the MSW ranks down to the bottom for claiming, should help her a lot.  I don’t like her inconsistent layoffs though either.

2^nd #11 Dusty Miller switches trainers and comes off of a five-month layoff.  A lot of fourth place finishes for this filly, it would be nice if the break she had freshens her up a little and she can hit the board. Last raced in Chicago.

3^rd #12 Rhoda’s Jewell lost by a length and a half last out, she’s okay here in this spot.  She really does need to step up her game, but she also switched trainers two starts back so maybe that will help her too.

Race 5- 1^st #3 Tidal Effect lost by a lot last out at this level which is a concern of mine.  Hasn’t won since July of 2018 so he is due for a win. This is a pretty weak field with a lot of expensive sales purchases too.

2^nd #8 Lucky Bode ran a clunker last out and now gets dropped in for half the price with a different jockey.  Not sure what happened last out, he just kind of quit. His other races aren’t great either but I am liking the class drop.

3^rd #9 Fluellen is trained by Ben Colebrook who’s done pretty well at this meet.  Another who drops in for half the price after running a pretty poor effort last out.  

Race 6- 1^st #8 English Challenge is a lightly raced son of English Channel (his offspring generally prefer the turf), and he seems to handle synthetic okay too.  Would love to see him break his maiden here.

2^nd # Mjolner disappointed last out as the heavy favorite running second last out.  Twelve starts, three seconds, two thirds, and $41K in earnings which is pretty good I think for a maiden.  

3^rd #1 Made in America is coming off of a long layoff, but has such quality breeding it would be hard not seeing him as a racehorse.  He’s by Tiznow out of an Indian Charlie mare. Hopefully he’s ready to go but may need an out.

Race 7- 1^st #6 Torazo looks for his third win in a row.  He’s been on the board twenty times out of thirty-eight races which is impressive.  He’s tough to beat at Turfway at this level. Mike Maker trains, and he’s solid here.

2^nd #1a Perfectly Majestic is an eight-year-old veteran who seemed to appreciate California more than Kentucky.  He just hasn’t had much luck here, but hopefully with a class drop he will be in better shape.

3^rd #5 Extra Medium looks pretty good.  His allowance race last out was a good effort in a hard race.  Some of the horses here are pretty tough too, so we will just see how he bounces back from his fifth place finish.

Race 8- 1^st #6 Barton Hall gets the blinkers off, ran much better with the class drop last out.  Hopefully this will be the chance she gets to break her maiden. This is her third race here since shipping from the east.

2^nd #1 Smashville doesn’t have much positive going looking at her past peformances, but she’s set at 9/2 ML.  Yet to hit the board in her first six races, but maybe she can get some positivity going.

3^rd #3 Atalanta Belle looks ok here too with her nice second place outing last time.  Before that, her performances were pretty bad, but last out was something different but I am not sure why.  She’s kind of a wildcard worth throwing $2 to show on.