Hawthorne Racecourse (3/19/10)
Contact: Jim Miller
(708) 780-3700
Hoops, racing upsets at Hawthorne
Well, today looks like the last of the beautiful days for a while, but we have been very lucky all meet long. Also, don’t listen to the weathermen when they say we are going to get any real type of snow tomorrow. Looking at weather.com the forecast high for tomorrow is 37 degrees with a low of 32 degrees. There will be little, if any snow. But that is for tomorrow, let’s look at today.
Today is the second day of the NCAA Tournament as we will have the March Madness games on here at Hawthorne. Yesterday was filled with upsets and I expect to see more in hoops and on the track as well. Looking back at Wednesday, we did have some upsets during the raceday, including Frank’s Time upsetting the opener that led to big show payouts as heavily favored Dunscombe missed the board. House of Usher pulled off the surprise in the finale as a race that looked to have a bunch of pace became a game of follow the leader with House of Usher leading every step, followed by Too Many Sins the entire way around.
Today we say congrats to jockey Tim Thornton as he is the proud daddy of a new baby girl. Baby Emmy was born last night and both baby and mother are healthy. I’m sure Timmy is tired, but he will be in the saddle today for the nine race card.
Changes
Main Track – Fast
Race 1
Scratch #5 – Aptitude in Me
Race 3
Scratch #2 – Tazz
Race 4
Scratch #1 – Rebounded
Race 7
Scratch #4 – Wayoff
Scratch #6 – Cruzatte
Best Bets
Race 4 - #2 Death Valley – This one won’t be a huge price but he has to be considered. He is very fast from the gate, but unfortunately some breathing problems have affected his performance. He has worn the cornell collar in the past but doesn’t today. Inez is familiar with him and he is the pace of the race. If pushed, he may quit, but there isn’t much in this field, so he should be able to hang on.
Race 5 - #1 – Affection – The complete opposite of Death Valley, Affection will be a long price. She sprinted in her last and while she didn’t show a ton, I watched to see that she finished with some late kick. She is better around two turns and should have some pace to chase. If you’re looking for a bomber, maybe this is the one.
