Oct. 9th Horse Pick of the Day – Oak Tree at Santa Anita Race 7
When a really good trainer decides to drop a horse, online racebook fans had better pay attention. Not because that horse automatically could be a good online horse bet. It’s that the horse in question might not be good enough to win the claiming race the trainer has put him in.
In other words, the horse could be a broken animal. If that’s true, then no matter what that horse has done in the past, it won’t run a lick in a claiming race.
Then again, there are claimers and then there are claimers. An optional claimer for $62,500 is a bit more respectable than a claimer for $6,500.
Such is the case with our Horse Pick of the Day who is dropping from stakes races to this claimer on the turf.
Race-time: 7:15 pm est.
Oak Tree at Santa Anita – – Race 7
$62,500 n2x Optional Claimer
For Three Year Olds and Up
6 ½ furlongs downhill turf
Stormin’ Away – – 7/2 online betting odds
He’s won smaller stakes and has run in Grade II and Grade III races, but trainer Jeff Mullins still decides to put him up for the claiming tag. Why? Because the largest pursed stakes he has ever won was for $60,000. The purse for this optional claimer is $50,000. So, if he wins and gets claimed, Mullins and his owners not only get $62,500 but they also receive about 35% of the purse. That’s pretty good. The drop doesn’t bother me. He should be right behind the speed and in perfect position turning for home.
Band of Thunder – – 7/2 online betting odds
Goes up in class but keeps Joel Rosario. I love the fact that he has speed and should stick right with the likely frontrunner Wiredfortwotwenty. That’s a good thing as there doesn’t appear to be a lot of speed in this. He popped a real nice speed rating in his last. If he does that again, he could win this.
Wiredfortwotwenty – – 2/1 online betting odds
The speed of the speed deserves favoritism. He could take the lead and just run off, but I’m not ready to concede this race to him. He has two wins and a second out of only three starts. My only issue is why is he in this race? Isn’t it time to stretch this guy out? That and the online wagering odds will be just too low.
Wagering Strategy
Stormin’ Away to win and place should be a very good online bet to make in this race. I will also use Stormin’ Away in exacta and trifecta boxes with Wiredfortwotwenty and Band of Thunder.
Good Luck!
