Day 26 - PICK 5 CARRYOVER - Sunday, July 10, 2011

Pick 5 carryover at Monmouth today which means there is $48,448 of free money in the pool. So, we have a full out assault on the 50¢ Pick 5 today. There is an all Top Choice play for a mere $27 and a Top Choice with One Backup play for $198. The second leg is a maiden special weight for 3YOs where we have a single. That will be a pivotal spot in the Pick 5 because we don't want to miss there and end up with only one ticket alive. Obviously this is pre-scratches, but it is a beautiful day, so I don't expect many changes. Find a partner to split the cost.
In the 50¢ Place Pick 6: 6,8 (1A) with 1,2,3 with 3,4,6 with 3 with 8,9 with 2,7 for $36.

evening update-No excuses for leaving the 5 horse out of leg 2 in the pick 5. That Pletcher maiden smoked the field. I didn't like the short price that the horse was going to bring, but when I saw him before the race I knew we were in trouble! Our all Top Choice ticket went 4 out of 5. The winning Pick 5 paid $300 thanks to the carryover.

GOOD LUCK!

Day 25 - Saturday, July 9, 2011

We have Uncle Mo on our side today. Momentum that is, after yesterday's near grand slam of the Pick 4, Pick 5, and Place Pick 6. Today at Monmouth there is only turf racing in the Battlefield Stakes, 10th race, all other races are on the FAST main track. The 50¢ Pick 5 play starts with a single and has a cost of $40.50.
The 50¢ Place Pick 6 is: 6,8,9 with 5,7 with 5 with 4,5 with 1,7 with 1,9,10 and a total ticket of $36.

5:40pm-update-PICK 5 CARRYOVER for Sunday of $48,448.75. That makes up for today's horrible performance. Let's get serious! I am alive to 2 horses in the late Pick 4 at BEL. That would fund tomorrow's Pick 5 nicely! Got it, with the bigger payout of $382.72. I love the 50¢ wagers!

REMEMBER to keep up with all of the racing news and talk. Go to http://www.horseracingnation.com/ . Read my "Racing at the Jersey Shore" blog there, too.

TWITTER @AndyScoggin and @HR_Nation.

Day 24 - Friday, July 8, 2011

Thank you to my readers. AndyScoggin in NJ just got its 2,000th hit. Today at Monmouth in the 50¢ Place Pick 5: 5,10 AE, (9, if AE scratches) with 1,4,5 with 3, 8 with 4,9 with 11 with 1,2,3. That is a $36 play. I am heading down to Monmouth today and I will post a Pick 5 play when I get there. I will also be posting some live updates during the day.

One ticket for the Pick 5 with a cost of $72.
Good luck. We are due to cash one today.

2:25pm-update-Great start in the Place Pick 6 where we caught a first leg exacta with both the 5 and 9 placing. That means that if we survive the whole way we will have 2 winning tickets! The AE 10 did not make the race so we used the 9 horse.

3:55pm-update-Good news we are alive in both the Pick 5 and Pick 6, but all races have come off the turf which means those races become ALL bets, meaning all horses count as a win. Obviously that reduces the payouts. In the Pick 6, leg 5 is ALL and we have the 1,2,3 in the last leg. In the Pick 5, legs 3 and 5 are ALL and we have 2,3,4 in leg 4.

6:03-update-What a strange day. It turns out we hit both the Pick 5 and Place Pick 6. The Place Pick 6 paid $40.50, but we had it twice for a collect of $81 - $36 = $45 profit. The pick 5 included 2 ALL legs in which we had 2 tickets each. The 3/4/ALL/2/ALL paid $71.30, but we had it 4 times for $285.20 - $72 - $213.20 profit.

AndyScoggin also had the Early Pick 4. I guess that means that today AndyScoggin hit the Pick 4, Pick 5, and Pick 6. I should have bet the Pick 3! LOL!

It was an unusual day for multirace wagering at Monmouth today.

Day 23 - Monday - The Fourth of July, 2011

Track is already fast at Monmouth. It is going to hazy, hot, and humid in NJ today. Race 6 is a super tough race, where the smart thing to do would be to hit the "all" button because only a couple of them have any significant turf form and I don't like them. The rest can run but have not tried the grass. So, if we can survive race 6 then maybe we have a chance. In the 50¢ Place Pick 6 here is our $36 play: 2,4,6 with 1, 4, 9 with 2,7 with 8 with 1,9 with 1,3.

Here is the 50¢ Pick 5 with the same concern about race 6, the first leg, so I offer you two options. The first uses only 2 horses in the first leg and the second option spreads over 5 in that race.
Today we call on another of my UConn favorites for good luck on Day 23, Miss Maya Moore. The greatest of all Huskies!

update - 4 out of 6 in the Pick 6. In the Pick 5, I must admit that when I got to the track and found out the front runners were having a hard time that I tweeked my ticket in the second leg by switching the 5 in for the 6. This got me alive to our three horses to hit a payoff of $520, $590, or $1,200. Nothing more exciting then be alive to the last leg. How frustrating then, that the 1 and 8 finished second and third to the front running 16-1 sprinter who was left to lope along by the other speed horses. They all expected that horse to come back to them, but after a 1:14 beginning it did not happen. I can't tell you how many times that has happened to me! Arrrrgh!

Day 22 - Sunday, July 3, 2011

I can not believe that the turf races are still on the grass. It is still raining at Monmouth at 12:15 pm. So, if the races come off the turf prior to race 4, then all bets are off. In the 50¢ Place Pick 6, it will be a $36 play: 2,3 with 2 with 2,3,8 with 4,8 with 4,8 with 1,3,5. I know in the last leg I have picked 3 of the 4 horses, but I want to catch an exacta in there if possible.

The "22" photo is Ashley Battle, one of my favorite women's basketball players, when she was with the NY Liberty, and today race 10 is the Miss Liberty Stakes. So, a little extra luck maybe.

6:15pm-update-I was correct about a couple of things. The races did come off the turf and that eliminated our play with the first leg having been carded for the turf. Also using 3 horses in the last leg did get an exacta, so we could have had two winning tickets. We did hit a couple of the races with the other horse being at big odds. Once again the Place Pick 6 paid over $100 for a 50¢ wager.

Day 23 is tomorrow, the 4th of July. I am guessing that there will be no turf racing, as the rain has lingered much longer than was expected. A wet main track would be good for our friend Pinelands Pete, who is entered in the 7th race.

TWITTER @AndyScoggin and @HR_Nation

Day 21 - Saturday, July 3, 2011

Ok, here is a bit of a rushed 50¢ Place Pick 6, on a very competitive day at Monmouth. It is also Beach Mat Giveaway Day with a paid grandstand admission. I found no singles in the sequence so that play is $48, which is above the usual cutoff of $36.

3,5,9 with 5,8 with 5,7 with 5,6 with 5,7 with 3,7

Maybe we should throw the 5 in the last leg so we could play 5/5/5/5/5/5 or play a 5/5/5/5/5/5,3,7. LOL!

10:15pm - update - 4 out of 6 today. The Pick 6 had another healthy payout! Tomorrow's another day. Overall stats for the Pick 6 have been revised in the right margin.

HorseRacingNation.com picked Flat Out, 13-1 winner of the Suburban Handicap at BEL. It is a great interactive website where the readers are encouraged to be involved.

Follow @HR_Nation and @AndyScoggin on TWITTER.

Movie Review - Buck

Sorry, I missed Day 20, my son has been at sleep away camp for this week, so my wife and I were in NYC for a few days. We say the movie Buck, what a great film. It is a must see for everyone, especially, if you have an interest in horses. Buck is the story of Buck Brannaman who actually is the Horse Whisperer. The man is remarkable and the film is not just about his amazing work with horses, but also about people. Buck is not showing in mainstream theaters, but make the effort to go find it and see it.

I just started handicapping the exciting Day 21 card for Saturday, July 2, that includes the G3 Salvatore Mile and the turf G1 United Nations Stakes. Races 9-12 include a $100,000 guaranteed 50¢ Pick 4.