The Nomination Is In: The Arlington Park Classic Day Pick 5/Pick 4 and Superfecta Options

Turk Clan at the Races

Being at the track has different meanings to me.  There are times when I go alone, business like, with the intention of cashing tickets.  Sometimes I go alone just to relax, as the track is one place where I don't pay attention to my wrist watch or my work email.  Occasionally I like to go with other men and indulge in a cigar, a drink and work race sequences together.  Then there is just family time at the track, like last week at Pimlico.  I made a commitment to myself to try and transfer my love of the track and the riddle that is handicapping to the Little Turk, now 13.  Little Turk has been to more Grade 1 races at this point in his life than most of the adults dressed in their hipster clothes that flock to the track on only the busiest days of the year.  He's got a sharp eye and a mind for the pace.  I thank Mrs. Turk for indulging in this behavior as well, pictured here for the first time as she is typically camera shy.

Arlington has a special place in my heart.  I was there many many years ago when the old grandstand and stables burned to the ground.  I was in the US Navy, stationed 20 miles or so away.  The new place is a wonderful track, modern and in good condition compared to many of the older tracks in the United States, and as we know, people aren't lining up to build new tracks these days.  My family have taken vacations to Arlington and we are always treated extremely well.  From the prettiest bugler in the nation, to every steward and attendant, we enjoy the place completely.

I don't have high expectations for my handicapping today.  I've built some bets that appear to have some real value to them and I'm going to keep my investment within reason and see how it goes.  I handicapped the Pick 5 but I don't think I'm willing to make the investment that I think is required ($108) to hit it.  I'll watch that one but I don't plan to play it.

I handicapped The late pick 4 as well. Claiming races mixed in, one on turf, makes the sequence a real challenge but I think its worth the $36 dollar investment.  I'm leaning towards placing that bet, but if I don't I'll say so afterwards Win or Lose.

I think the  Arlington Classic is an interesting race, with some real tepid betting favorites near the top, but I like Yorkshire Icon (GB) to bring some value to the bet.  General Election even looks just as tempting as does Admiral Kitten and Procurement.  If I was thinking chalky, I like Procurement cutting back in distance slightly for Trainer Proctor.  Will Go-Go be up, I'm not sure after his fall.

I expect the turf to be Yielding.  It was yesterday and some rains are in the forecast today.

I'm also hunting real value in the Hanshin Cup with PatrioticandProud.  I think Trainer Mark Casse has a strong horse on his hands, 8 of 9 in the money on fake stuff, and he'll be overlooked with Nate's Mineshaft, Seruni and Mr. Marti Gras in the gate.





Have fun with it fans, I plan on keeping it reasonable as I value hunt.

Turk Out!

The Nomination Is In: The Arlington Park Late Pick 5 (Races 7-11) on Arlington Million Day

That crew of horseplayers is the Corbin Gang, who hosted one heck of party early this year at Arlington Park to celebrate the graduations of Turk Cousins, Braden and Mac. Horseplaying is a family activity, it brings people together in both glorious success and flaming failure.

The Ol' Turk loves Arlington Park. The plush grass carpet is the finest in North America and , cough, the poly plays fair. On top of that, it's lovely. The architecture was well thought out and the facility is in excellent condition. I worry about Arlington Park though. Stuck in a State where corruption is rampant and special interests and politics can't get out of the way, the purse structure has made this wonderful facility almost irrelevant in the national racing structure. With no disrespect to Race Track Casinos, the advantage these facilities have to attract the best horses running for the most money is overwhelming Arlington Park. I hope sanity will come at some point.

The Turk returns to finish off a horizontal Pick 5. In the process I fleshed out some of my vertical handicaps, particularly the Secretariat and The Beverly D.

These sort of races, with the foreign invaders of various quality tossed in, can be very challenging. My Pick 5 isn't very dynamic and maybe even is a bit chalky, but that's the way I see it unfolding. I wanted to keep the bet to a reasonable size or I have a $32 bet at $1 or $64 at $2. I'm still mulling if I place it or not. W'll see.

Let's get after this!



Vertiformer has scratched out of the St. Leger in favor of the Million. I'm not so sure he didn't scratch out of the wrong race but what do I know. You can find the rest of the Scratches and Changes here. All of these races are on the turf and it's listed as Good. Hmmmm.




I'll be building exotic bets based on my base handicaps. I'll ditch the Pick 5 bet if I reach my determined betting limit. These are high risk, Ok reward bets, requiring quite a bit of skill. There are more variables involved than I'd like so I approach these more as a horse fan than as reclusive whale. As I like to talk about, pick your marks to bet, and there are easier bets than these. For a mixture of challenge, skill and beautiful ascetetics, nothing compares to this today except the Alabama.

Have fun whatever you do. These are the good days of the horse racing year.

Turk Out!