Bet this race at Diamond SportsTop pick: #1 (MINTENIZED) (3-1) - Lightly raced 4yo chased and held down the place spot Dec. 16th at Los Alamitos racing at this $20K tag, going six furlongs. It was his first off a Jeff Metz claim, and the additional furlong he travels today is in his favor. Gets a slight edge.
2nd pick: #3 (Woodstock Memory) (6-1) - He's cutting back in distance following a good 4th place finish at this claiming price going a mile at Los Alamitos Dec. 11th. He's run well at this seven-furlong trip in the past and has finished 2nd in two of three locally.
3rd pick: #5 (Smarty Party Papa) (7-2) - Tough call as this one ships down from Golden Gate Fields for his second start. He raced very wide when debuting there on the Tapeta surface facing tougher Oct. 22nd. Beaten only 4.5 lengths, he's taking a big drop in class while switching to conventional dirt.
4th pick: #10 (Big Bad Jon) (5-1) - He received a rather poor ride last out at Los Alamitos going a mile. Extremely wide the entire race, he tired badly in the final 1/2-mile. He finished 2nd here at this tag and trip Oct. 21st, and a repeat of that effort makes him a major factor.