Weekend Winners Club

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Friday, August 25, 2022.  Charles Town is hosting a huge race day with 9 stakes races, highlighted by the Grade 3 CT Oaks and Grade 2 Charles Town Classic.  All 13 races besides the Oaks, for 3yo fillies, will be for 3 and up for male or female at various distances.

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Racing begins at 5PM ET and will run through 11PM, making for a great Friday night racing card in which fans and gamblers from coast to coast can participate.  Weather will be warm with a stray shower or thunderstorm possible at some point.  

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Let’s take a look at some of the stakes races and see if we can find some value.  First, grab Friday’s free Grid for Charles Town to follow along.

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Race 3, an allowance before the stakes racing, has some live long shots going on.  Check out Officer Appeal at 8-1, who did go flat on the sloppy track last out, but before that won 2 races at CT by 13 and 15 lengths, both in the last 2 months, giving him the best pair of PF’s on the board.  The 5, 7, and 8 could also factor in at good odds.

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Race 4 kicks off the stakes racing at 6:18PM with the Shenandoah.  There’s a good amount of speed in the race, but at 4.5 furlongs, it will be over before you know it, and you have to like early speed at 4.5f.  In this case, the fastest two are Good Karma 3-1 and Vacation Secret at 10-1.  The other single digit horses all look strong but make sure you include that long shot.

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Race 5 is another allowance with a field of 10 in which there is not a whole lot of early speed.  So take a good look at Remys Showtime with top EP and Speed, which is also the 4 rules horse.  But there’s also no reason to ignore the top LP Ministry of Magic at 5-1 ML, or 2^nd in Power rating Stormin Rocket at 12-1.

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Race 6 the Potomac Stakes looks like a 2 horse race between favorites on paper, with Penguin Power likely to dominate.  But at 4.5f, again it will be over before you know it, and don’t be surprised if Jefferson Native tries to steal it on the front end at 8-1.

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Race 7 the Hawkins again looks like a 2 horse race between favorites, but give Yolo Charlotte a chance to show some speed at 8-1, and Azzurra a chance to show her closing ability at 7f.

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Race 8 is the Pink Ribbon $250k at 7f and it’s very difficult to envision the heavy favorite not winning here.  The great Frank’s Rockette is rounding back into top form, coming off 4 straight stakes races in which she finished 2^nd by a length or less. 

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Race 9 is the Robert Hilton Memorial and although 14 are listed, 4 are alternate entries and it will go off with a maximum field of 10.  As usual, the 3 favorites look strong, but El Pando is undefeated in 3, including a stakes win his 2^nd time out, and at 10-1 you could do worse.

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Race 10 is the Russell Road Stakes where they will try to gang up and beat the 3-5 favorite.  Shacks way will try to snatch it on the front end at 12-1.  If the speed duel develops and they disintegrate on the front end, Eastern Bay at 6-1 will try to clean up the pieces.

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Race 11:  The CT Oaks G3 features 9 great 3yo fillies.  Again with strong favorites, but people who don’t have the Grid don’t know that 9.Free Like a Girl is top in Power rating and the 4 rules filly at 6-1.

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Race 12:  The CT Classic G2 has a talented field of 8 horses and geldings, but looks on paper like a 2 horse race between multiple G1 winner and defending champion Art Collector, and 4 rules Mind Control.  To complete your exotics, consider Last Samurai and Officiating at 8-1, and Jalen Journey at 15-1.

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Race 13 the Frank Gall Memorial looks chalk heavy again.  The long shot specials are River Crosroad Rvf, a name which I can’t explain, on the front end, and Candy Invasion as the closer, both at 12-1 ML.

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You can get the Grid for all your favorite tracks and races including Saratoga and Del Mar here.

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