Let’s do a bonus race today here at the QPW. Hopefully we had the winner today at Aqueduct and can parlay the winnings to this race. It’s a big racing weekend in Pennsylvania for thoroughbred racing. Not only do we have the Pennsylvania Derby tomorrow, Presque Isle Downs has their big race this evening.
No green jacket will be given out to the winner, but we do have nine fillies and mares sprinting six and a half furlongs in the Grade 2 Presque Isle Masters. For the occasion this weekend, Presque Isle and Parx are combining two special wagers this weekend.
If you want to dabble in these wagers, we have the Keystone Daily Double which will be tonight’s Grade 2 Presque Isle Masters and tomorrow’s Pennsylvania Derby at Parx. There is also a Penn Pick 4, which will consist of the Presque Isle Mile, which is race 7 on today’s card, the aforementioned Presque Isle Masters, and tomorrow’s Grade 1 Cotillion and Grade 1 Pennsylvania Derby.
Presque Isle Downs Race 9 – Presque Isle Masters (Grade 2)
Favored in this evening’s Grade 2 sprint is the 2 Roses for Debra (9/5 morning line). She comes into this race finishing third in the Smart and Fancy on the turf at Saratoga last month. This was first race off a layoff. She will be dangerous here today for multiple reasons. First, this is the second race off of the layoff. Also, she has won three times in four tries at the Erie track with a second.
A mare just like Roses for Debra who runs well both on turf and synthetic is the 8 Gal in a Rush (5/2 ML). She won the Grade 3 Hendrie on Woodbine’s main synthetic track in July. Then she just missed in the Seaway last month in Toronto. She has not run at Presque Isle but she will have a nice trip on the outside today.
The 6 Nice as Pie (5/1 ML) returns to the races after just missing in the Penn Oaks at Penn Natipnal on May 31. She has been firing bullets, meaning the fastest working at a particular distance on a given day, leading up to today’s race. This three-year-old filly is four for four on synthetic tracks, having won all four at Turfway Park. She will be closing from the back of the pack.
Of course, there has to be a mystery horse. Today, the horse is Pandora’s Gift (6/1 ML). I was able to find that last race she ran in Ireland on the grass last month. She could not catch the top two horses in this race. She has four wins in five tries on the synthetic in the UK.
Joe’s Pick
Also, if you remember be mentioning this on Also Eligible, which will be on tomorrow morning at 10 am, I play an angle where horses are running for the first time in North America and the jockey is dropping weight for this race. Pandora’s Gift will only be carrying 116 pounds for this race, 15 less than that race in Ireland last month.
With that, I am going to see if this angle works at Presque Isle Downs. This has worked for me at Woodbine in the past, so let’s try it here tonight. Let’s go 7-8-6-2 and my play is $20 to win on the 7. Best of luck everyone!
Check out my stream “The Joe Quills Show” on Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays starting at 9 pm Eastern on my Twitch, X and YouTube talking about the latest sports news and whatever comes up; and catch my horse racing show every Saturday at 10 am Eastern on the Bleacher Brothers platforms.