I admit that I have taken you to some tracks that you didn’t realize existed. There were the summer nights at Assiniboia Downs and the Canada Day race at Hastings Park. There have also been tracks across the United States like Will Rogers Downs, Penn National and Mahoning Valley, just to name a few of the lesser known American tracks over the course of the last 12 months.
Today, we are going back to one of those places where you are surprised that it exists. Our featured race today takes us to FanDuel Racing across the river from St. Louis, Missouri. Formerly known as Fairmount Park, the Collinsville, Illinois track hosts our featured race today, the Jim Edgar Illinois Futurity.
FanDuel Racing Race 5 – Jim Edgar Illinois Futurity
Today’s race is for colts and geldings going six furlongs. Favored is the 1 Ravin’s Ransom (8/5 ML). He gunned to the lead on the outside of a small field at Hawthorne and never looked back. The favorite’s trainer has insane numbers in all categories that this horse qualifies under. I am not worried about the three-month layoff here either.
On the outside is the other speed horse in the race, the 7 Indyville (9/5 ML). He won gate to wire in August and then could not hold off the winner in the stretch three weeks ago. Like most of these horses, he is invading from Hawthorne who recently completed their thoroughbred season.
If a speed duel develops, you will have two things. There could be two different races where the two favorites are dueling the entire time, or you could see a meltdown scenario. The 3 Journey (7/2 ML) could be the beneficiary of that latter thought. He broke his maiden on the turf at Hawthorne and will look to see if that form from not too far off the pace will translate to the dirt here at FanDuel Racing.
The 2 Coolthing (3/1 ML) is the most experience horse in the field, already racing eight times. Took seven tries to break his maiden, but he did win off the pace the last two times. This is his home track which should be a plus. However, I take nothing out of that last race since there were only two other horses in the race.
Joe’s Pick
One thing you will see when you look at this race is the fact that the racing at Hawthorne, although not as strong as it is in the past, is above FanDuel Racing/Fairmount Park. But occasionally those horses invading Chicago win up there. But we have the opposite here. The Hawthorne horses, since that track is now set up for harness, come here for this two-year-old stakes race.
I think there is going to be a major speed duel up front. The question is whether the two favorites race their own race for three-quarters of a mile, or they soften each other for the rest of the field. Of these four logical horses, I will lean towards the meltdown scenario and take the 3 Journey here today. Let’s call this 3-7-1-2 and my play is $20 to win on the 3. Best of luck everyone!
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