Wacky Wednesday picks

Here are my Wednesday picks. A few folks have been asking about my timetable-- how and when I pick horses now that we are distributing picks with the program. So, here is how it generally works.
On the day of the draw, I do a set of preliminary picks. These go to the Chicago papers and to Pacey Mindlin;s website. So, for Friday, I do those on Tuesday. They are usually pretty quick picks as they do not inlcude final driver choices, In To Go lines or Morning line odds. I spend about an hour on these.
The next day (Wednesday for Friday), after the program is "cleared," which means drivers make their choices and ML odds are posted, I do a pretty complete handicapping job, some of it based on my previous work. I spend another hour or so on these picks. Those picks are sent to our admissions department which prints the insert that goes in the program.
Depending on the day of the week, those picks are also posted here, usually one day in advance (Thursday for Friday). Depending on my work schedule, they may go up Wednesday evening or not until Friday morning.
If I am doing TV, I spend another hour or so looking at the program that afternoon, to refresh my memory, check with a couple handicappers whose opinions I respect (don't worry, Dave B is not one of them, lol) and then I finalize my selections, which I give out over the air, pending scratches and driver changes.
Many times, there will be little change between the three sets of picks, other times, there may be a huge difference.
Good luck!


Race 1: 5 Splish Flash-Has shown flashes and gets a weak group that wins once every 19 starts for their career; 1 NF Gallivant- Gets the rail; Astroflight- 3rd back, races evenly, draws poorly.

Race 2: 1 Cg’s Lady-Not sure what her bottom is, but has impressed; 3 Barratry- Got the win at this level; his own worst enemy at times; 2 Arts Express- Has been competitive at this level without the tag, may need a start.

Race 3: 9 Doowrah’s Trifold- Second tier may be a problem for this baby; 1 Sand Dollie- If she races to her breeding, she wins by ten, rail and Ryan; 6 Average Hoss- Keeps picking up the checks for Henry. Will beat former stablemate Coin of The Realm.

Race 4: 3 Corleones Capo- Got him Saturday at $10+, a different horse with Dirty in the bike; 9 Fessup Fred- Big time class drop and gets Aaron; 8 Deputy Gabriel- Can he find a way to compete from out here? Otherwise, lots to like, 1 Lukenbak-races evenly.

Race 5: 5 Rapid Dialing- Drop to the $3s worries me, but how do you pick against him? 4 Johnnyisajohnny- Best draw of the year and picking up horses late; 2 Mike’s Heir-races better for Aaron than anyone else.

Race 6: 5 Dublin Dollars- No chance in last; wins if he loops the 1; 1 Dancen S J- Will Elvis’s Army Green buddy play hardball? ETE; 4 Bigmacatac- Fresh and if right could be roll late with a race that might set up for him.

Race 7: 1 Sam’s Delight- Has done everything but win lately, tonight’s the night; 4 Art’s Baker- Draws PP4 after 8-6-7-8-7, may be value; 5 Jtshadow- May need a start, but qualifier was quality on a miserable track; 9 Rabbitman- will close against these.

Race 8: 4 Contradiction- Draws inside foe in an anticipated speed duel; 5 Thunder Shower- Not quite as sharp as Contradiction; 2 Redzilla- Can close if fractions are right.

Race 9: 4 Ryans Hall- Acting like a pack animal of late, but is better than he shows; 5 Harmony Oaks Tom- class relief in 2nd start back, below level of last win; 6 Isa Devil- Not sure from out here, but someone’s gotta finish third, right?

Race 10: 4 Eza Rich King- drops to the bottom after 4 checks in 5; 4 Noble Moe’s First- Drops to level of his last win; 1 A Firm Kisser- Gets the rail; 8- Tiger Iz- Good effort over bad surface in his last, don’t dismiss.

Race 11: 1 Armbro Deck- could upset for Mooney; she is red-hot; 5 Painted Speed- $5 in against $4s has an advantage; 3 Bacon Hill Bandit- due for a clunker; looking for value here.

Race 12: 4 Toronado Mindale- Wyatt chooses off my original choice, Dontsayno, to drive; 4 Dontsayno- perfect trip in last And figures on another tonight; 1 Mans Star- fits from inside.

Race 13: 4 Liltycantbedenied- Has been in 29 of last 31, but not tonight, cap opened for him and #5; 3 Farbe- Barn change, and JD has had success in the past; 8 Chupp Don- Racing well, post is a killer with these; 5 Town Scoot- Opened the cap for him, but is unproven at this level.