AMERICAN TURF CLUB LEAD

By: JOE GIRARDI

            We have said in this spot many times that the best play in racing is the pick four. You can make the play for a $1 and the pools are very good, much better in New York than the pick six pool sans a carryover. There is an opportunity to make a lot of money on a small play and the weekend of February 24-25^th at Aqueduct the late pick four presented that opportunity. 

            On Saturday February 24^th the late pick four pool had $285,403 and the races had seemed competitive making for a good payoff; we hoped. In the first leg of the pick four we used four horses, the 1,2,7,8. The 1 SAL THE PAL was coming off a good third place finish but was getting a rider switch and a better post. After stalking the leaders through the first quarter mile he took over and drew away for an easy score as the 3-1 second choice.

            The second leg of the pick four we used four horses again, the 1,3,9,10. The 1 was FIFTY FRAME who took advantage of his rail post and was sent right to the lead, never looking back holding on by a neck late. Although he paid 7-2 as the third choice in the race he was 12-1 morning line which helped inflate his odds in the pick four sequence.

            The third leg there were only two horses to use, the two favorites the 5 and 7. The winner was the 5, the slight second choice DINA, who went wire to wire throughout.

            The final leg of the pick four sequence we used three horses, the top three choices, 1,4,6; with the second choice, the 1 DUAL JEWELS scoring at 3-1. The parlay on these four horses was $496 and each horse paid under $10; however if you played the pick four play you got $1,284 for every $2. The sequence of 4x4x2x3= $96. We made a total of $192 play putting that ticket in twice with a return of $1,284, more than a $1,000 profit.

            On Sunday, we went into that day with our concentration on the late pick four again, hoping for a repeat from the day before. In the first leg of the pick four we had three horses open, 2,3,4. The 2 was UPSCALE STORM who wired them in his third career start, scoring by an easy four and a half lengths. Sent off at 9-5 he was the favorite in the race.

            In the second leg, a New York bred allowance race, we had three horses open again, the 2,6,8. The 6, DOCTOR FREUD who improved a ton when stretching out for his maiden score came back with a repeat effort holding on by a neck to get the win as the 9-5 favorite.

            In the third leg, the 8^th race we had two horses open, the 1,3 with the 3 being our best play of the day (if you called the 900 line you got the winner at $23.60). After breaking on the lead, OLIVINE stayed clear throughout, scoring by five lengths as the longest shot in the race. This horse would obviously help the pick four after two favorites won the first two legs for a $17 daily double.

            In the final leg we had three horses open, the 1,2,5, the 5 was sent off at even money and after some anxious moments got the job done over a 49-1 shot. We had closed out another pick four this time on a sequence that went 3x3x2x3= $54. Coming off the win from the day before we made these tickets four times for a $216 play. The parlay on these four horses came to $409, but when the pick four was paid off you got $1,070 for every $2. We collected $2,140 for our $216 investment for just over a $1900 profit. For the weekend our profit was almost $3,000 on the two pick four plays. It shows you that with a little investment and some imagination you don’t need to have 50-1 shots win to make a score the pick four provides you that opportunity every day, take your shot. Good Luck!