Mountaineer Park Horse Racing Picks for Tuesday 7/21/20
With most of the sports world on pause, it's a great time to dive into horse racing, and FanDuel Racing gives you the chance to do just that.
Starting at 7:00 p.m. EST, we have 9 races at Mountaineer Park. Using our numberFire projections as a guide, here are some of the best bets.
As always, check the program for scratches and changes, and check the weather and track conditions.
(I will reference Equibase's Speed Figure in selected races, which tells you how fast a horse has been running in each of its races -- adjusted for track, distances, and conditions.)
Judah and Clickjab, Race 2
FanDuel Racing Odds: 5/2 and 6/1
We have night racing at Mountaineer Park, and it includes six small $4K Claiming races. But Race 2 is an Allowance race with an Optional Claiming tag of $15K. Seven of the 10 runners are entered at the claiming price in this seven-furlong turf test.
The top pick at numberFire is favorite Atlantic Sun (2/1) followed by longshot Discovered (10/1) and Judah (5/2). Discovered has not won in his last 13 starts and has hit the board just twice.
Judah is conditioned by top trainer Jay Bernardini, who leads the Mountaineer meet in wins (14) and second-place (20) finishes. Judah has not won in six starts over the past year but did finish second in his 2020 debut last race just a head behind the favorite Atlantic Sun.
A closer look shows Judah had to angle out to move forward between horses in the upper stretch before rallying. Judah produced the same 92 speed figure as Atlantic Sun over the same turf track and same distance. Atlantic Sun came back with an off-the-pace runner-up finish on July 5. We’ll call for a reversal and also include Clickjab (6/1), a 9-year-old who won seven times last year. He posted a 95 speed figure in his 2020 debut three weeks ago when finishing a close third sprinting shorter.
Mutashabeah, Race 3
FanDuel Racing Odds: 5/2
Race 3 is an Allowance race on the turf at 1 3/8 miles. The top choices at numberFire are Mutashabeh (5/2) and Delp (2/1), whose implied win probabilities at FanDuel Racing are 29% and 33%, respectively.
Those two break from the outside posts in the nine-horse field and are ridden by leading jockeys Keivan Serrano and Odhair Mayta. Mutashabeh was disqualified for interference after winning a seven-furlong race on July 1 at Mountaineer. He came back and finished second a week later racing longer but carrying the lead into the stretch. Guaranteed Tip Sheet also calls for a bounce back with Mutashabeh a best bet.
Delp has not been nearly as consistent and makes his first-ever start at Mountaineer after finishing sixth in a pair of races in June.
Buffalo Max (6/1) could improve off his Mountaineer debut late last month when finishing a distant second and coming from the back of the pack. He switches from dirt to turf.
Olga Again, Race 9
Fan Duel Racing Odds: 8/1
The nightcap is a small Claiming race with nine fillies and mares sprinting five furlongs. The top pick at numberFire is Berry Strong (4/1) followed by longshot Zooming Zoey (15/1).
So many slow runners with poor results are in this field, including Berry Strong, who is 2-for-22 and failed to hit the board in her last seven starts while topping out at a 48 speed figure.
Lady David (5/2) is the favorite from the rail with just one win in 13 starts. That victory was last month from off the pace at this level going six furlongs.
Let’s try Olga Again (8/1), who followed a strong work with her decisive Maiden win July 5. She failed in her race against winners July 13 but has a better chance against this group.
