by Bob Pandolfo

Bob Pandolfo offers his picks for the $50,000 Pick-4 at Meadowlands Racetrack on July 4, part of the U.S. Trotting Association Strategic Wagering Program.

Meadowlands Pick-4, Races 7-10, Saturday, July 4, 2015

Last night a $104.60 longshot won the seventh race in a race with several breakers and there went my Pick-4. I had the other three winners. Tonight’s sequence seems difficult so I’m going to tread lightly.

I’m going to try something different. I’m going to use the DRF Ticketmaker to construct the tickets. Basically, the way it works, you rank your picks in each race according to A, B, or C, with A being your best picks. Then you tell Ticketmaker how much you want to spend and it automatically creates a ticket. This is a much different way of playing the Pick-4. Some tickets will be played more heavily than others, and overall it cuts down the cost of the wager.

Championship meet totals: standard ticket, 14 plays, -$151.50; whale ticket, eight plays, one winning ticket for $53.00, -$144.00; Ticketmaker totals: one play, -$60.00.

DRF Ticketmaker tickets:
Ticket 1 $2.50 Pick 4: 1 with 5 with 7 with 4 = $2.50
Ticket 2 $1.50 Pick 4: 8 with 5 with 7 with 4 = $1.50
Ticket 3 $1.50 Pick 4: 1 with 3,4 with 7 with 4 = $3.00
Ticket 4 $1.50 Pick 4: 1 with 5 with 8 with 4 = $1.50
Ticket 5 $1.50 Pick 4: 1 with 5 with 7 with 5 = $1.50
Ticket 6 $1.00 Pick 4: 8 with 3,4 with 7 with 4 = $2.00
Ticket 7 $1.00 Pick 4: 8 with 5 with 8 with 4 = $1.00
Ticket 8: $1.00 Pick 4: 8 with 5 with 7 with 5 = $1.00
Ticket 9: $1.00 Pick 4: 1 with 3,4 with 8 with 4 = $2.00
Ticket 10: $1.00 Pick 4: 1 with 3,4 with 7 with 5 = $2.00
Ticket 11: $1.00 Pick 4: 1 with 5 with 8 with 5 = $1.00
Ticket 12: $1.00 Pick 4: 1 with 6,9 with 7 with 4 = $2.00
Ticket 13: $1.00 Pick 4: 1 with 5 with 4, 5, 6 with 4 = $3.00
Total: $24.00

Analysis:

Race 7: I think I can get through this race with two, the 1 entry and the 8.

Race 8: This is a very tough race to handicap. I used five horses, 3, 4, 5, 6, 9.

Race 9: This race is also very wide open, I used five horses, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8. Because of the Ticketmaker, I can use more horses but I need some of my A picks to win.

Race 10: (3) Mambo Italiano and (4) Bettor Not Miss seem the most likely winners here.