by Bill Eichenberger
Bill Eichenberger offers his picks for the $20,000 guaranteed Pick-4 at Harrah’s Chester on Sept. 4, part of the USTA Strategic Wagering program. Harrah’s Chester Pick-4, Races 7-10, Sunday, Sept. 4, 2011 Because Chester canceled its card on Aug. 28 because of Hurricane Irene, the Amateur Handicapper had to wait two weeks to boast about hitting his second Pick-4 of the season for a respectable $354. What made the day memorable was the quality of Sandardbreds being handicapped: the best in the harness racing business lined up at Chester on Aug. 21 for a shot at more than $2.4 million in purses. See You At Peelers won and remained undefeated in one of our bets. Today is another day. $1 play: 345/48/678/78 = $36 Analysis: Race 7: This is a highly competitive race likely to produce an unlikely winner. (4) Dreamlands Art is the morning line favorite at 5-2 but he hasn’t won a race since July 2. Like Dreamlands Art, (3) DVC Flyingfrenchman has paced frequently at a mile and a sixteenth and with some success, including a victory on July 30 by more than four lengths. He’s gone his last three miles in 1:51.1 or better and has won twice this year at a mile in 1:49.4. Like him at anything near his 10-1 morning odds. (5) Rescue Plan has the best recent start, a victory at a mile in 1:50 after a tough trip (parked one wide for half the race) and a speed rating of 96. (7) Mr Molly N is another solid pacer though lightly raced this season. The 8-year-old gelding has won three of five, however, and is always at or around the 1:51 mark for a mile. The post may hurt. Race 8: (4) Zander Massimo is the class of this claiming handicap for a purse of $23,000. The 5-2 morning line favorite has won three of his last five races and finished in the money in 22 of 29 this season. (8) Haroun Hanover has a nasty post but has shown tremendous early speed all year long and won from the eight post the last time out. Another pacer who seems always to end up on the board. Race 9: Can’t lie about this race — it’s impossible to handicap. Want proof? How about in the program under “highest winning percentage” we find the phrase, “insufficient data.” Exactly. If you guessed a maiden race you were correct. If you guessed unreliable 2-year-old pacers, you hit the exacta. So what’s a handicapper to do? Let’s bet the only three pacers in the race with speed ratings of 70 or above this year. Race 10: Nice to get a $60,000 Open Handicap to wash the bad taste of a maiden claimer out of the ol’ yap. These veteran pacers should be well familiar to us after a summer of duking it out. (7) Dial Or Nodial is the 5-2 favorite with good reason — the 5-year-old gelding by Western Ideal out of Smart Dialing has won three of his last six races and paced four trips in speed ratings over 100. His last was a barn-burner over (8) Rockincam by less than a length in 1:49.4. Remember how much love (5) Delmarvalous received early in the season? Well, the horse has fallen on difficult times and is at 8-1 in the morning line. Capable? Sure. Likely? Not very. (6) Mr Massimo has been steady though unspectacular, winning seven of 27 with earnings approaching $200,000. The posts for the favorites are problematic, but the quality of the pacers offsets the obstacle.