After the Road to Kentucky contest at Turfway Park had ended, a familiar song kept running through my mind that I couldn’t shake. It was a song from my youth, a song that the son of two country music loving parents would hear on WDGY in the late summer evenings of 1977. Johnny Paycheck was the singer, and “Take This Job and Shove It” was the song. However, in my mind last Saturday night the song had a little different twist.
My subconscious was hearing “Take this chalk and shove it.”
The maximum score this week was 1,889 points for the 12 race Turfway card. Favorites and low-priced contenders ruled the day, as the highest priced winner was a 6-1 shot worth 324 points. Ten of the twelve races offered up less than 200 points each. What I refer to as “slash-five” horses dominated the winners circle (3/5, 4/5, 6/5, etc.)
The featured Spiral Stakes was an exciting finish, as Harry’s Holiday (15-1) and Coastline (8-1) battled neck and neck for most of the stretch. (Harry’s Holiday was Canterbury Park analyst Angela Hermann’s tout in her Spiral preview last week). Somehow, We Miss Artie surged and got up by a nose at 7/2 odds in a three-way head bob. Harry’s Holiday was still worth the most contest points at 440, but he could have been a 1,000 point horse with a little luck.
My Spiral selection was All Tied Up, a Todd Pletcher trained turf runner from Gulfstream Park who was sent off at 19-1. He made a smart move along the inside on the turn and it looked like he might get involved, but he ultimately flattened out. I did manage to find that 6-1 winner mentioned earlier, but my 590 point total is third page material.
No dominant contest horse again this week. I expect the winning score to be between 1,200-1,300 points and the scores should be well bunched. Good luck if you are in that point range!
Next week the contest track is Fair Grounds and the bonus race is the Louisiana Derby. There is also a second bonus race at Gulfstream Park, the Florida Derby. Hope to see you here!
“Take this chalk…”
The Oracle
