Well it was certainly a surprise to me when I saw that the Pick-6 carryover from Thursday to Friday in New York was only $12,700.  I honestly don’t ever remember it below $20,000.  When I mentioned it on Friday morning to Ralph Siraco, he seemed just as surprised as I was.  This leads me to wonder – what’s going on!   Here are some quit thoughts a) are the local players in NY uncomfortable with the results, so much so that they are backing off the play for awhile, b) has the economic issues of this time knocked so many players out of the game and the Pick 6 or c) was this just an anomaly?  I don’t know, but I think “A” is worth a brief discussion.  At the beginning of most meets, we see some horses that jump up at big prices and run 1st or 2nd more than expected.  That’s always been my expectation, but at both Aqueduct and Hollywood, there has certainly been more of that.   I don’t mind, I usually find a few of those longs for myself, finding horses that have been cleverly prepped at Santa Anita or Belmont before shipping into Aqueduct or BF-Hollywood.  They can’t all be hidden from my figures!   In short order this normalizes and the PPN’s that are based upon the races the horses run at BF-Hollywood or Aqueduct become boss and trump the angle stuff…   Angles are fun and this is a good time to have a few to work, but in the long run the best angles are the ones that come from real-improving-form, at least that’s my position…

For the time being, be a little flexible with horses that suggest they have been prepped – cleverly…

As we pass the halfway point of November the STAR horses have performed quite well- From Nov 1 through Nov. 16 the total return is $215.20 at a cost of $156.00 — The ROI is a gaudy $1.38 per $1.00 wagered…

STAR horses on Friday returned $8.20 against a nominal cost of $6.00.  In the end, the STAR horses were satisfactory while not plentiful —  on Friday…