in Triple Crown Free Picks

In this age of changing track surfaces, from Cushion Track, to the conventional dirt oval, it may never be more important than to get a race over the track for the experience factor.

This has always been true and it’s is true right now in Northern California where the yearly Fair circuit is occurring.

Fans always tend to just write off a horse off a poor race, but at these 2-week meetings, a run over the surface is huge. And, if a horse has been stabled locally, give that runner an extra glance in the exotics at least.

There are a ton of stops on the Fair circuit, it is now rolling at Stockton, about 60 miles east of San Francisco and the Fairs will continue at Pleasanton, Santa Rosa, Solano, Ferndale, and later in the late summer at Fresno.

The thing to focus on is that a race over the track does not have to be a particularly good one. If a horse was disadvantaged, maybe on the inside on a rally wide surface, then the race over the oval is all that more important.

Check out what has just happened recently at Hollywood Park to drive down the point:

On June 9, every single winner on the main track either had a number of workouts on the Cushion Track at Hollypark or had a recent race over the course. Of those winners, many of them had lost that Cushion Track prep directly before the win.

The next day, June 10, the song pretty much remained the same. The first timer in the opener had never worked or raced on the Cushion, but hardly none do from that barn of Peter Miller.

In the 2nd race, the winner was coming off his very best Cushion Track Beyer. In the third, a returnee had a series of Cushion drills under the girth before cashing.

In the 5th Blaze It improved 10 Beyer points in his second over the Cushion, then won in that third magical Cushion out.

The winner of the 6th had a prep over the Cushion, then paid $8.40 winning in clever style.

The feature race winner had never raced on the local synthetic surface, but had two fast and impressive works on it before winning the Grade 2 stakes.

Spriggzee was coming off a career Cushion Beyer, then promptly went out and dead heated with a runner that was coming off a Cushion effort, had run four times on the surface with two seconds, and shocked at the windows at $36, despite being in the heater.

Okay, one weekend does not make a novel, or a meeting, or a successful betting career but it’s obvious there is a trend there and you can bet your bottom dollar it will continue.

Looking to the next stop on the Del Mar, that track will debut the Polytrack, a synthetic surface but different from the Cushion.

In prior years, I have given horses an edge early in the meet at Del Mar that had gotten down to that track a couple of weeks ahead of time and had a chance to feel the local track.

This year, that angle will even by more key to making money.

And we’ll give you a heads up on a stable that may ship in and steal some purses. That’s the classy outfit trained by Tom Proctor.

Last year Proctor knocked over a few prices at the meeting and his runners were live at prices. This season if and when he comes, he will be bringing horses from Arlington Park.

The caveat here is that Arlington also utilizes the Polytrack. Get aboard early and often.

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