SHRP OPENING NIGHT

Fred Faour's selections for opening night at Sam Houston Race Park

Fred Faour's selections for opening night at Sam Houston Race Park
Sam Houston Race Park returns to live racing tonight. Courtesy photo

Sam Houston Race Park opens for live racing tonight with nine races and nine more on Saturday night. Here are my selections for Friday night's card. These are not meant to be in exact order, but merely the four horses I think have the best chance to win. For beginners, I suggest exacta boxes with three horses, using two of mine and one of your own. And you can always pick up a copy of Acing Racing 2016 to learn everything you need to know. (These are the picks and format that are available on the free tip sheet at SHRP).

FIRST 

5-6-2-3

SPRINGTIME MOJO shortens up and should be a factor late

SECOND

2-7-3-5

FLAT OUT GITTIN IT drops back in for a tag and fits well here

THIRD

6-8-5-1

KATIES SHADOW comes off a nice effort and has been well bet in all 3 starts

FOURTH

8-6-4-1

SPANISH COYOTE might be a factor in this spot

FIFTH

1-6-5-2

AREED leads a solid Broberg entry and should be tough

SIXTH

5-3-6-9

CLASSIC SOPO ships in from Fair Grounds off a sharp effort

SEVENTH

7-1-5-4

ONEMOREFASTDANCE has been consistent and should be in the mix

EIGHTH

8-2-5-1

GAME LOADING should bounce back here and offers nice value

NINTH

6-7-5-10

NO SUPERVISION rates a slim edge in a competitive group

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How Astros suddenly poised to make noise as bats, arms surge

Will Isaac Paredes stay hot against the Cardinals? Photo by Tim Warner/Getty Images.

The Houston Astros and St. Louis Cardinals meet Monday night at Busch Stadium, both aiming to get above .500 in the early weeks of the season.

Houston (7-8) sends left-hander Framber Valdez (1-1, 2.50 ERA) to the mound in search of a strong start to begin a three-game road series. The Astros, 3-3 away from home this season, have leaned on their pitching—ranking eighth in the American League with a 3.70 team ERA.

St. Louis (7-8) counters with right-hander Sonny Gray (2-0, 4.50 ERA), who has a WHIP of 0.88 despite some early bumps in run prevention. The Cardinals have been solid at home (6-3) and are among the NL’s best-hitting teams, posting a collective .280 average.

Jose Altuve (.302, 3 HR) and Isaac Paredes (13-for-42, 3 HR in last 10) lead the way for Houston’s offense, while Brendan Donovan (.350, 10 RBI) and Pedro Pages (10-for-34, 7 RBI in last 10) have been producing for the Cardinals.

Both teams enter the matchup with identical 7-8 records but differing trends: Houston has outscored opponents by eight runs over their last 10 games (5-5), while the Cardinals have gone 4-6 during that stretch, giving up 5.19 runs per game.

First pitch is scheduled for 7:45 p.m. ET.

Here's a sneak peek at tonight's lineup:

Image via: MLB.com/Screenshot.

Mauricio Dubon gets the nod at second base again, and Chas McCormick will make the start over Jake Meyers in center field. Jose Altuve will get some time off his feet hitting in the DH spot, with Yordan Alvarez playing in left field.


*ChatGPT assisted.

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