PLAYING THE PONIES

Sam Houston Race Park selections for Saturday, April 13 (with bonus selections on the Arkansas Derby card at Oaklawn and Lexington at Keeneland)

Sam Houston Race Park selections for Saturday, April 13 (with bonus selections on the Arkansas Derby card at Oaklawn and Lexington at Keeneland)
Trump My Record runs at Sam Houston Race Park Saturday night. Hodges Photography

Here are my selections for Saturday. 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). Also, it is Arkansas Derby Day at Oaklawn, and if you are looking for some simulcast action before Sam starts, we have a few plays for you...As to SHRP, these are all 2-year-old races and most have never run, so we are basically making our best guess by looking a breeding, trainers and works. It is not a card I have a lot of confidence in, but good luck today! We also have bonus picks on the cards for the final major Derby preps - the Arkansas Derby and Lexington:

OAKLAWN PARK

Race 4: The Count Fleet features one of the best sprinters in America in No. 4 Whitmore. But we like No. 1 Mitole to pull a mild upset. Straight exacta 1-4.

Race 9: The Oaklawn Handicap. Rain is expected and it should be a sloppy track. If so, we will bet No. 3 Chris and Dave across the board. If the track is fast, we will pass.

Race 11: Arkansas Derby. This one should come down to four horses to win the race - No. 1 Improbable, No. 3 Omaha Beach, No. 8 Country House an No. 11 Long Range Toddy (terrible name by the way). We will play the trifecta with 1-3-8-11 on top with 1-2-3-5-6-8-11 with 1-2-3-5-6-8-11. I like this play on a fast or wt track and you can play it for .50 if you don't want to spend more than $60.

KEENELAND

Race 9: The Lexington Stakes. I like No. 3 Sueno off an OK third in the Louisiana Derby. If he returns a stalking trip, I like his chances a lot. Will play across the board and wheel first and second in exactas with the 1-2-4-5-6-9-10. I will also double dip and take long shot Senden, who hung in there against probable Derby favorite Tacitus in his last start. So bet the 9 across and go 9 with 1-2-3-4-5-6-10 and 1-2-3-4-5-6-10 with 9. I will also hit the 3-9 box a couple extra times.

SHRP

FIRST
10-7-4-1
AGAVERO CARTEL has harp works for the career debut


SECOND
8-1-6-10
CANELO ALVAREZ might pack a...punch at first asking?

THIRD
1-8-2-5
BABY LICIOUS just missed in a big race in Louisiana

FOURTH
6-2-1-5
TRS HOMBRE looks as good as any in a wide open affair

FIFTH
2-4-6-3
TRUMP MY RECORD is already a stakes winner after two starts

SIXTH
7-2-5-6
KOMMANDER just missed in debut and should improve here

SEVENTH
8-1-10-3
DIAMOND DOMINATION could surprise at a nice price

EIGHTH
9-1-3-5
GBH STREAKINFORGIRLS is bred to run early and has solid works

NINTH
1-10-2-4
DOC HOCKADAY has fired off a pair of bullet works for this

TENTH
4-7-8-3
J RODS MACHO MAN has a nice win under his belt, which should give him an edge

11TH
5-6-2-7
NSM ICE STORM has nice works and is bred to run early

12TH
5-2-7-9
CLICK CLICK BANG has solid works for good connections

13TH
5-8-6-1
CY ME AND YOU PROSPECT was OK in debut and should improve in start No. 2

14TH
7-3-6-2
HES EL MARTILLO was close in debut in Oklahoma; should move forward

15TH
8-9-5-3
QUEEN CORONADA has a couple nice works and is bred to be quick

Most Popular

SportsMap Emails
Are Awesome

Listen Live

ESPN Houston 97.5 FM
The Padres beat the Astros, 3-2. Photo by Alex Slitz/Getty Images.

Fernando Tatís Jr. hit a tiebreaking solo home run and scored all of San Diego’s runs as the Padres avoided being swept with a 3-2 win over the Houston Astros on Sunday night.

Tatís sent the first pitch he saw from Tayler Scott (1-2) 427 feet to straightaway center to give the Padres a 3-2 lead in the seventh.

Tatís scored from second on a Mauricio Dubón error in the first, and he led off the third with a triple before scoring on an RBI single by Gavin Sheets.

The Astros tied it with two runs in the fifth on an RBI single by Dubón and a Yordan Alvarez sacrifice fly.

Luis Arraez was carted off and taken to a hospital for evaluation after a first inning collision with Dubón on a play at first base. Arraez’s face appeared to collide with Dubón’s arm or elbow, and the Padres designated hitter lay motionless in foul territory next to first base for several minutes.

After being tended to by trainers from both teams, Arraez was placed on a backboard and carted out of the stadium.

Dylan Cease yielded two runs on six hits with six strikeouts in five innings for the Padres. Alek Jacob (1-0) pitched 1 1/3 scoreless innings for the win, and Robert Suarez pitched the ninth for his second save.

Starting pitcher Framber Valdez surrendered two runs on seven hits in six innings for the Astros.

Key moment

With two outs and the tying run on second in the eighth, Jason Adam struck out Victor Caratini to end the inning.

Key stat

The Padres have scored 20 runs in the seventh inning this season, the most runs they have scored in any inning.

Up next

Houston RHP Hunter Brown (2-1, 1.50 ERA) starts the opener of a three-game series against the Blue Jays on Monday night, while San Diego RHP Randy Vásquez (1-1, 1.74) starts Monday in the opener of a three-game series in Detroit.

SportsMap Emails
Are Awesome