Del Mar Hotlist - August 22

Today’s Del Mar Hot List races to watch
Saturday, August 22, 2020

By Bob Ehalt and Matt Shifman

Hot List Key:     

A : A preferred horse to watch                   B: Secondary horse to watch
*C: Went down 2 or more betting notches in the final 3 minutes and finished 1st through 3rd
*D: Went down 2 or more betting notches and finished 4^th or worse
* - 4 or more betting notches if 11-1 or more.

1st race – (2) Princess Noor cost $1.35 million and judging by her works, should start off the day right for Baffert. (6) Peachtree Road debuts for Mandella and should be formidable. (7) Flash Magic is another firster from Baffert who merits plenty of attention. (4) Avisse is worth watching in her debut. Betting strategy: 2 to win, place. Exacta box: 2-6. Exactas: 2-6 over 4-7 and 4-7 over 2-6.

3rd race - (7) Chaos Theory was claimed by Sadler out of a quick victory and should pay a quick dividend for the new connections. (5) Mesut figures to be a stretch threat here. (2) Irish Heatwave may benefit from a turnback to a sprint. (1) Sparky Ville will be a major threat from the rail. Betting strategy: 7 to win, place. Exacta box: 1-2-5-7.

5th race – (8) Lane Way showed nice improvement while tackling turf for the first time and seems best in this spot. (10) Absolute Unit will be well-suited by the added distance. (5) War Path was second in his last two starts and belongs in the exotics. (1) Fire Polish may not look back from the rail.  Betting strategy: 8 to win, place. Exacta box: 1-5-8-10.

7th race – (1) United seeks a fourth straight win in Grade 2 company and will be very hard to deny. (9) Oscar Dominguez was second in this race last year and can make it two in a row. (5) Ward ‘n Jerry should find this distance more to his liking. (10) Originaire seems ready for a solid effort in this spot. Betting strategy: 1 to win, place. Exacta box: 1-5-9-10. Doubles: 1-3-5-6 with 1-5-6.

10th race – (5) Maximum Security (A) might have been vulnerable last time after a layoff but still won and should be far tougher today. (2) Higher Power won this race a year ago and figures to be the main competition. (1) Midcourt pushed Maximum Security to the limit last time but the distance may work against him. (4) Dark Vader has some speed but is untested at the distance.  Betting strategy: 5 to win, place. Exacta box: 1-2-5.