No bueno, 3rd, 4th and 5th.

R9: 10 8 9 7

Made up for the earlier trash. 10-7, 10 at 24-1. Exacta paid 117.00

R8: 7-10-3-9

They lulled me into the front end mindset and the 2 comes from off the pace, a horse that figured, paid $41.40.

R6; my 4th choice won, should've been stronger in my opinion on that one. No horses are closing any ground.

R7: 4-5-6-1A

I'll give it another try. R6: 2-1-5-3

Sheesh, I can't pick my nose today.

Lots of possibles in R5. I'll say 4-5-6-8. 8 seems low priced at 3/5.

R4: The Clement firster got it paying $17 to win.

I struck out on R3. 2-5.

R3, at 12 MTP, the 2 is the favorite. Huh? I like 5-4-1.

R2 was interesting. The longest morning line horse went off as the favorite and won. Looked to run well up the stretch and didn't disappoint.

R1 ran 6-2, with 6 at 1-5.

In R4, scratch #8, #12, #13. Twinspires is still showing 14 and 15 in, but they are MTO and turf is showing Firm.

Race 1: My automated line has 6-1-3-2-4-5 and I think that is a good line. On paper, the 6 gets the nod over the 1. I rank the firsters fairly close. The problem in wagering is that if the 6 fails, the 1 could run a good race. But if the 6 runs well, then I toss the 1 and go with 2 and 3 as my alternates. I'm inclined to lean toward the 6 returning well.

Race 4: If they're on turf, my automated line has 4-5-8-11-7. Tough to get a complete fix without knowing the scratches. For the matchups based on BRIS Prime, I've got 1-4-11-13-7-5. I like those Prime rankings. I'll pick 1-4-11 with a longshot on the 9 based on her ability to close. Valencia Island went at auction for 200K and in her 3rd start she's offered up for 40k... concerning. I don't see a lot in the 6, but Clement is good with firsters.

Mo Donegal ran his race. Nice ride from Irad. Nest ran well... nice horse. The uncoupled entry ran 1-2.

I look for Mo Donegal to be handy through the first six furlongs and close the deal. Less traffic should benefit him.

Creative Minister and SKIPPYLONGSTOCKING will provide enough pace for Rich Strike to give a run. He looked extremely fit in the Derby and had a bullet work last. I think he'll make a serious effort. The Belmont is usually not kind to closers, but a fit horse is a fit horse.

My program's odds line:

1: 2.7
2: 4.0
3: 6.4
4: 21.8
5: 17.1
6: 1.9
7: 100
8: 16.1

Very impressive. I think I am not as advanced as you on evaluating the level of races. i probably need to focus more in that regard.

Thanks, Jack. I will look this over later today, as I am sure many others will. I REALLY enjoy insights into how others handicap. I've been at this a long time, but I never feel being above considering the experience of others.