US Horse Racing Tips: Friday’s Extra Place Race Picks

Thursday’s US Extra Place Race column was a hit, as we had three places from four races. Backing horses with course and distance form definitely worked out well for us, as we are now guaranteed a profitable week.

For Friday, we once more go four picks deep and as always, every selection comes from outside the top-three according to the Morning Line odds, as we search for each-way value deep in the field…

We start our night back at Belmont at the Big A, where we had a very nice 10/1 place in the second race on the card yesterday. Can we repeat it here in the second race today?

With a recent record of 1-10-6-2-1-2-2, you look at the form of the three-year-old High Strike and wonder whether those two really bad runs in April and June are the norm, or whether the five other times he’s finished in the top two are more of what we should be expecting.

Well, there are some extra layers to the form guide, those two bad runs were both on the turf, whereas all the other positive results have been on the dirt. That alleviates the concern from those two less than great performances. This is a step-up in class, with a decent field of seven entered but the Morning Line price of 8/1 feels big.

A swift dalliance north of the border, where in the 18:48 at Woodbine, a four-year-old moving across from Fort Erie has me intrigued.

Very Debonaire didn’t race as a two or three year-old but has placed in three straight races on the turf throughout the summer of 2023, including a win and two second-places.

Those outings were at a smaller venue, with poorer quality fields but coupled with the results has been an increase in his speed figures. His equibase number started at 46 in his first race before jumping to 63 and then 81. Clearly improving and is priced up as the fifth choice of seven. Could well outperform those odds.

Four-year-old filly Ritabook seems to have found her groove having hit the board in five of her previous six starts at sprint distances across both Delaware Park and Tampa Bay Downs.

This daughter of two-time Graded Stakes winner Uncaptured has really picked up her form since the spring, as in the first five races she ran, her record of 5-2-8-5-7 was very much nothing to write home about.

She is being asked to go six-furlongs in the 19:30 at Delaware Park tonight and as the fourth choice at 6/1 on the Morning Line, should be a good low stakes each-way play.

To round off our night and week, later on the card in the 20:30, we have a two-year-old race with an 8/1 longshot who looked pretty darn good when breaking his maiden at the first time of asking at Laurel Park last month.

That horse is Masakado, who in winning that race banked a very sweet $31,200 to really kick start his career earnings. His recent breeze work has been solid with four straight runs of four-furlongs between 49 and 50 seconds. It has been an impressive start for the son of two-time Grade I winner First Samurai and has every chance to be at the pointy end of the race here.