Harness Analyst – Welcome to Jug week!

We kick off Jug week at the Delaware County Fair with a nice card of harness racing featuring some Ohio Sires Stakes action.

Here are some helpful hints that might aid you in your wagering on the week that culminates with the first $1,000,000 Little Brown Jug on Thursday afternoon.

• Post position isn’t everything at Delaware, but it’s close. It’s not impossible to win from a 7-hole or 8-hole there, but you either need to be tons the best, have some racing luck, or both. Don’t overlook horses that have shown a bit of gate speed that draw inside and go off at good prices. The post advantage can often neutralize any perceived class edge that horses drawn outside appear to hold. The stretch is short, and most winners are racing first or second when they turn home.
• Unlike at most other tracks, the pocket is not one of the best places to be at Delaware. There is no passing lane and horses tend to live for a long time racing first up. Most races are won on the front or from the first-over position. In most races, the pocket is a death spot unless the horse racing first over backs up before the final turn and the pocket sitter can attack the leader. If you haven’t exited the pocket before they make that turn, it is almost always too late.
• You are going to see some horses that have raced exclusively on Fair tracks that are slower than Delaware County Fair- in some cases MUCH slower. One way to evaluate these horses is to anticipate that they will deploy similar strategy on this track as they did on the others. If a horse typically blasts off the gate on the slower fair tracks, it is likely to show speed here. Remember how valuable early speed is on this track. I also look for horses that won on the front end and fired fast final quarters on those tracks. They are often good bets at Delaware.

Here are my Best Bets on today’s card and some multi-race tickets for your consideration. Good Luck this week and enjoy Jug week!

50-Cent Pick 4 – Race 6 – 1568/56/24/1 = $8

50-Cent Pick 4 – Race 9 – 1/134/17/138 = $9

BEST BET – (1) FREEBORN – RACE 9

SPOT PLAY – (3) FLYIN BULLETS – RACE 12

by Garnet Barnsdale, for Harnesslink