Tuesday's Best Bet: Straight Madness makes debut in Thistledown maiden

Handicapper: Reinier Macatangay
Track: Thistledown
Race 2 – Post Time 2:10 p.m. ET

Some readers might remember a 2-year-old guide posted a few weeks ago. It is time to put that to the test at a smaller racetrack.

On Tuesday in Race 2 at Thistledown, seven inexperienced fillies will go five furlongs. Five of the seven horses are making their first career start, so other methods besides analyzing speed figures must be used.

For instance, trainer statistics are important in 2-year-old maiden races. There is one horse in this race with a trainer who excels with first-time starters.

#4 Straight Madness (8-1) – This first-time starter is trained by Jason DaCosta, who has won with 4 out of his last 10 horses making their career debuts. The trainer/jockey combination of DaCosta/De La Cruz hits at 19 percent. Furthermore, this horse’s dam made 17 dirt starts, and 14 of them in sprints. The siblings made 42 starts in all, and 28 of them came in sprints. She looks good in this spot.

#3 She’s Wild Enough (7/2) – The statistics are not sharp with this filly’s trainer, but she did run well in her second lifetime start, finishing a closing fourth in a similar local maiden race. Young horses improve at a rapid rate, so it is not hard to see her taking one more step up.

#6 Run Chuy Run (5/2) – Everyone loves a Star Wars reference. While this favorite sports the most experience with five career starts, her willingness to win is in question. Still, experience is not something to be underestimated with horses. Trainer Marco Castaneda is 0 for 4 though in his last few Thistledown starts.

#7 My Black Beauty (10-1) – Trainer Jay Bernardini is more well known at Mountaineer. This filly gets some space just because it is interesting to see only three workouts. As strange as this sounds, less workouts sometimes means the connections are more confident. That is an angle to think about at Saratoga.

The Play:

Trifecta – 3,4 / 3,4,6,7 / 3,4,5,6,7