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I will be on high alert today for possible bridge jumpers at Saratoga…

As we all are probably aware, the bridge jumper tries to make a quick 5% ROI by hammering the favorite in the show pool. What they probably don’t realize is that the bridge jumper bet is the worst bet in all of racing as they need to be right 19 out of 20 times just to break even. Profits can be made by playing against these guys as the show prices can be huge on the other runners if the favorite runs off the board.

I will be on the lookout for large sums of money in the show pool when the wagering opens in the pools. Anything over 500K or a million to open would be a red flag. Trying to get payouts of 10 15 or 20 bucks per horse on the show price for each runner.

The race in particular that I think where the favorite might be vulnerable is in the Test. (Race 9). Matareya is the ML 2-5 favorite.

There are two scenarios that might play out where she doesn’t hit the board…

1 – She drew the rail and there is tons of speed in the race and its possible she gets caught up in a speed duel and tires late. Its never ideal to be up against the rail when dueling. The 3,4,5, and 6 all have speed. Maybe one of them or a few hook up early with the favorite? Hopefully none of these horses scratch.

2- She doesn’t make the lead and it turns out she is more of a need the lead type. There are multiple horses in here with better pace numbers than her, and its quite possible that she never gets the lead in the race and is forced to do something that she may not be comfortable doing (coming from behind). She was able to successfully rate 2 back but as a 2YO she tried to rate in a G1 at Keenland and finished a disappointing 5^th. The comment was “toiled”.

Anyway, if I see the bridge jumpers out in force I will play it by betting $5 bucks to show on the other 6 runners for a total of 30. Most I can lose is just shy of 20 as two of the 6 bets will cash at 2.10.

I will also add some juice to the longshot runners with a decent chance to hit board.

The 4 Wish You Well is a talented Weaver runner with speed and I’m tossing the last with the bad break and slop. She could make the lead in the race and keep going.

The other two I will play are closers who might hit the board if the pace falls apart. These are the 2 and 7.

Will throw an extra 5 on each of these 3.

Note, this bet is only playable if bridge jumper money shows up. We need 10 15 20 25 dollar payouts for show prices in order for this to turn a profit. Its never advisable to bet horses to show and even worse to bet multiple horses to show as 5 and 6 dollar show prices will not do us any good. Translation, no bridge jumper money = no bet.

Good Luck