When was the last time you saw Joe Bravo win at Monmouth Park at 37-1? I'm having trouble remembering seeing any horse ridden by Bravo that was that price here in year's past, never mind winning. Listen, Dp the Facilitator looked every bit of 37-1 on paper, but anything ridden by Bravo here the past 10 years was almost always an underlay. Bravo fans are in for a pleasant summer, because he's going to win on some nice-priced runners just because he knows this track better than anyone, and Prado, Velazquez and Gomez will absorb a lot of the money that would have otherwise gone his way.
The glorious voice of Sinatra and the sweet sound of "The Summer Wind" means opening weekend is over. It figures to get a little easier to handicap these big, deep fields once the horses mostly have raced at least once over the track, but this weekend was anything but easy. The Lady's Secret is still open. Nancy: a Bacardi and coke, please.