Best Horse Racing Bets for Tuesday, January 11, 2022

The biggest surprise for me when I reviewed Mahoning Valley Race Course, Parx Racing, and Sunland Park Racetrack for my Tuesday horseracing picks was how often I found myself in agreement with the morning line. So much so, in fact, that Mahoning Valley was the only track where underdogs outnumbered favorites among my choices.

Want to get the skinny on each of my choices? Take a look at the full race-cards of all three tracks at one of our recommended online racebooks.

Good luck!

We’re starting with race four, a one-mile allowance race on the dirt track for Ohio-bred three-year-old’s and upward. I’m betting on the second-favored (at 7/2) I’mma Natural, ridden by Fernando Salazar Becerra.

This four-year-old gelding is a standout in this seven-horse field, finishing in the money eight of his 17 career starts, winning one. Since his maiden victory, he’s finished second in five allowance races. Yeah, he’s due.

Now in his second decade in the business, Craig Sweeting trains I’mma Natural for owner Melissa S. Edgington.

Race five is a one-mile claiming race on the dirt track for Ohio-bred three-year-old’s and upward. I’m in agreement with the morning line on this race: Bet on the 3/1 favorite, Reanimate, with veteran jockey T.D. Houghton in the irons.

Twenty-year horseracing veteran Raquel A. Castro trains Reanimate for owner Barbara Madrigal.

Race seven is a six-furlong claiming race on the main track for Ohio-bred three-year-old’s and upward that have never won two races. My money’s on the 3/1 second-favored Ohio Cause, with Alex Gonzalez aboard.

This four-year-old gelding moneyed four of his 13 career starts, winning one. His brief history shows steady improvement, and that should help him succeed in this unimpressive field of nine.

Jake S. Radosevich trains Ohio Cause for his own JSR Stables, Inc. Radosevich has put Gonzalez in the irons for Ohio Cause’s last two races, resulting in two second-place finishes.

Incidentally, the morning line has three of the entries in this race at 20/1, and while I like a value show bet as much as the next guy, none of the three is worth the wager.

Let’s start on the main track with race seven, 1-1/16 miles claiming run for four-year-old’s and upward. I like the 3/1 morning line favorite, Factor This In, piloted by top jockey Frankie Pennington.

This eight-year-old gelding moneyed 27 of his 50 career starts, winning 13. In this nine-horse field, he’s got a solid statistical advantage.

Ranked third in North America for wins in 2021, Jamie Ness trains Factor This In for owner Yo Berbs. Pennington was in the irons for Factor This In’s two most recent victories.

Race eight is a six-furlong starter allowance race for four-year-old’s and upward. I’ve got to back the 2/1 morning-line favorite, American Unity, ridden by Frankie Pennington.

This four-year-old colt finished in the money seven of his nine career starts, winning three, including his two most recent claiming races at Parx. Versus the rest of this seven-horse field, he’ll do just fine.

Jamie Ness trains American Unity for owners Morris E. Kernan Jr., Yo Berbs, and Jagger Inc.

For race nine—a one-mile starter allowance race on the main track for four-year-old’s and upward—I’m buying a win ticket on the second-favored (at 7/2) Shooger Ray Too, ridden by veteran jockey Jorge A. Vargas Jr.

He was an also-ran in two other stakes races, placing sixth in the Greenwood Cup Stakes (Grade III) at Parx in September and ninth in the Queens County Stakes (Listed) at Aqueduct in December.

J. Tyler Servis trains Shooger Ray Too for Vintage Thoroughbreds LLC.

We’re starting on the main track with race three, a one-mile starter optional claiming race for four-year-old’s and upward. I’m betting my two dollars on the second-favored (at 2/1) Southern Summer, with Alfredo J. Juarez Jr. in the irons.

This four-year-old gelding has the best of it in this short field of six, with nine money finishes in 14 career starts, three of those wins. Even more encouraging, he’s moneyed his last five races, winning two.

Casey T. Lambert trains Southern Summer for Champion Racing Stable.

Race six is a one-mile claiming race on the dirt track for New Mexico-bred four-year-old’s and upward that have never won two races. I’m betting on the 2/1 morning-line favorite, Elliot, with Luis A. Fuentes in the irons.

Regularly ranked in the top 100 trainers since 2009, Joel H. Marr trains Elliot for owners Teresa K. Marr, Tracy Haymes, and Todd Beedy. Marr tapped Fuentes to saddle Elliot for his last two races.

Race eight is a six-furlong allowance race for New Mexico-bred fillies and mares four years old and upward that have never won two races. I like the 5/2 morning-line favorite here– Atill I Chime, piloted by Alfredo J. Juarez Jr.

This four-year-old filly has the edge in this nine-horse field, with six money finishes in nine career starts, one of those a win. She notably finished second in the Rio Grande Senorita Thoroughbred Futurity (Black Type) at Ruidoso Downs in 2020.

Horseracing veteran Todd W. Fincher trains Atill I Chime for owner-breeders Pierre Jean Jr. and Leslie A. Amestoy.