Posted on 12/4/2007 10:07:02 AM

Horse Wagering Tips – Inner Action

By Brian Mulligan

Call it the inner sanctum, call it the velodrome, and call it the dog day afternoons of the winter, whatever, Aqueduct “inner strip” action is here and its here to stay for a little over three months.

The inside scoop for horse bettors to pick winners at Aqueduct this winter will be to isolate as soon as possible where the winners are coming from.

Sharp bettors should pay strict attention to maidens at this meet. It’s always hard for horses to win at first asking but at this meet runners that debut going long almost never seem to win. On the other hands, special weight runners debuting usually seem to be live.

The reason for this is that maybe with the cheaper stock around at this time of the year, the new face just had an edge. This is an angle that clever bettors must address.

Generally, inside speed going short and long is the order of the day more often than not. Horses stretching out after showing an affinity for getting at least 7 furlongs are destined for success.

One place you usually don’t want to be on this strip is outside and cagey bettors try to eliminate false favorites that are strung up in posts farther out than 6 or so.

Things can change quickly, but a couple of seasons ago the 2 inside posts were golden in two-turn races. The inside 3 posts won over 48% on the two-turn events and this is a bias that has shown for years.

The horse for course theory shakes out quite well at this meet too. Horse Bettors should look for runners that have had success on this special strip and give extra credence to horses that have been working locally.

The big stables have the Christmas presents packed; the suntan lotion applied and are set to hit the road on their way to Gulfstream. That leaves the best of the rest to duke it out in the grueling Northeast cold.

And cagey bettors that identify the riders that will get the ‘live’ horses are well on their way to success.

An underrated rider that bettors should look to is Rajiv Maragh. He’s around a 14% rider but the bet here is that that number will increase this meet.

Another rider that is set for a break out meet and who bettors have to circle every single day on the program is Alan Garcia.

The pilot has been steadily improving, is locked in a dogfight for the title with Javier Castellano right now and the kid approaches this meet very seriously.

He had a chance to go south to Gulfstream but knows that if he makes his bones here this winter, the momentum could carry on through 2008.

His agent, Tony Micallef expects a huge winter from his boy. Micallef in the AQU notes: “We talked it over and right now Alan belongs in New York over the winter. He needs to be riding and keep winning. Gulfstream’s colony is like Saratoga and we’ve got to take things one step at a time. He’s got a great career ahead of him.”

Just like sharp bettors have a plan, so does Micallef.

The bettors that make money in this game know that trainers make this game run; the horses are just the vehicles. David Jacobson, Anthony Dutrow, Mike Trombetta and Dominic Galluscio all figure tough all meet.

Just like with all meetings, clever bettors try to get and edge early. If you can view the signal watch the early races of the day intently. Mark down speed horses that were marooned and didn’t win. If they draw inside next time, take a shot.

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