posted July 18, 2008 at 14:59 in Triple Crown Articles

In this sports betting category, you have to be one step ahead of the curve and sharp trainers and clever horse betting enthusiasts start looking to the upcoming meeting while the current meeting is winding down.

There are a few runners to follow that have raced in the last few days at Hollywood Park and those runners had Del Mar in mind all the time.

One thing horse bettors have to resist going into Del Mar, is not to bet on Hollywood Park form. Different venue, different game.

Those with any kind of memory will know that last year at Del Mar, the track played totally different in the morning than in the afternoon.

Horses would work fast in the morning when the cloud layer was hanging over the seaside, but when the sun came out and the track got dull, those same runners for the most part would not flash the same kind of speed or result.

That is one of the reasons why players have to pay strict attention to how the track is playing early in the meet, but they have to know in the back of their minds that over the decades, the track at the seaside has changed often, sometimes hourly, confusing horsemen and horse bettors.

Let’s look at some concrete facts and those facts will include runners that ran well at Del Mar last year and seem to be coming to the meeting this year in good shape with hidden form.

Enter Western Comment. Handled by the capable but underrated Dan McFarlane, the gelded son of Commendable needed his last race at Hollypark and it was, ironically, very similar to the last race he posted at Inglewood last year.

Last season in the Holly finale, Comment was beaten 8 and three quarter lengths. On June 14, two races before the seasonal Del Mar debut, Comment was beaten 8 and three quarter lengths.

In his final prep before shipping to paradise, Western Comment tracked 4 wide and lacked the needed big at a fat 71-1.

Put this guy on the short list of live longshots to kick off the stand.

The filly Outofthepast also has the potential to blow up the tote at the beach this year. Also trained by a good conditioner that gets little respect, Richard Matlow, this filly has some issues and was forced to hit the bench for the entire 2007 season.

She had 4 races through May, all with improved Beyers, then only ran the last 8th of a mile in the finale prep before the Del Mar stand.

She showed a bit of class toward San Diego last year running second in a Grade 3 and she was only beaten by a nose for third in the Grade 1 Del Mar Deb.

Off the grass for the first race of the year last time, this miss has a super rally wide style that must be played in the gimmicks at least at this summer.

Don’t give up on her after one race, with her style; she needs help on the front end.

Remember, the best horseplayers in the business are those that work and look for hidden gems.

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