As the snow winds down outside so does our 2015 racing season for the Racing Club. TENS WILD will take on five challengers Wednesday afternoon at Hawthorne in the 3rd race (about 1:50pm CT). The weather is calling for some snow showers but shouldn’t be enough to derail racing.

Here is a look at the field:

1 Regimented (Williamson/Bielby) – His off the turf efforts haven’t been terrific. He’s sliding a bit in class and will need a lot going on up front as a deep closer.

2 Four Left Feet (Young/Perez) – Finished ahead of TENS two starts back coming from a bit off the pace. In his last race he showed a new – well dormant – dimension, taking to the front but couldn’t hold on late. This kind of flexibility is certainly helpful.

3 Weekend Special (Haran/Montalvo) – A front runner that should add some pace to this small field. Climbing up from $5000 without winning, this guy may be at a class disadvantage.

4 Archybdancing (Aguilar/Emigh) – Another that has shown flexibility with his running style. Dropping in from state bred allowance races, his last win was up against $5000 claimers at Arlington.

5 TENS WILD (BRINSON/FELIX)

6 Bahnke (Haran/Santiago) – Second Haran trainee in the race which probably helped get this race to go. Been running against state bred company in Indiana and run respectably at times including a win in a $15,000 nw3.

There are 4 IL breds and 2 IN breds, making this nearly a defacto state bred race (without the extra money – no state bred money available under $10,000 claiming). With the uncertainty of which running style is going to be adopted by a third of the field, it’s hard to get a feel for the shape of this race. That said, TENS is coming into the race off a bullet workout and should be able to settle nicely behind whomever heads to the lead. Heck, he even seized the lead in a paceless race here at Hawthorne in our 2nd start here this year and managed to win handily. He’s ready, dropping in class and isn’t facing a formidable field so while I feel pretty good going into it, the race could get sneaky with Bahnke (5 of 7 races in the exacta at Hawthorne) on the outside of TENS, seeing what Archybdancing’s real class level is on his inside and just how good is Four Left Feet.

Good luck everyone and thanks for a great year!

As we head toward the and of the year and the mandatory disbanding of the Club we have one more race to run and we want to get a win!

Tentatively – because by now we all know all the things that can happen – we are looking at Tens Wild’s last start for the 2016 Club to be on December 30 in an $8,000 claiming race at Hawthorne going a mile and a sixteenth. We want to drop him enough that we can really push for a win but not far enough that we’re racing at the bottom and giving him away either.

Should he not get claimed, we do have a back-up plan provided he comes out of the race okay. We have a group that will buy him and race him elsewhere. We won’t get market value but I think we’ll receive enough value out of him that we won’t feel like we’re giving him away either. And if he gets claimed out of the race? More the better as we’ll make a bit more money on him. Either way we will be horseless by the end of the year as mandated by our charter.

I’m still waiting on bills for November and we’ll get the financials. While we won’t break even, a win and a claim gets us close again, but let’s not jump the gun and get to race day first.

TENS WILD is in the 4th race at Hawthorne Race Course tomorrow (Saturday) with an anticipated post time of 3:40 CT. He drew the rail and a new rider, leading Hawthorne rider Chris Emigh. He’s the second choice in the morning line (7/2) behind stable mate Indy Awesome. The race is a $12,500 claiming race over the main track going a mile and 16th.

Here is a look at the field:

TENS WILD (BRINSON/EMIGH)

Revelation Bowl (Cristel/Sanjur) – Taking a big step up off the claim. He’s had two shots above the $5000 level and was smoked in both. Doesn’t look like he’ll contribute to any pace up front.

Indy Awesome (Brinson/Felix) – Class of the field, the 5-year old son of AP Indy out of an Awesome Again mare was 2nd in the Manitoba Mile two back and looks the part of a stakes placed horse as evidenced by $350,000 price tag. After time off, he basically loped around the track in his return at Hawthorne vs much higher. Definitely the one to beat.

My Pal Paul (Jeffery/Roman) – Was very competitive early in TENS last race but faded. Adds blinkers for this race which tends to serve two purposes: 1) get a horse more involved early or 2) keep him from giving up when horses try and pass him late (if he doesn’t see them, maybe he won’t fade?). Given that he tends to break relatively well, it could be the latter and it could keep him closer late.

Chatito (Rodriguez/Baird) – Big jump in claiming price for another in here, also moving up from $5000. This guy is also stretching out from sprints. His turf efforts weren’t great but on the artificial at Arlington he beat a group of $25,000 claimers. Solo dirt effort was solid but against a lot lower.

Four Left Feet (Young/Perez) – This guys is sliding down the class ladder but has won at this level and distance at Arlington. Last try was unimpressive but also was only 6 1/2 furlongs and was steadily closing. This unfortunately named gelding could be dangerous late.

Common Sense (Spagnola/Santiago) – A winner last out in a conditioned $5000 claimer, this guy will have to improve to win.

Ballyjamesduff (Haran/Hennesy) – Vanquisher of TENS last out, there does not appear to be the pace in here that there was in that race. He also shifts to the outside which doesn’t help his chances either. Solid competitor.

Should Indy Awesome run in this spot (the class drop seems too precipitous), he is the one to beat. His last win was at this distance in a $25,000 spot over this racetrack. He had a tough couple of goes at Canterbury before placing in the Manitoba Mile at Assiniboia. After three months off he came back in a $30,000 optional claiming producing a lackadaisical effort. Blowing past $25,000 and $15,000 to settle here at $12,500, if he’s okay and goes, he’ll be tough stalking the pace.

The speed up front is limited with Chatito looking to be the only speed. It’s easy to see TENS settling in behind him and prompting the pace if Baird tries to slow it down too much. We should get first run at the leader, but Indy Awesome will have first run at us. Can TENS handle the anticipated pressure through the lane? That may be the determining factor in the result of the race.

Good luck!

TENS WILD was in a position to win late in the race but was overcome late by Ballyjamesduff. The extra distance seemed to suit the winner just fine. Though, to be fair, TENS was well clear of the third place horse so I don’t think we were out of our element at a mile and a sixteenth, but the winner got the trip he needed.

While I didn’t think that the pace was blistering up front, it certainly was solid with the leaders going :24.04 for the quarter and just a shade under :48 for the half. We got first jump on the top flight but Ballyjamesduff had too much rally in him and we had to settle for second.

I did think that he looked a little uncomfortable down the backside – moving up and sliding back, moving up and sliding back – which may have taken something out of him, but kudos to the winner, he beat us fair and square by a solid 2 1/4.

We’ll rest up and come right back at them again – probably at a lower level. I really thought we were gone here so now we’ll have to take less than fair value for him but could be that folks knew that as well and are just waiting for the plunge. Hopefully we can make up for that with another win.

TENS WILD is in on Wednesday at Hawthorne. The race is another $12,500 claiming race on the dirt that was hung as an extra. The race goes with only a field of six – four of the sixth in from TENS last victory with one climbing up from $8,000 while the other dropping in from $16,000. This time we’re going a mile and a sixteenth which was a little more problematic for him at $16,000 but not so much at $10,000 in Texas.

The race is the 3rd on the card with a scheduled post time of 3:10PM.

Look for the preview in the next couple of days.

Good luck!

We’re in, we’re dropping and we’re on the dirt. All kinds of fun things to contemplate as we try and get on a late season roll to round things off for the Club.

The race is a $12,500 claiming race going a mile and 70 yards over the dirt. We drew post position 4 with Denny Velazquez on board. Estimated post time Friday is 4:40 central time.

Prince Cheval (Bennett/Thornton) – Very fast front runner is kicking it up in class today. This is probably where he fits so I can’t see him running off and hiding, but if no one goes with him, he might.

Rivery Hall (Becker/Santo) – Been protected since last winter but has been less than impressive since the layoff and gets the tag here. An off the pace type, but with the same connections as the outside speed, he could be the beneficiary of a hard pace early. Interesting to see how thing one goes out.

My Pal Paul (Lynn/Sanchez) – Dropping in and stretching out for this one. Ran a mile two back and was respectable so maybe the extra distance will be beneficial.

TENS WILD (BRINSON/VELAZQUEZ)

Ballyjamesduff (Haran/Hennesy) – Indiana invader has won over this strip before. A similar running style to TENS, he should be on our outside through that first turn and hopefully have to run a bit longer and harder than us.

Charlie’s Phantasy (Domenosky/Felix) – Trained by old Club trainer Tammy Domenosky, this guy has tried and tried but seems to always come up just a bit short, though last out he was clearly second best after dropping to this level and could be tough late.

Defiant Flyer (Davis/Roman) – Won at this level here last year but was awful in first off a long layoff last out. He’ll need a hard pace to run at.

Marty Who (Perez/Perez) – This guys has gone and faded and gone and faded. Hopefully he’ll keep that style up and try and soften up Prince Cheval.

Dontchangetrainers (Becker/Emigh) – Leading connections, hot rider, and a horse second off the layoff. Don’t write off this Becker trainee because of the class jump after a loss – he’s been successful with this pattern before. This guy wants to go but is going to have a tough time of it from that far outside.

We can certainly win this one. We’re not a lock by any stretch of the imagination, but we have a good running style, a class level that should work for us and a possibly excellent pace scenario.

There is a lot of speed inside with Prince Cheval and if the outside speed can’t break well to catch him early, that could be all she wrote.

A better scenario is that we settle in behind the Prince and the two speedsters on the outside try to get up with the presumed early leader creating a nice little pace battle right in front of us through the first turn. I think we’ll be quicker on the break than Rivery Hall but perhaps not My Pal Paul. In any either case – whether Paul gets the drop on us or not – Denny should be in a very good position through the first half of the race and get first run on the leaders as, hopefully, the pace starts to fall apart.

Good luck!