An all-dirt Saturday card at Aqueduct

By NY Hot List Staff | October 19, 2023

With Mother Nature planning yet another wet weekend in the metropolitan area, the New York Racing Association has taken the proactive decision to assemble a Saturday card at Aqueduct without any turf races. The decision led to the shifting of the scheduled Athenia Stakes on turf to Oct. 27 and will give bettors nine dirt races to handicap. The key one figures to be the eighth race a $100,000 allowance race that attracted a field of nine that will travel one mile. Here’s the Hot List analysis for that race:

Aqueduct, Saturday, Race 8, $100,000 N1X allowance, 4:24 p.m. EDT

(5) Macallan was last seen in February when he rallied to finish second for Todd Pletcher and returns in a race where a fast pace is expected. Irad takes the mount. (7) Rocco Strong is another late runner getting a great pace set-up. He won four times and all of them were at Aqueduct. He improved significantly after getting claimed for $32,000 in June. (1) Quality Chic changed barns to David Jacobson, improved steadily, and got his maiden win by six lengths with a best-ever speed figure. (9) Cape Trafalgar was second to a return winner at Saratoga with a closing move where he earned the highest speed figure of his career.

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