Daily Horse Matchups from Saratoga

Not to be outdone by Saratoga, Del Mar has a full card scheduled this Thursday. The BetOnline online racebook is offering Daily Horse Matchup betting on every single Del Mar race for Thursday.

The best matchup for horseplayers is in Race 5.

Let’s take a look at the Horse Matchup in Race 5 at Del Mar on Thursday.

Race-day: 7/30/2009

Race-time: 7:00 pm est.

Daily Horse Matchup: Del Mar – Race 5

Claiming $20,000

6 furlongs

For Fillies Three Years Old

Waddup G -150 vs. Martini Mixer +120

Analysis: Waddup G drops from the $40,000 state-bred allowance level and figures to be very tough in here as she has proven all weather form with a victory and two seconds out of 6 lifetime races.

Jockey Garrett Gomez will put her in a good position and trainer John Sadler already has 5 victories at this meet out of 18 horses for a 28% win percentage. That’s a good thing, but there are a couple of knocks. First and foremost, Waddup G is coming off of a top speed rating. Whether or not she can duplicate that against this field is a huge question mark. Another issue is the fact that Waddup G is a dead, stone cold, closer. Gomez might have to weave through and around traffic as eight other horses have entered this race.

Martini Mixer doesn’t have the experience that Waddup G has, but she does get the services of a pretty good jockey in Joe Talamo. The experience question might not be that big of a deal as Martini Mixer, in only three lifetime races, has run as fast as Waddup G.

Not only that, but Martini Mixer has the ability to lie close to the pace if need be. Finally, Martini Mixer, like Waddup G, is dropping from the $40,000 state-bred allowance level.

Waddup G is the favorite, but on paper these two fillies appear evenly matched. The differences between the two are pace and upside as Martini Mixer won’t have to fight traffic to get to the finish line first and will be going into only her fourth lifetime race.

I have to go with Martini Mixer in this matchup.

Pick: Martini Mixer