So far so good with the Thursday weather and we are fast & firm at Saratoga. 

The feature is the 1 3/4 mile Birdstone where defending champ Hard Study is 3/5 on the morning line and way the horse to beat. With the scratch of You're to Blame we are down to a field of four and the race becomes much less interesting with that horse out, as he was likely to be the second choice and was a real question at the distance. I was going to take a small shot with Big Dollar Bill, who was badly compromised by a slow pace in his last start, but this race is likely just one for me to watch at this point.

Race 5 kicks off the pick six with a modest carryover of slightly more than $30k. Loose has been in excellent form dating back to last September with five wins and two 2nds from her last seven starts. All of that improved form came off the claim for Rudy, and she will make her first start for Brad Cox today, but if he can keep her in form she is the horse to beat.  The only other horse for me was Non Finisce Mai. She is off a layoff dating back to last September, but she has races that would make her tough in a race like this if she is ready. She has always had issues that have kept her off the track, so racing fresh is not the worst thing in the world for her. 

Race 7: I like the improved form Sentry has shown this year and actually didn't think he was that bad last year while in some tough spots. It will all come down to how the race is bet, but he was the only one I was interested in in this race. 

Race 8 features the return of Dream Pauline, who was impressive winning her only start as a 2yo back in December at Aqueduct. The figure for that race wasn't anything to get excited about, but she was impressive there while making a strong move and going clear and she returns in a 1x that didn't come up nearly as strong as it could have at a place like Saratoga. The improved Isotope is my exacta horse.