HAWTHORNE NOV. 17

1: Suave Dottie M. Winner of two in a row and claimed by a good trainer. The main competition is Twin Post, who moves to a less accomplished trainer and has inferior speed figures. Those two make a nice exacta box.

2: Blame Geoffrey is a proven fader. That opens the door for Supernovace and House of Usher, but neither of their last races looked convincing. That opens it up for a default win by Saluki Turnover, 8/1. Note that Saluki was bred by Southern Illinois University and commanded a low, low stud fee of $500.

3: Two year old maidens. Camaraderie bled last time and gets his first dose of Lasix. If he were a longshot I might back him. But at 8/1, Bailey Road looks like a colt worth backing. His sire's progeny win 24% of their first time races. A v smussen's Zulu Magic would complete a trifecta.

4: Wildman Mac, the best horse, seems to fear the wire. Today's competition is so bad he'll probably be 4/5 on the tote. Here's one of those places to bet the favorite to place and be content with a small profit. He could be an exacta partner if there's a clear 2nd tote favorite.

5: Hot Chalk: Road Show, running for Jamie Ness. Why the jockey switch to Tim Thornton, I don't know. Stalwart Memory, who's never raced at Hawthorne, is the spoiler, toss that last race in the slop. Throw in Mack's Monarch for the cheap trifecta.

6: This is a rare 4th-level allowance race, and as a result, is a real puzzler. Everyone is a multiple winner. El Pollo Volando if really 8/1 would be as good as any. Reason: It took him the fewest tries to get his 3 wins, he's in great form, and is 2/3 at HAW.

7: THE MISS POWER PUFF, two year old fillies. At $45,000, the richest race on a card that looks more like something that would go off at Canterbury. Zuella (Stidham) has won a race besides her maiden. Capricious (Asmussen) almost did. LA Wildcat has run tough. Justin Evans takes over Magdelena's Chase, and is worth a shot at 10/1. In short, we have four worthy horses, and nobody should be bet below 5/1.

8: A smalltime owner and trainer got hold of Slewey Armstrong, who's been claimed and claimed and claimed. Now Slewey is only running in starter handicaps. And for good reason. It's been a long time since he ran a clunker, and his last one was a laugher. Hot chalk.

9: Willie Wampus. Certainly worth the ML of 4/1.