LONGSHOT OF THE DAYRace Date: 12/20/2024

Longshot of the Day: Race 8 at Oaklawn Park

Track: Oaklawn Park

Race 8: $35K claimer going 1 mile on dirt for 3+

Post Time: 4:46 PM ET

Horse: #7 Aaron (8/1 morning line). Use as a win bet at 6/1 or higher.

First off, make sure to OPT IN to NYRA Bets $3,000 Late Pick 3 Hit & Split promotion on Friday at Oaklawn Park (start in Race 8) where we add $3,000 to the pool for those who opt into and if you hit the Late P3, you get the split that money the others that do.

As for my longshot play, I am going with Aaron. Now before you scream, “You done messed up A-a-ron” just hear me out. The Ray Ashford Jr. trainee has largely been a turf horse and both career wins come over the grass, but his dirt efforts are solid, particularly last time out against allowance company at Remington Park where he was a distant second to a horse that came flying from over 13 lengths back. The Florida-bred son of Speightstown started his career with trainer Todd Pletcher and ran against some decent company but seems to have found his level at Remington Park. We have seen a pair of Remington Park shippers win over the first two weeks of the Oaklawn meet, so expecting them to run well in not out of the question. Ashford Jr. is dropping the horse in for the tag for the first time and I was particularly impressed by how this horse broke his maiden and immediately stepped up to beat winners in his next start. Oaklawn veteran jockey Cristian Torres picks up the mount, which is sure to attract some attention, and the horse has a useful running style for Oaklawn Park as he likes to track the pace. I also think it is worth looking at the amount of money this horse has taken in previous starts as he has gone off as your post time favorite five straight races (winning two), but now you will get an honest price on him as Mike Maker and Brad Cox’s horse are likely to take a lion share of the action. I do think #1 J T’s Imagination (7/2) for Cox is your most likely winner given that the trainer is 46% off the claim running back in mid-level claiming races over the last five years, but Aaron (or A-a-ron) has a real chance to outrun his 8/1 odds and could fit in this spot if he runs back to his other dirt starts.