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There are two stakes races in California on Saturday and both are graded turf events. Golden Gate runs the Golden Gate Fields Turf, a Grade 3 that drew nine runners. Spring House should be tough to beat in that one. The stakes at Hollywood is a little more competitive.

The 43rd running of the Grade 1 Gamely is the Saturday stakes race at Hollywood. The field drew 11 evenly matched fillies and mares. Favoritism could go any way between Diamond Diva, Visit, Magical Fantasy, Black Mamba, and Lemon Chiffon. The turf course has been playing towards speed lately, but Tuscan Evening and Animaa should ensure a good pace. Diamond Diva will be positioned right behind, but nine furlongs may be asking too much. Lemon Chiffon, making her third off the layoff, could be sitting on a win. She ran a great race in her last to get third. When the Churchill turf is soft speed holds well and Lemon Chiffon tried to come off the pace. On a fair track she rates just as well as the others.

When discussing the top tracks in the county people do not mention Penn National, but that is the location of four stakes races on Friday night. The first race, which is the first stakes race, gets underway at 6:45 EST. The other stakes races go as races 3, 4, and 5. There is a Pick-3 linking those three races as well as a Pick-4 that gets started in race 3.

The best place for a single may be in race 3 with 7-5 morning line St John’s Gospel, a standout based on class. Six of his eight career starts have been in stakes races, winning two of them. Of the other seven starters there is one with two career wins, three with one career wins and three maidens.

The best longshot chance could come in race one with Grand in Grey. She is a perfect one for one on the Penn National turf course and comes in off a little freshening. The winner of GiG’s last race has won a stakes race and two races back GiG finished 8th in a Grade 3, but only beaten two lengths. She may offer value if close to her 10-1 morning line.

Zenyatta made her return a winning one on Saturday about the same time Giant Oak stamped himself as one to watch on the turf at Arlington Park. A great way to turn 1-5 or 5-2 into something more profitable is the Pick-4

What’s the best way to play the Pick-4? There are many ways to set-up the bet with one popular way being to rank the horses with A, B, C, and X. Then structure multiple tickets with the A’s, B’s, and C’s. It gives you more coverage for less than if=2 0you used every possible contender. Another way, which I like, is the 1x2x4x5 method, which has a reasonable cost of $40. It would be best to have your single in the second leg and five horses in the last. If you miss the first leg you can still play the late Pick-3 with your single at a manageable cost. If you do get to the last leg the runners you don’t have should be double digit odds making it easier to hedge. The Zenyatta Pick-4 paid $530 and the Giant Oak sequence paid $1584m, but a $40 win bet on both would have returned only $48.00 and $148.00.

Memorial Day is first and foremost a day to remember the men and women who died while in the military service. It is also a great day of racing. There are at least 30 tracks running this Memorial Day from east coast to the west coast. Racing gets under way around noon eastern time and goes until after nine o’clock when Emerald Downs gets started.

All of the main tracks are racing, Churchill, Arlington, Monmouth and Hollywood Park. Hollywood offers a guaranteed $300,000 Pick-6 pool featuring the Shoemaker Mile where the mare Ventura will try to defeat the boys. It won’t be an easy task, as she has to face What sthescript, Dixie Chatter, US Ranger, and East coast shipper Thorn Song. If Ventura can relax in the beginning and not pull herself up near the end she will be hard to beat.

After scratching at Churchill earlier this month due to track conditions Zenyatta returns to the races when she faces eight other filly and mares in the Grade 2 Milady Handicap. Rachel Alexandra has been perfect this year, but Zenyatta has been perfect for her career. She has won nine races in a row including this same race last year. This year; however, she may not have it as easy with the entry of her stable mate Life Is Sweet. Life Is Sweet, a full sister to Grade 1 winner Sweet Catomine, has been as equally impressive in her three starts this year. Her comment line from her last race was “inhaled rivals.” Life Is Sweet and Zenyatta both have the same come-from-behind running style so it should make for one exciting stretch run.

Lost in the matchup between the two will be Allicansayis Wow, who is making her second start in this country. Class-wise she is up against it, but watching the race replay of her first start is worth a look. She may be one to watch in the future.