Del Mar opens Week 4 of the summer meet Thursday with an 8-race card that includes 4 maiden tilts. Favorites are 10-41 (24%) in maiden races so far this stand with an average winner a shade over 6-1 odds. No reason to stop our pursuit of good, mid-level prices that have been a hallmark of the first 10 days of action. The 57 top picks in this space have returned $164.00 for a juicy $2.88 ROI for every $2 bet and an average winner paying $12.62. First post Thursday is 5 pm ET / 2 pm PT.

Each day this summer at Del Mar, I’ll be handicapping the action with my top plays on the card – including full-card selections for a featured program each week (this week’s full-card will be Saturday).

Del Mar: Race 2 | 5:30 pm ET
#4 Berry Valley (12-1 morning line odds) has the 2-sprints-to-a-route form cycle off the layoff that can produce major improvement and note she was a winner the last time raced around 2 turns. Trainer Librado Barocio has just 3 sprint-to-dirt-mile moves on his ledger at Del Mar the past 5 summer seasons, winning twice (including a $94.40 bomber). Win-place bet #4. Exacta key-box 4 with 1,7,3. Picks 4-1-7.

Del Mar: Race 6 | 7:34 pm ET
#4 Street Swindler (5-1 morning line odds) looks to keep the Mark Glatt-trained maidens honed-in at this Del Mar meet. They’ve gone 10: 3-2-1 with a 59% flat-bet profit, including 2-for-3 with debuts ($9, $12 while a 16-1 shot ran fourth in the other). Son of local Pacific Classic winner Candy Ride and note this one’s dam Flash Magic debuted a good second on the local dirt in 2020. She’s from the same female family as Good Magic, Breeders’ Cup Juvenile at Del Mar winner. Looks like they’ve been aiming here for months. Win bet #4. Picks 4-1-8

Del Mar: Race 8 | 8:36 pm ET
#7 Grievous Angel (6-1 morning line odds) returns from a year layoff and resurfaces with a barn change to Steve Knapp. This filly was live on the tote in her even-running debut last summer and fired a bullet gate work here July 30 to signify sharpness. The Tough Sunday offspring have been wildly successful and profitable over the Del Mar dirt in recent years, and she’ll get her first chance to add to that. Win bet #7. Picks 7-2-9