MEET STATS: 180-72-41-26/$330.50 (-$29.50) BEST BETS: 19-13-3-0 /$34.10 (-$3.90) SPOT PLAYS: 19-5-5-2 /$46.40 (+8.40) BEST BETS:  #2 CATNAP  (3rd Race) SPOT PLAY:  #1 GAITWAY GAL (7th Race) Happy Thanksgiving and Black Friday. We are down to five weekends left at Freehold and I so hope you can join us live in-person. After a bit of a slump, I was able to turn things around last week with seven top choice winners in last Friday’s nine races. Let’s see if I can keep up the momentum. Race 1: F&M TrackMaster 68.5 I had to keep coming back to this race as the first few times I couldn’t come up with a top choice. (2) THANEEYA returns from the Meadowlands after being over-matched and has been underperforming of late. However, she gets one of Freehold’s leading drivers in Austin Siegelman and has the highest TrackMaster rating in the field. She flashed two strong miles here on 9/27 and 10/4 from outside posts finishing third both times and she seems to have some early speed to be well positioned here. (1) REACHIN FOR HEAVEN won here on 10/25 with Ivan Llopez from the rail at this level by 5 1/2 lengths and has had excuses in several races. She was completely in over her head last week over at Philly but could make amends here. (6) RED DAWN returns from Hoosier after some unsuccessful efforts against much tougher. She put in some solid efforts here earlier this meet from post seven where she finished third both times and she popped at 20-1 with Jim King Solomon on 9/20 from an inside position. [DRF HARNESS: Get Harness Eye PPs for this card] Race 2: TrackMaster 72.5 (Pick 4) (4) PARODY is my pick by default as this is truly the easiest field he has met that I can remember. He has cashed checks in four of his last five and despite not looking as explosive as he did earlier this year when he garnered six wins, he has grinded out two on the board finishes the last two and sports a 1:58 2/5 mark earlier this year. (2) HOLD ME CLOSER has really turned sour, breaking stride in five of her last six PM starts. However, if she can mind her manners, similar as she did in her qualifier on 11/15, she would be tough to catch on the lead. That’s a big “if!” (5) SIX TO WON is a bit of a wild card in here. He ships in for trainer Alexandria Killeen and will be driven by Jack Killeen, a young rising driving star over at the Meadows and it has me wondering why they are coming in for this race. He has just four wins in 103 career starts but has earned checks in five of his last seven including a win at the Meadows on 10/24. [DRF BETS: Wager on today's Freehold Raceway card at DRF Bets.com!] Race 3: F&M NW 2 (2) CATNAP ships back in from the Meadowlands and has been facing FAR tougher of late. She may be just 1-28 in her young career, but when last seen here at Freehold, she was chasing super-fast miles in the New Jersey Standardbred Development Fund series. On 10/4, she finished 5th missing by just two lengths in a race she finished in 1:53 3/5. Her two races before that she finished in 1:56 3/5 and 1:55 4/5. If she does anything within a few seconds of those races, she will be in a different zip code than the rest of this field. (3) WILD AS HER has been super impressive for Brielle Roman in her two career starts. She is a late-blooming 4-year-old, who previously was a feral horse living in a field in Maryland. In her first career start, she left and never saw the rail. She went three wide around the second turn, then ducked back into cover, floated three wide a bit out of the third turn, was three wide around the final turn and still had pace in the lane, finishing third in a game effort. Last week she was super impressive again, going three-wide past the half, then ducking in and getting up to win by a length. She’s an amazing story and certainly seems to have some talent. (7) BROWNSVILLE has hit the board in five of her nine career starts. Two back she got a perfect view of an early battle from the pocket and then exploded around the 3/4 mark and won easily at this level as the 2:5 favorite. Last week, she grinded uncovered at 3:5 odds and got beaten by a half length. She should certainly be able to get a piece of this although I’m surprised Mark Herschberger opted off for #5. Race 4: F&M TrackMaster 68.5 (Trot) (2) FASHION FOREVER was a dominant winner at 1:5 odds at this level on 11/1 in 1:59 4/5. He stepped up and had to settle for fourth as the 5:2 favorite and then last week was a sold second grinding uncovered in the Amateurs. He should be able to reach the top quickly in here and may never look back. (3) ALL RISE won three back on 10/25 at this level from the seven post and has 11 wins in 53 starts from 2023-24 with 23 on the board finishes. (4) REDDY FOX has been steadily improving with six top four finishes his last seven including a win two back at this level as the 6:5 choice. He only has two wins in 52 career starts but this 4-year-old seems to be improving. (7) CLASSIC PLAYTER is 0-15 on the year and draws horribly again but has two third place finishes and a fourth in his last three races despite bad draws. He has some back class and ability and Equine Dentist and nice guy, Michael Marx should have him ready to land on the ticket. Race 5: TrackMaster 72.5 (Pick 5) (2) OFFICER BLUE CHIP draws inside after some outside draws and has two wins and a second place finish in his last seven starts. Two back, he came three wide to get up by a neck at 31-1 odds. He’s converted his two most recent inside draws at this level to a win out of the pocket on 10/10 and a second place finish out of the pocket on 11/2. There’s not much early speed in here and he could find himself on the lead or in the pocket but can also win from off the pace. (6) LUNATIC FRINGE is the other John Urbanski trainee in here and despite being just 1-48 from 2023-24, he has earned checks in his last seven races including a win at this level on 10/19. John seems to have several horses peaking right now and despite the tough draw, this 11-year-old gelding seems to be hitting his best stride. (5) IDEAL TYSON A is light on the win end in 2024 at just 1-31 but has hit the board in five of his last seven and has good early speed. Race 6: TrackMaster 68.5/Optional $5,000 Claiming (Pick 4) (3) WESTERN ROSIE gets stuffed right back in for the $5,000 claiming tag and likely will go ogg at 1:9 or less. She has four wins and two second place finishes in her last eight races. After two races that were a bit disappointing, she obliterated the field at this level last week by 7 1/2 lengths going wire-to-wire in 1:57.  (1) MISS YOU JOANN drops down and could find herself in the pocket here. She was able to sit the pocket in her last finishing second to Izzy Estrada’s Maddy N Maggie at a higher level and she seems to have some ability. (4) HOLD MY TIARA took last week off but has three wins in her last seven races, including a score at a higher level on 10/25 in 1:57 1/5. She may find herself uncovered here but she is in peak form for Brian and Judy Magie. Race 7: F&M NW $2500 L5/TrackMaster 76 (1) GAITWAY GAL finally lands inside and draws the rail after four consecutive seven posts. He has been facing tougher much of the year and has been a solid second and third the last two weeks behind the favorite in here, Maddy N Maggie. She now outdraws the top choice and this one has the back class to flex her muscle in here.  She was a solid third last week to the top choice here despite a difficult trip. The caution is that Mark Herschberger opted off for the #2.  (3) MADDY N MAGGIE moved up last week and was an easy wire-to-wire winner for the fifth straight time. She has been dominant in all five wins, going wire-to-wire each time at odds ranging from 1:9 to 2:5. There really isn’t much early speed in here and she should be able to find herself on the front end again at low odds. (2) GIRL ALMIGHTY has won four of her last five races and is in career form for the hot John Urbanski. She steps up again off a win using different tactics last week with a strong leave from post seven to win in 1:57 3/5. This field is a bit tougher but she has stepped up her game. Race 8: F&M 68.5 (6) SHORTYS GIRL is just 1-42 from 2023-24 but has looked solid since returning off a seven month hiatus. She has cashed checks in each of her last four races including a solid second place finish two back, missing by a head at 3:5 odds at this level. She by far as the highest TrackMaster rating in this field. (1) LIFE’S ILLUSIONS has cashed checks in her last five races including two second and third place finishes. She’s a bit light on the win from 2023-24 with just three wins in 46 starts but she has hit the board in exactly 50% of those starts and she is well positioned in here. (7) MAJOR RISE has hit the board in six of her 15 career starts including three wins. On 11/8 she utilized the rail to win at this level at 8:5 odds and she has good early speed to try and overcome the outside draw. [DRF HARNESS: Sign up for our FREE DRF Harness Digest Newsletter] Race 9: F&M TrackMaster 72.5 (6) ALMOST KAREN has a bit underwhelming lately but did put in a solid effort last week off an inside draw going uncovered to finish second at even money. She has been facing far better in some fast races. Today she meets a field where the top contenders outdraw her but do their best work at the TrackMaster 68.5 level. She has the class but has to overcome the draw. She won here earlier this year in 1:56. (3) BLUEBIRD CRUSH finally drew back inside last week and won easily at 1:20 odds against a weak bunch . She steps up in here but she’s been a solid contender when she draws well and she should have a major say in here. (2) DREAM PILLAR has seven wins and 11 exacta finishes in 26 races this year. Her wins have all been at lower levels but she draws well in here and faces a group that consists mostly of horses that do better one class down. (1) TRISH SPEAKER finished second in her last from the rail at this level and could be well positioned although she typically does her best work one level down. Race 10: F&M TrackMaster 68.5 (4) MOLLY MCARDLE draws inside after a seven and eight post and finds a very soft group. She went wire-to-wire here on 10/18 in 1:59 2/5 after finishing second the week before on a speed mission from the eight post and finds the first spot since then where she can blast to the front and play catch me if you can. (6) GIDGET LAUXMONT keeps luring me in despite the red flags on her Carfax report. She is 1-60 in her career and goes for a trainer looking for his first win of the year in his 60th start and a driver hitting at 5%. She has been caught with some tough trips and in a few quick miles yet has cashed minor checks in five of her last seven. (2) ALWAYS AS FAST is a bit of a sentimental choice as the 14-year-old approaches the final month of her career. This is probably the softest group she has faced in a long time and she draws inside and it sure would be great to see her in the winner’s circle at least one more time.