Friday Empire Report

The Empire Report – Friday, August 22, 2025 – Race Analysis

RACE 1 – (7) TALENT TO SPARE A dropped to the basement last week, drew the rail, but still came up 2

nd best as the 1/5 choice – that effort doesn’t inspire a ton of confidence for tonight BUT her price will surely come up

considerably, and she meets nothing scary in this field...may be worth another try. (5) TONYS MOM (even money

ML) will attract plenty of attention here, but most of it will be based on her “reputation” – she’s actually been

struggling for some time out of town, and may be vulnerable even against this basement crew. (4) HIGH FASHION

STAR missed the first 6 months of 2025 and has some mixed form in her 6 starts since returning – will offer some

value if looking to go against the top pair. (1) THUNDRA has always been camera shy at Yonkers but she can’t help

but to at least be a player from this spo t– worth a look if the price is good enough. (6) HURRIKANE LADY LOU

was a dullish 4 th last week but was racing off a bad date– would have liked her chances a bit more with a better draw

(2) LAURIE LEE hasn’t been anywhere “good” form in a while, and will need a wake up call to be a threat tonight.

(2) COWGIRL LILLY is a streaky mare that seems to be on the decline right now

RACE 2 – (2) HUNTRESS has been on quite a roll since returning for her summer campaign, doing some major

damage at The Meadows before continuing her fine form in her last pair at Pocono – she draws inside her main foes

tonight (in her first local try since 2023), and could offer some good value! (5) ROCKET DEO beat a couple of

“easier” Winners Over fields at PcD before getting roughed up last week, and weakening a bit – she gets Bartlett

back for her Yonkers return tonight, and the pair hooked up to win three Matchmaker legs back in April – dangerous

player! (7) SILK CLOUD A was racing off 4 days last week but had no trouble making 2 moves on her way to an

easy win– would absolutely consider her on top again, even from a tough post, in a stronger field. (4) LIT DE ROSE

isn’t having her best year, but always has to be feared...a hotly contested pace would really boost her chances. (1)

PASS AND STOW missed 3 weeks and moves up in class – leaning more towards others. (3) STAYINGWITHTHE

WIND recently won 3 straight vs. easier, but needs to prove she can be a threat vs. these tougher ones

RACE 3 – Good race: (7) CHERYLS SHADOW will need plenty of trip luck to win from out here but she’s been

better than all of these all year long, and still figures to be a pretty good price tonight – worth a try, as the value

should be there. (4) DRAGONS LUCKY LADY charged home to victory 2 back, then used a nice trip to pick up 2

nd in last week’s Invitational – more than capable of getting back to the winner’s circle if the trip goes her way. (3) FA

CTORY GIRL has been knocking on the door for weeks, hitting board in 5 straight without that elusive victory –

maybe tonight? (6) FRONT PAGE STORY took advantage of easy spots the last 2 weeks, delivering solid front end

scores – she fits with these too, but may be hurt by the bad draw. (1) UPTOWN HANOVER is forced to move up

yet again without the benefit of a victory, but is still more than capable of landing somewhere on the ticket with the

good draw. (2) COACHELLABOUND N was aggressively handled last week (in the Invitational) despite a month

off, and tired badly from the top of the lane – can never count her out at this level, but she’s also been inconsistent

all year long. (5) RACIN HUNGRY rattled off 3 straight vs. easier, but will need to prove that she can hold her own

with these as well, before getting an endorsement

RACE 4 – (2) ELEKTRA A got both class and post relief last week and parlayed that into an effortless front end

score – steps up a bit, but clearly remains the one to knock off. (1) RACEY RACH N had Post 8 off a bad date last

week and conceded at the start – moves all the way inside, is looking at a close up trip, and possibly a nice chunk of

the pie. (3) LUCKY ARTIST A used a good trip to win 3 back, wasn’t beaten badly from an impossible spot in her

next, then picked up an aggressive 2 nd to the top choice from Post 7 last week – chance to land in the exotics once

more. (6) YS SENSATIONALCITY chased the heavy favorite all the way last week and was a solid 2

nd best – her overall recent form is solid, and she may be able to find a way to grab a piece of this, even with the bad draw. (4) VA

RSITY BLUE CHIP was in no chance spots the last couple of weeks after putting together a solid form spree just

prior to that – tonight’s better draw should help, but she may still be looking at only a smaller slice...especially since

a win drops off her card after tonight. (5) MYBITCOIN has been very solid, but may be coming from too far back

RACE 5 – (5) DANDYS MERCY started to see her game pick up with the addition of Lasix 3 starts back and her

last start (her Yonkers debut) was an excellent first over 2 nd to the sharp front end winner – willing to try her on top

tonight. (3) TRUE BLUE HANOVER has been solid since returning from a lame scratch on 7/4 – she’s still looking

for her first victory of 2025, and she feels like she’s getting closer to making that happen. (2) IDEAL COVER has

been very good for weeks, so last week’s disappointing pocket try was unexpected – suppose we’ll see tonight if that

was just a blip, or if she’s starting to head in the wrong direction. (4) MALUKA MISS N hit board in 3 straight,

including a pair of bad posts – one to include in your exotics. (1) TWIN DELIGHT N drops back down a notch and

draws the pole, but her lone local victory came vs. much easier than these – that 5/2 ML price just seems too low. (6)

KISS MY CHEEK had enjoyed a solid season overall, but MAY be starting to tail a bit (though she did have an

excuse (poor cover) last week) – wouldn’t be shocked to see her improve tonight, but still counting more on others.

(8) PUSSYCAT DOLL GB has disappointed at short prices a few times this year, but has still compiled a strong

14-5-4-1 local slate – she’ll try to take on older mares tonight (from Post 8), and that may be too much to handle for

her. (7) IM A BELIEVER gets her 3 rd straight bad draw and it figures to hurt her chances once again.

RACE 6 – (3) MON AMOUR is always risky (he makes his share of miscues) but he’s in generally sharp form (out

of town) and goes out there tonight for a dangerous trainer/driver tandem, while facing some potentially vulnerable

favorites – worth a stab? (5) CHIPPER DALE is probably a deserving favorite but he did get beat at short prices in

his last 2 local starts (albeit vs. better), and can hardly be seen as a “cinch” in here – not one to fall in love with at

too short a price. (1) BRODEUR didn’t function at all in his first local try and while he did finish 4 th last week, he

looked close to backing out of it completely on a couple of occasions – another that’s more than capable on his best,

but hard to back at short odds tonight (2) B NICKING landed in a soft spot last week and was able to prevail, though

tiring at the end – faces tougher now, and probably looking at a smaller share. (8) NO DRAMA PLEASE is

surprisingly winless in 16 local starts this year but hit board in half of them – not a bad bomb to throw into some

exotics, even from out here. (4) SWISS HOUSE ONFIRE stays trotting and has some gate speed...but just doesn’t

finish his miles well enough – minor share? (7) BUDDY EARLY tends to lag badly early on, and that could put him

too far back to be any kind of player tonight. (6) INTL BLOCKADE found a soft spot at PcD last week and cashed

in, but his local efforts just haven’t been good enough recently

RACE 7 – (1) BULLY BOY HILL was really feelin’ it on the front end last week and turned in an eye popping

1:54.2 blowout – hard to predict if he can replicate that mile tonight but if he does, he can be pretty tough, even

moving up in class a bit. (4) ONCE IN A LIFETIME earned about $700K through his 4YO season but hasn’t been

able to find that peak form at 5, currently winless in 8 tries this year – his last 2 local starts (2-3 months ago) were

vs. MUCH better than these, but it’s hard to say if the major class relief will be enough to get him over the top here.

(3) AIRMANS JACKPOT was reclaimed by a barn for whom she’s raced very well for in the past, and she comes

off an excellent try last week (right there on the wire despite being out more than 3/4s of a mile after an unsuccessful

quarter move try) – attractive at that 10-1 ML price. (5) STREET GOSSIP can be pretty camera shy but he was 2

nd to #1 last week, and picks up more than his share of good pieces – playable underneath. (6) CACTUSTOTHECLOU

DS raced very well here for a few months, but feels like he MAY be starting to tail just a bit – tonight’s tough draw

just makes it even harder to jump on his team. (7) SISTER MARY MAUDE continues to struggle as a 4YO, despite

last week's (well beaten) 2

nd place finish – needs to up her game! (2) P L OSCAR bottomed chasing a hot clip last

week and may need to be in a little easier to be a serious player. (8) MY MAN PETER exits a low % barn and joins

our leading trainer...but he also draws Post 8 after missing a month, and figures to need a start

RACE 8 – (4) DOUGS BABE A is clearly a bit risky at the moment (pair of recent breaks, though she did jog after

recovering from one of them!), but she’s at a level where she’s tough to resist, in the absence of any standouts –

wouldn’t bet the rent money on her, however! (2) PRESSURE COOKER gave it a good try on the front end in her

local debut (2 nd to the classy LUCKY ARTIST A), then did finish with pace from an impossible spot last week –

moves inside, and can have a much bigger impact tonight. (5) AMBUSHED paced home steadily last week in her

first start in a month, and is surely capable of better (20-8-5-3 $121K this year)– very playable in exotics, and would

even consider on top. (1) IDEALINFUN hasn’t been worse than 4 th in her last 7 starts, often at nice prices – could

find her way onto the ticket somewhere, starting from the pole. (6) HUNTING HULA had been rallying crisply

from tough spots so it was no surprise to see her prevail on the lead last week, after drawing the pole– moves outside

now, and may have to settle for a smaller slice. (8) CHIAPANECAS paced steadily from a tough spot last week

making her first start for a new trainer – she’ll need major trip luck to overcome tonight’s terrible spot, though. (3)

MISS DO TTIE MAE has been ok lately, and another minor share is well within reach. (7) VIBRANCE seems

unlikely to be able to find a way into the hunt from this spot – could also use a class drop

RACE 9 – (3) TORRONE was in a tough spot at PcD last week (sitting 7 th vs. some nice trotters) but still wasn’t

beaten that badly – his previous start produced a win here at tonight’s level, and he also beat this class on 6/13

(before winning one level HIGHER, the following start) – deserves top billing. (6) AQUARIUS FACE S steps up

another notch off a pair of easy wins and is a legitimate threat to extend his streak to 3 – won’t offer much value

with that 9/5 ML price, though. (4) CAL MILES N SHELL would probably like to be in a little easier but he’s been

very good in recent amateur races in NJ, and should be able to continue that good work for Stratton tonight – use in

exotics. (5) IM AN ANDOVER is often overlooked (with his owner/trainer doing the driving) but he’s outraced his

odds several times, and isn’t a bad bomb to throw in underneath. (1) REIGN OF HONOR just crushed an amateur

field last week and while he’s stepping up considerably in class, he may just be sharp enough to contend for a small

piece. (2) ENERGYSOURCE was a surprise winner 2 back (his only victory of the season) then was in a no-chance

spot last week – minor spoils? (7) DWS POINT MAN is pretty good right now but the class jump and bad draw

could leave him waiting for a better spot. (8) WINDSONG PIONEER drops, but that will likely be offset by Post 8

RACE 10 – (2) JETT STAR N had sneaky pace from impossible spots 2 and 3 back vs. much better – he seemed

disinterested last week but drops all the way to the basement, moves inside, and a major wake up call could be

coming. (3) SURFSIDE BEACH is another used to facing much better, though he did get beat at 1/5 last week, in a

lower class at Pocono – still, major threat here on anything close to his best. (4) BLOCKBUSTER TRADE wasn’t

involved in his first local try (7 hole) but did kick home very nicely for 3 rd from Post 8 last week – moves inside, and

has to be considered for exotics. (8) ROYAL DESIRE has been turning some very good efforts lately, and that

includes last week – faces an unpredictable trip from out here, though. (1) GAMBLINGTERROR can use his speed

to be part of the up-front action here...and that gives him a chance to bring home a decent piece. (6) CAVIART SKI

PPER raced better than expected when 3 rd at 37-1 last week – still not ready to hop on his team, but will give him a

more serious look tonight. (5) SIP OF BOURBON has way too many recent duds to be considered here at that 3-1

ML price. (7) CASINO ACTION N has disappointed in the majority of his starts over the past 2 years