Fairmount Park Picks & Predictions — May 26, 2026
Happy Tuesday at Fairmount Park, where an 8-race all-dirt card is set to go on a comfortable, cloudy afternoon with temps sitting around 78°F. Conditions look solid — no rain in the mix, so expect a consistent, maintenance-standard strip without a lot of moisture variance to throw a wrench in the pace scenarios.
The card covers a nice mix of maiden special weights, claiming races, and a pair of allowance optional claiming events that should bring out some of the better local horses on the grounds. Whether you're playing the first three races for free or diving into the full card with a TrackWiz subscription, there's plenty of meat on the bone today.
From a raw talent standpoint, the midcard and late-card races are where the most interesting decisions live — but don't sleep on the openers. Race 1 features a morning-line favorite posting one of the highest TrackWiz ratings on the board, and the maiden claiming in Race 3 has a legitimate overlay angle worth tracking.
Best Bets
Race 1
Maiden Special Weight · 1 mi · Dirt
A maiden special weight mile on the dirt that boils down to two horses — the rest of this field is just along for the ride, with a massive ratings gap between the top two and the pack.
Raz On Fire draws the morning line favorite role at 6/5, and our TrackWiz rating of 89.71 backs that up — it's the highest mark in the field by a slim margin over Lucky Monica. In a maiden field where every horse is still looking for their first win, having the top rating number matters, and jockey Ademar Santos gives this one a live rider in the irons. The mile distance on dirt could suit a horse with a little more stamina than the typical sprinter, and Essenpreis has had time to point this one right.
Lucky Monica is essentially a co-favorite at 8/5 morning line and posts a TrackWiz rating of 88.46 — just 1.25 points behind the top pick. Victor Santiago has been a reliable pilot at Fairmount, and trainer Scott Becker is no stranger to placing horses in competitive spots. If anything separates these two on race day, it may come down to who handles the extra ground better — but Lucky Monica should absolutely be in the mix at the wire.
Ima Midnight Lady at 8/1 on the morning line represents real overlay potential in the exotics here. Her TrackWiz rating of 57.29 leaves a gap to the top two, but she's the clear third choice in our model and those top-two ratings are close enough that a pace scenario shake-up could open the door. Trainer Gabe Retana keeps her competitive, and with the rest of the field rated well below 55, she's your safest show anchor in a maiden route.
Race 2
Claiming · 5 1/2 fur · Dirt
This 5.5-furlong dirt claimer features a genuine upset alert — the morning line favorite isn't our top-rated horse, creating a potential value opportunity that TrackWiz analysis can exploit.
Swaggy George draws the 9/2 morning line but owns the field's top TrackWiz rating at 84.9, which should raise eyebrows. Trainer Mike Durham also saddles the morning line favorite Dillon Rocks, so this barn is clearly loaded in the race — and Swaggy George looks like the sneaky value play from that duo. With an average speed figure of 54 and a 10% career win rate in what appears to be a lightly raced profile, jockey Angel Ortega Stanley gets a horse with upside at a price the public may underestimate.
Santino's Fantasy posts a 74.91 rating — third in the field — but carries a 13% career win rate and an average speed of 54, matching the top horses on raw pace. At 5/1 on the morning line with Alexander Bendezu up, this is a horse that should be live in the exacta underneath. Trainer Ralph Martinez puts runners in positions to compete, and the price makes Santino's Fantasy a legitimate place play in a wide-open claiming field.
Dillon Rocks is the 7/5 morning line choice and carries trainer Mike Durham's primary attention based on the odds, but our model actually likes Swaggy George more from the same barn. Still, a 74.7 rating and 13% career win rate mean Dillon Rocks has earned his way into the show slot — Santos gets the call here, and a horse that figures to be heavily backed should hit the board more often than not. Use him in trifectas but don't be afraid to let the higher-rated stablemate beat him.
Race 3
Maiden Claiming · 5 1/2 fur · Dirt
Three horses cluster tightly at the top of a wide-open maiden claiming sprint, while the morning line favorite doesn't match up on our model — setting up potential value across the board.
Queen Gita tops our TrackWiz ratings at 68.69 despite a 6/1 morning line that suggests the public sees this as a wide-open affair. Trainer Scott Becker has Victor Santiago in the irons, and this combination has the numbers to take down a competitive maiden claiming sprint at 5.5 furlongs. With an average speed of 51, she's right in the pack pace-wise, but the rating edge — however slim — gives her the nod as our top selection in a race that could go several ways.
Steal Proud at 12/1 morning line is a genuine overlay if our model is right. She checks in at 68.06 on the TrackWiz scale — virtually identical to Queen Gita — and trainer Gabe Retana with Cory Orm up gives her a competent team in a spot where she's being dismissed by the morning line. Speed of 51 keeps her in the pace mix, and at those odds, she's the kind of place play that can turn a modest investment into a nice exacta score.
Dark Diamond rates third in the field at 67.17 and carries a 7/2 morning line that reflects public respect. Trainer Amy Nesbitt pairs her with Johanis Aranguren, and with an average speed of 52 — a tick above the two horses ahead of her in our ratings — she could actually be the pace factor that sets things up for the closers, or hold on for a piece. She's the safest show ticket in this race.
Our three free races give you a solid cross-section of today's action. In Race 1, Raz On Fire draws top billing with a TrackWiz rating of 89.71 — that's the highest mark of the free races and one of the best figures on the entire card. At 6/5 on the morning line, there's not a ton of value there, but the rating commands respect in a maiden special weight going a flat mile on dirt. Swaggy George comes into Race 2 as a 9/2 shot with a rating of 84.9 — that's a gap wide enough to suggest the morning line may be underestimating this one, and a closer look at the pace scenario for a 5.5-furlong sprint could reveal a legitimate value play.
Race 3 is the wildcard of the free trio — a maiden claiming sprint where Queen Gita grades out at 68.69 and opens at 6/1. Maiden claiming races on dirt can be chaotic, but a rating edge combined with an above-average morning line price is exactly the kind of angle we like to flag. The consistent dirt conditions today should help horses run true to form across all three, so pace shape and recent work patterns will matter more than surface variance.
Full Card Analysis
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Today's Fairmount Park card has a clear headliner in Raz On Fire to open the day, a potential value angle with Swaggy George in Race 2, and a full slate of premium races anchored by the Jet Pack–Saint Ghaaleb allowance double. Free picks are live now — and if you want pace projections, exotic tickets, and the full 8-race breakdown, the complete analysis is available to subscribers at TrackWiz premium. Good luck at the windows.