Parx Racing Picks & Predictions — July 9, 2026
It's a wet one at Parx Racing on Thursday, July 9th. Rain is falling and temperatures are sitting at 81°F, which means the dirt is going to play a factor all day long. Seven races on the card, all on the main track — so if you know how to read a rain-affected dirt surface, today's your day to press an edge.
Wet dirt at Parx can get cuppy and tiring in a hurry, and that tends to reward horses with early speed who can get out of trouble before the footing breaks down in the lane. Keep that bias in mind as you work through the card. Our TrackWiz ratings span a tight range today — from 82.71 up to 87.81 — which tells you this is a competitive day-to-day card, not a spot where one monster horse runs away from the field.
The first three races are free for all TrackWiz readers. Races 4 through 7 are part of our full premium breakdown. Let's get into it.
Best Bets
Race 1
Claiming · 1 mi 70 yd · Dirt
A wide-open mile-and-70-yards dirt claimer with two clear TrackWiz rating leaders pulling away from the field — but a pair of mid-tier horses make this trickier than the morning line suggests.
Yodel E. A. Who tops our ratings at 86.73 and owns the field's best career win percentage at 23%, a strong indicator of a horse that knows how to finish. Trainer Jamie Ness is a familiar name at this level and Melvis Gonzalez gets the call, a pairing that should handle the extra distance of 1 mile and 70 yards well. At 5/2 on the morning line, the public respects this one, but the TrackWiz number says the price is still fair. With an average speed figure of 51, consistency is the calling card here.
Twenty One Kid slots in as our place horse with a rating of 84.17, just a tick behind the top pick but clearly superior to the rest of the field. Emanuel Rosario rides, and the 5/1 morning line makes this an attractive piece of any exacta construction. His average speed of 53 actually leads the field outright, suggesting he's capable of blowing the door open if the pace sets up favorably.
Bob John Ray brings the field's highest career win rate at 26%, which is the kind of number that tells you this horse has been finding the winner's circle regularly throughout his career. Jorge A. Vargas, Jr. is a trusted hand in the irons, and at 7/2 he gives you a solid third wheel for trifecta tickets. A TrackWiz rating of 72.31 puts him comfortably ahead of the bottom half of the field.
Race 2
Claiming · 6 1/2 fur · Dirt
The morning line favorite isn't our top-rated horse in this 6.5-furlong dirt claimer — Clearly Copper presents a genuine overlay angle that TrackWiz analysis flagged immediately.
Clearly Copper is our top-rated horse in Race 2 at 82.71 despite going off at 6/1 on the morning line — that's a meaningful disconnect worth exploiting. Her average speed figure of 54 is the best in the field by a clear margin, which over 6.5 furlongs of dirt can be the decisive factor. Frankie Pennington gets the mount for trainer Ernesto Padilla-Preciado, and the combination of superior raw speed and a solid rating makes this our strongest value play of the race. When the TrackWiz number says one thing and the morning line says another, that's where the money gets made.
Lady Sriracha is the morning line favorite at 3/1 and carries a 75.24 rating, making her a logical inclusion as a place horse even if our analysis puts her second. Trainer Michael M. Moore saddles her — the same barn that also runs It's a Shore Thing — so post position 1 with Eliseo Ruiz up is the more appealing of the two Moore entries. She's the safe anchor for exotic tickets.
Sweet Distraction at 6/1 rounds out the top three at 75.01, essentially deadlocked with the favorite in our ratings. Trainer Uriah St. Lewis runs a second horse in Flaming Eyes, but Sweet Distraction's numbers give her the edge between the two St. Lewis runners. Kendry Rivera keeps the mount, and for trifecta players, she's a logical bottom piece at a price that could pay well.
Race 3
Claiming · 7 fur · Dirt
An 11-horse dirt claimer at 7 furlongs with razor-thin separation at the top — Candothis and English Elsa are separated by just one rating point, setting up a potential photo at the wire.
Candothis earns the top rating in Race 3 at 83.71, edging English Elsa by the slimmest of margins in our model. What's interesting here is the 9/2 morning line — trainer Melecio Saldana Guerrero doesn't always get much public attention, which can create value when the numbers are this strong. Andy Hernandez gets the mount in a wide-open field where the pace scenario could be chaotic with 11 horses. The rating says best horse; the price says there's still some meat on the bone.
English Elsa at 6/1 is essentially co-top-rated (82.71) and offers terrific value for the place slot. Frankie Pennington is in excellent form based on his bookings across today's card, and trainer Edward J. Coletti, Jr. also runs California Smoke in this race — two-horse trainer entries can sometimes be a tell that connections like their chances. Don't let 8% career win rate fool you; rating-based models love her profile.
California Smoke is the third wheel here at 77.61 on our ratings and brings a field-best average speed figure of 55 — the highest we'll see in this race by a comfortable margin. Jorge A. Vargas, Jr. is up for trainer Coletti, giving the barn a powerful two-punch with both English Elsa and California Smoke. At 3/1, she may be underlaid for the show spot, but in trifectas she's a must-use.
The free portion of today's card covers Races 1 through 3 — three claiming sprints and routes that set the tone for the afternoon. Yodel E. A. Who headlines Race 1 going a mile and 70 yards at 5/2 on the morning line, earning the highest free-race rating on the card at 86.73. In a rain-softened surface, route horses with stamina and clean ground-breaking ability become especially valuable, and Yodel E. A. Who fits that profile. Race 2 brings an interesting overlay angle with Clearly Copper opening at 6/1 — any time our model lands on a 6/1 morning-liner as the top pick, that's a price worth circling. Race 3 features Candothis at 9/2, rated 83.71, in a seven-furlong dirt claiming sprint where pace shape under rain conditions will be decisive.
Across all three free races, the common thread is pace management on a track that may be playing slower than usual. Horses that can settle early and accelerate late — rather than blasting to the front and dying — are the ones we're leaning on. All three picks share that profile to varying degrees.
Full Card Analysis
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Rain at Parx, seven races on the dirt, and a card full of live longshots alongside a few prime favorites. Alastar (87.81 rating, Race 5) is the highest-rated horse on the entire card today and a name to build your wagers around. Yodel E. A. Who leads the free picks in Race 1, and Enforcer closes out the card in Race 7 as a strong premium play. For pace projections, exotic ticket structures, and the full Race 4–7 breakdown, unlock the complete analysis with a TrackWiz subscription at /pricing. Good luck out there — and watch that rail.