Parx Racing presents a Tuesday race card on August 26, 2025, featuring a mix of claiming races, maiden claiming events, and starter optional claiming contests. The track is scheduled to run multiple races with purses ranging from $18,000 to $25,000, a typical weekday program at the Bensalem, Pennsylvania facility.
Weather Forecast and Track Conditions
The weather forecast for the Bensalem area shows favorable racing conditions with temperatures reaching around 80°F and low precipitation chances of approximately 2%. Current track conditions indicate a fast dirt surface based on recent workout reports.
Recent track conditions at Parx Racing have been listed as fast for dirt surfaces. However, it should be noted that Parx Racing has experienced significant issues with their turf course, which has been closed due to safety concerns following incidents in 2024. All racing to be conducted on the dirt surface.
Race Analysis
Based on available handicapping information, several races show competitive fields with multiple contenders.
Race 2 – Starter Optional Claiming
Parx sprints at 6 furlongs routinely produce a 22-second opening quarter and a half-mile just under 46 seconds. Today’s field includes three horses with sharp early speed, hinting at contested fractions that should reward a stalker who can strike turning for home.
Key contenders
Okie Den Den drew post 5 and gets Paco Lopez, whose aggressive style suits a horse that can press or pounce. He shows a series of consistent Beyer Speed Figures in the mid-70s—good enough to win at this level—and has hit the board in eight of his last nine local starts.
Biagio arrives from Penn National after wiring a $25,000 claimer. Trainer Robert Mosco strikes at a healthy rate with horses making their second start off a short freshening, and Biagio’s past Parx win at 6 ½ furlongs proves he handles the surface.
Jackson Road, drawn in post 4, owns the field’s highest career earnings and moves back to a sprint after stretching to a mile. His stalking style and proven late kick make him a major threat if the leaders tire.
Secondary chances
Vitement has tactical speed and gives the Padilla barn an improving 4-year-old who has run well at Churchill and at Parx. He needs to find a bit more in the final furlong but should be in the fight early.
Smooth Motion gets the rail and could carve out a ground-saving journey. He lacks the punch of the top trio yet routinely picks up pieces when the pace collapses.
Starlord, the lone deep closer, would benefit from a torrid early duel but has managed only two wins from 19 starts and often settles for minor awards.
Longshot to consider
Smooth Motion projects to sit just behind a three-way speed battle and could grind past exhausted rivals late at an attractive price.
Pace and race flow
Expect Biagio and Okie Den Den to vie for the lead through a 22-and-change quarter, with Vitement pressing from just outside. Jackson Road tracks a length or two behind that trio, angling out at the top of the lane. If the opening half dips below 45.5 seconds, closers like Smooth Motion and Starlord become more dangerous.
Key angles
Second-off-layoff improvement: Biagio’s best career figure came in this scenario last winter.
Productive jockey-trainer combo: Lopez and Guerrero hit at 22 percent together, boosting confidence in Okie Den Den.
Cutback in distance: Jackson Road’s return to one turn should accentuate his finishing punch.
Wagering approach
Win bet: Okie Den Den if he holds at 2-1 or higher.
Exacta key: Okie Den Den over Biagio and Jackson Road.
Trifecta saver: Okie Den Den and Jackson Road over Biagio, Vitement, and Smooth Motion.
Race 3 – Claiming
The sprint distance and short run-up to the first turn make early positioning critical. Internal fractions at this level at Parx typically see a 22-second opening quarter and a sub-46-second half. Today’s field lacks a true need-the-lead type, creating a race shape that should favor handy stalkers who can quicken at the three-sixteenths pole.
Key contenders
Pam Pam breaks from the rail with Lane Luzzi aboard. A Saratoga shipper, she drops in class after facing tougher open claimers. Her tactical speed, inside draw, and consistent late-pace figures make her the most logical winner.
Fullmoonmagic owns the best recent Beyer in the field, earned at Aqueduct two starts back. She is proven at 6 ½ furlongs and projects a perfect stalking trip outside.
Telephone Line was a mediocre fifth in her comeback, but her prior win over this surface and a strong recent half-mile drill suggest she’s ready to move forward second off the layoff.
Secondary choices
Dewey Doit usually settles mid-pack and grinds home. She is honest but needs a pace meltdown that seems unlikely today.
Jezebel Jade fits on back class but has lost a step and may find 6 ½ furlongs a touch sharp.
My Spring Sunshine figures to show some early foot yet has repeatedly weakened late at today’s distance.
Longshot to consider
My Spring Sunshine draws well outside the other speed and might clear if the others hesitate. If she can relax through a moderate 22.6 opening quarter, she could take them a long way at double-digit odds.
Pace and race flow
Without a committed front-runner, expect a bunched group through the first half-mile. Pam Pam should use the rail to sit just behind My Spring Sunshine, with Fullmoonmagic tracking three-wide. Telephone Line can tuck in behind that trio and launch turning for home.
Key angles
Class edge: Pam Pam exits upper-level claimers at Saratoga.
Second-off-layoff move: Telephone Line’s trainer hits at a high rate in this scenario.
Distance specialist: Fullmoonmagic owns two wins and a second from three tries at 6 ½ furlongs.
Wagering approach
Win bet: Pam Pam if she floats to even money or better.
Exacta: Pam Pam over Fullmoonmagic and Telephone Line.
Trifecta saver: Pam Pam and Fullmoonmagic over Telephone Line and My Spring Sunshine.
Race 6 – Maiden Claiming
This maiden claiming event features Craigh Na Dun as a potential value play at 12-1 morning line odds, with handicappers suggesting this horse could offer significant value. Other contenders include Redoubtableripken at 3.50-1 and Union Purrfection at 3.00-1.
Race 7 – Starter Optional Claiming
The starter optional claiming race presents Coalville as the morning line favorite at 3.50-1, with Spit the Bit offering potential value at 15-1 morning line odds. War Commander and Chachaching appear as secondary choices in the 4.00-4.50 odds range.
Race 8 – Allowance Optional Claiming
Race 8 at Parx Racing on August 26 is a 7-furlong allowance optional claiming event for three-year-old colts and geldings on a fast dirt surface. The $50,000 purse has attracted a field of six whose form suggests plenty of early speed and a decisive stretch duel.
Race profile
Parx’s 7-furlong chute gives front-running types an extra eighth-mile before the first bend, often producing quick early fractions around 22.3 seconds for the opening quarter. Today’s lineup contains at least three horses with proven gate speed, setting up a pressured pace that should favor a stalk-and-pounce trip.
Key contenders
Mati Gol owns the field’s highest recent speed figures and enters off a sharp Gulfstream allowance victory in April. Freshened since, he returns for trainer Victor Barboza Jr. and reunites with leading rider Mychel Sánchez. His tactical speed lets him sit just behind the leaders before launching at the quarter-pole.
Booted Up ships in from Monmouth after wiring a maiden field in his debut, then finishing a flat sixth when stretched to a mile. Cutting back to one turn while adding the aggressive Paco Lopez makes him the clearest speed threat.
Come Prima, part of a coupled entry, exits a pair of strong efforts at Penn National and has posted a series of sharp half-mile drills. He figures for a stalking trip from the inside post.
Secondary chances
Play The Gray seldom wins but frequently grabs minor awards. His outside draw lets him track the pace without traffic, giving him an exotics chance if the top pair hook up early.
Airman Trevor owns a prior Parx win at 6½ furlongs. He will need a career-best figure to threaten but can clunk up for a minor slice if the leaders falter late.
Silhouette Cove is unbeaten in two restricted starts at Penn National but makes a steep class jump and faces far deeper company than before.
Pace and race flow
Booted Up breaks swiftly and projects to set the pace, with Silhouette Cove pressing from close range. Mati Gol should land in third, just outside Come Prima along the rail. Expect a half-mile around 45 seconds, at which point Sánchez will ask Mati Gol to collar the leaders. If Booted Up relaxes, he could take them all the way; otherwise Mati Gol’s class edge should prevail.
Key angles
Class relief: Mati Gol runs in an allowance spot after facing open stakes company last out.
Distance switch: Booted Up returns to a sprint after trying two turns, a 27 percent winning move for trainer Jorge Duarte Jr.
Positive rider change: Play The Gray picks up veteran Ramon Moya, who excels with late-running sprinters.
Wagering approach
Win bet: Mati Gol if 8-5 or higher.
Exacta: Mati Gol over Booted Up and Come Prima.
Trifecta saver: Mati Gol and Booted Up over Come Prima and Play The Gray.
Jockey and Trainer Insights
Leading trainer Michael Pino continues his exceptional 2025 campaign, maintaining a 40% win rate through mid-year with 48 victories from 119 starts. This represents one of the hottest training performances in recent Parx Racing history.
Jamie Ness leads the Parx Racing trainers’ standings with 65 winners and is currently number one nationally with 173 victories, maintaining a 25% win rate. Ness is positioned for his sixth consecutive Parx trainers’ title.
Trainer Felissa Dunn has shown strong performance with an 11-for-27 record (41% win rate) at Parx Racing during the first half of 2025.
Wagering Strategies
Given the competitive nature of the fields and the presence of value opportunities in longer-priced horses, focus should be placed on identifying horses with favorable pace scenarios and connections showing recent form.
For maiden claiming events, particular attention should be paid to first-time starters from successful barns and horses showing improved workouts. The claiming ranks often provide value opportunities for astute handicappers willing to dig deeper into form analysis.
Track Surface Analysis
The dirt track has been rated as fast for recent racing. Parx Racing’s main dirt surface has historically favored horses with tactical speed who can position well early and maintain their position through the stretch.
