Alright baby, we’ve got a great slate of action to pick from today both on the ice and at the track. We have put the man hours in, done the research, cracked the code, and whittled down our choices. Now sitting here, we are confident. We are assured. We are ready to win. We are ready to cash these tickets. Let’s do it!

Thursday, April 8

New Jersey Devils vs. Buffalo Sabres, 7 p.m. ET at KeyBank Center

Let’s be clear here, neither one of these teams is very good. The Devils have lost four in a row, and although the Sabres have won back-to-back games, they are still 9-23-6 on the season. Having said that, one of these teams is markedly worse than the other.

The New Jersey Devils are struggling right now, but then again they have struggled a fair bit this entire season. The only defense for their recent skid is that other than the last game on Tuesday, which was a loss to Buffalo, they had lost to pretty good teams in close games. They lost three combined games to Washington and Boston by three total goals.

Buffalo is really bad. There’s no debate or doubt there after they tied the longest losing streak in NHL history.

The Sabres have since bounced back and won three of their last four games. But if we are being totally honest here, it’s nothing more than a bounce after massive drop. I don’t see a way that the Sabres defeat the Devils twice in a row.

I wouldn’t bet on the Sabres to beat any team in the NHL twice in a row.

NHL Picks: Devils ML (-135)

Thursday, April 8

Early Pick Four at Charles Town

Race One: In my analysis of this sequence, this is the race we need to load up on to try and find a price. I’m hitting the ALL button early here, because I don’t love any of the top choices in this one. Every single one of these horses has run at this level before and lost. We have no first-timers ... it’s a field where any one could win and it would not be a shock, so let’s hope for a price. ALL.

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Race Two: This race seems pretty straightforward to me as a two-horse affair between (#1) Basket Girl and (#2) Silken Belle. I prefer Basket Girl slightly because of the drop in condition for this race and her habit of finding the winner’s circle, but there’s no way I’m leaving this leg without both of them.

Race Three: We’re going to single in this race ,and not just because my tag team partner is Summer Rae, former WWE superstar. The (#2) I’m a Total Diva was at this level a couple of weeks ago and ran a nice race and just got caught at the finish line. I think the second time back will be the charm for her at this level.

Race Four: And here we have yet another single. I’m singling (#1) Talkthetalk quite enthusiastically. This horse is dropping in class and coming in from Gulfstream Park. Horses generally don’t come to Charles Town from Gulfstream. The class drop is enormous. This horse should win for fun.

BlackJack’s Charles Town Early Pick Four: 1,2,3,4,5,6/1,2/2/1 — $6 for .50 cents or $60 for $5