HORSESHOE INDIANAPOLIS SPOT PLAYS
April 30, 2025
By Nick Tammaro @NTamm1215
There’s Wednesday racing then a few days off at Horseshoe Indy before a Derby day program on Saturday. Here are a few spot plays:
RACE 2-#6 PIONEER PARADE
This daughter of Carpe Diem enters off a good runner-up effort at Hawthorne against slightly tougher and has a massive pace advantage. She showed good speed last time out and hung on for second against a solid bunch. That was her third straight race where she showed increased speed and all signs point to her being well clear in the opening stages of this affair. Veteran jockey Luis Contreras can get her to the lead and that will likely be all it takes to get top honors in this field.
RACE 8 – #7 LUNA DIVA
The final race of 2024 for this daughter of Santiva was an eye opener, as she won going away to break her maiden at 7-1. A fair price is in the offing again today and she picks up Fernando de la Cruz for a barn that is due to get rolling at this stand. Her outside draw and ample tactical speed only add to her credentials and these early season Indy bred races are largely made up of similar layoff returnees. That’s enough to take a shot at a decent price.
RACE 9 – #7 DRAGON DYNASTY
Who doesn’t love a quarter horse spot play here and there? Let’s try this son of FDD Dynasty who is new to this barn and posted a rapid 220 yard workout on April 2. He was last seen in a rich maiden allowance event down at Zia Park and should be capable of much better with a cleaner break from the gate. We’ll get a nice price here and this trainer-jockey combo has been tough as nails in recent years in the Hoosier State, winning at a 18% clip with a $3.39 ROI.
Good luck and stop back by Saturday as racing continues at Horseshoe Indy!
