Another racing day at Kentucky Downs beckons this afternoon as we near the halfway mark of the seven day meet. The highlights of the card are a super competitive 500k handicap for turf milers in race 9 and then a $1M turf sprint stakes for juveniles in the following event. Also, be sure to catch the podcast that was recorded on this network for the late pick five. Nick Tammaro and Mike Pribozie spent about 20 minutes chopping up those races which you can find here.
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Selections
- Race 1: 1-6-2-9
- Race 2: 8-4-2-11
- Race 3: 4-8-7-5
- Race 4: 9-7-4-5
- Race 5: 12-9-3-1
- Race 6: 8-3-7-4
- Race 7: 9-4-6-12
- Race 8: 5-1-2-8
- Race 9: 1-8-6-7
- Race 10: 9-2-7-1
- Race 11: 3-9-2-8
Kentucky Downs Race 2: Bembridge Ledge (#8) at 5-1 or higher
Usually I prefer horses with experience in these maiden special weights for juveniles at Kentucky Downs especially ones going the elongated distances like this 7f event. However, there’s only a pair of runners drawn in the body of this field with a start under their belt and I couldn’t find enough to latch on to one of them as the top selection. Of the two I prefer Risuko (#2) who gets a bit more added distance off his 5.5f try at Ellis and might appreciate that as a daughter of American Pharoah. One firster I want to use is Necessity (#4) as I find it interesting Norm Casse is the trainer for this Wygod owned filly. I don’t remember him having many with this owner and she worked well two back with an unraced Munnings filly named Lady of Silence. However, my top pick is going to be Bainbridge Ledge (#8) and while I doubt we get the 15-1 on the morning line anything above 5-1 seems fair to me on this Mike Maker filly. I feel like we get one of these a year where Maker has a juvenile debut winner at Kentucky Downs early in the meet at a price lower than the morning line odds. They also often come with this ownership group as Maker wins a ton of races with Three Diamonds Farm. This daughter of English Channel should have the stamina to win a race like this first out and I find it notable that Jose Ortiz is named to ride.
Kentucky Downs Race 10: Chasing Liberty (#9) at 10-1 or higher
Seven figures are on the line for these juveniles that just have a handful of starts. That’s part of the reason I don’t want to take too short of a price on anyone in this spot as they can change quickly. The morning line favorite is Black Forza (#7) who ships in off a nice win at Goodwood and while he certainly can win I believe he’ll be bet heavily in part because a foreign shipper won the Nashville Derby yesterday. Of the shorter prices on the morning line, I prefer Pharoah’s Dynasty (#2) who goes out for a barn I trust implicitly with juveniles in Wesley Ward. This colt comfortably won his debut back in June at Aqueduct and is bred to be precocious out of juvenile stakes winner Funfair. However, I got creative with my top pick and made Chasing Liberty (#9) the selection. I liked the way this Rob Atras trainee was able to sit a bit off the pace in his debut and still get the job done. He’s bred to be a good turf sprinter by Constitution out of Peaceful who was second in the Smart N Fancy at Saratoga.
Kentucky Downs Race 11: The Dover Specter (#3) at 8-1 or higher
I’ll acknowledge that the morning line favorite The Jackal (#8) is the most likely winner in this spot. This Shug McGaughey trainee got a good trip, but faced a pretty tough field last time as winner El Rezeen came right back to win at Saratoga on Travers weekend. I’ll highlight a couple longer priced alternatives. San Martin (#2) has the pedigree to appreciate this stretch-out by Honor Code out of Stoptalkingmaria who won allowance races going long. This Sancal trainee also has the prospect of getting the lead here and that can be dangerous over this strip. I’ve been chasing Telescopic (#9) in a few races this year and maybe the 12f trip will be what she wanted all along. My top pick is certain to be a decent price as The Dover Specter (#3) has yet to hit the board in his five career starts. From what I’ve seen, he seems to be on an upward trajectory and I feel this son of English Channel will relish this added ground. Kelsey Danner’s barn has won with prices at this meet before and can surprise with one here.
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Meet Statistics
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