Indiana Grand Race Course has a carryover in their pick 5 on Friday, worth $9,775. I’ll take you through the sequence, and share how I’d play the wager.
Race 1 is a $5,000 conditioned claiming race at 5 1/2 furlongs on the dirt. I’ll use two horses in the first leg. The 5, Perfect Pirate, got involved in an early speed duel against similar last out, and battled gamely to lose by a neck. Two races back, he sat a great trip stalking the pace, and soundly defeated the field. He’s got great tactical speed, and Deshawn Parker should be able to work out a great trip with his mount. The 7, Flash Attack, is dropping from open claiming company, and was seen against allowance horses not long ago. He tends to sit far behind early, then make a big move on the turn. In fact, he’s got by far the best average late pace rating of anyone in the field.
The 2nd race is a $16,000 maiden claiming race at 5 1/2 furlongs on the dirt. Once again, I’ll use two horses. The 1, Bizby, raced well against maiden claiming company two starts ago, finishing a clear second with a sharp speed figure. She didn’t do anything in her last race against maiden special weight horses, but gets class relief here. The 2, Sensing Mischief, is in for a tag for the first time for trainer Brad Cox. Her workouts coming in here have been excellent. She was completely flat against maidens in her first two races, but I’ll give her another chance in this race.
Maiden special weight horses will go in race 3, and it was a difficult race to narrow down to a few horses. On paper, the 4, UR Not So Bad, and the 8, Devil’s Rule, look like the two best horses. However, they appear to have a major aversion to winning. Between the two of them, they have raced fifteen times, with no wins, with seven seconds and four thirds. I will lean towards UR Not So Bad, as he’s making his third start off the layoff, and showed some promise against much better company at Aqueduct. Devil’s Rule, on the other hand, has had many tries against similar horses at this track, and cannot come through. I’ll let him beat me at low odds. In addition to UR Not So Bad, I’ll throw in the 5, Blame the Makers, and the 6, Bizzy Ride, as they are both lightly-raced horses who have shown some promise.
I’ll also use three horses in race 4, a n/w2L allowance race at 1 1/16 miles on the grass. The 5, Faversham, was good in California earlier in the year, and broke poorly at Belterra Park last out to cost himself all chance. Take that race out, and he fits in with these. The 6, JW Ruckus, exits that same race at Belterra. He had a rough trip when engaged in a stretch battle, but hung in there to finish second. He was in over his lead last out at Kentucky Downs, and should find these easier. The 8, Silver N Lai, will almost certainly be overbet, but he is the only one in the field who has never lost on grass. He broke his maiden two starts back in impressive fashion over this track.
Race 5 is an Indiana-bred maiden claiming race at 5 1/2 furlongs on the dirt. I’ll single a horse to wrap up the sequence, as the 8, On the Money, has superior speed figures to the rest. She ran well in her first start at this level, battling on the lead and losing by 3/4 of a length as the 3/5 favorite. While she’ll likely be totally unbettable in the win pool, she’s a good horse to build a pick 5 around.
To recap, the ticket looks like this:
Race 1: 5, 6
Race 2: 1, 2
Race 3: 4, 5, 6
Race 4: 5, 6, 8
Race 5: 8
That comes out to a total cost of $18. Good luck if you’re playing along!