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Race 1

1^st #1 Have No Fear looks good on paper, and is fresh coming from the Fairgrounds.  Gets a class drop, an extra half furlong in distance, and she’s won before here.  I’m not sure the extra half furlong will help her, but we will see.

2^nd #8 Backseat Promises comes from Oklahoma, and has quite a few on the board finishes to her name.  She hasn’t run here before, and is changing trainers which could help her.  I’m not digging her recent form but hoping she can turn it around.

3^rd #3 Reachreachreach could do ok here too, but her recent performances haven’t been very good.  Hoping that since she is finally running for a tag at the bottom, we can see something better from her.

Race 2

1^st #2 Kristo looks fine running back from a third-place finish last out.  One of the older, most experienced in this field, he has been on the board twenty-five out of fifty-one starts.  I was surprised to see him claimed at Sunland a while back too being that he’s slowed down.

2^nd #3 Whole Lotta Luck could use some luck, drops in for the tag after a poor performance.  Oaklawn was not his cup of tea, but he has three wins from seven starts at Churchill which is encouraging.

3^rd #1 Red Again is winless out of ten starts at Churchill, and his last race was kind of concerning too.  Since this race looks a little easier than his other ones he’s faced, he might be in better shape here.

Race 3

1^st #2 Street to Indy ran a clunker last out, (which he occasionally does), and it would be nice to see him bounce back with a win as the morning line favorite.  Diodoro trains, he’s won five out of ten races this meet.

2^nd #4 Lionite is a recent claim who looks pretty good.  He’s consistently on the board, and is now trained by John Ortiz.  I like that he’s won two in a row, and is stepping up a little in class.

3^rd #3 Petrov is coming down in class, which needed to happen after his last few starts.  They were not really bad races, but he was just facing some company that was a little above his head.  Tyler G is riding, a good sign.

Race 4

1^st #9 Andiama gets blinkers on, and the daughter of Lea is coming from Florida where she ran a nice second place finish.  It was her best race and first time running for a tag.

2^nd #10 Garden Affair is one of the more experienced ones trying to still break her maiden.  She’s trained by Chris Hartman who already has three wins, so hopefully she can hit the board here.

3^rd #6 Quiet Company looks okay, she’s earned a lot from just five on the board finishes and gets one of the best jockeys, Florent Geroux aboard.  She will need to step it up a little bit though.

Race 5

1^st #9 Ruler of the Nile looks good coming off of a win a few weeks ago here.  He has had a solid year so far, and always throws in an honest effort.  He’s got his favorite jockey Ricardo Santana Jr aboard as well.

2^nd #6 Take Charge d’Oro just won last out too and has been popular in the claiming box this year.  His connections look to protect him here, but that means the race is a bit tougher.   Two wins on this track from seven starts.

3^rd #8 Strut the Ring usually gives good tries into almost all of his races and might provide a little value for bettors looking for a show bet.   Eleven wins from twenty-nine starts, he’s an older fella who enjoys his job.

Race 6

1^st #1 Free Enterprise is going to be tough of course coming out of a graded stake, and it’s Chad Brown, so most the time you can’t really bet against him anyway.  Very lightly raced for his age and coming off of five months off.

2^nd #5 Much Better was a $600,000 purchase who still has a long way to go before he’s even close to breaking even.  He goes from Bob Baffert to Steve Asmussen, from California to Kentucky, with six months off.  A big question mark for this one.

3^rd #4 Chaps sits at 10/1 morning line, and sure there’s other options, but how about a consistent horse who’s nearly always on the board even in tough allowance races? This one checks the box.

Race 7

1^st #9 Lead Guitar would have a tough task here coming off of such a long layoff and winning but it could be done.  She’s a really nice horse, never off the board in four starts.  

2^nd #8 Fashionable Lady has been off for almost a year, only one race and an impressive maiden victory by a neck here.  Florent Geroux is back aboard the nicely bred daughter of Declaration of War.

3^rd #6 Listen Up is taking a step up in class and might have her hands full against these ones but you never know.  She broke her maiden last out at the Fairgrounds.

Race 8

1^st #7 Dark Webb one of these days will break his maiden.  He’s ran second quite a few times, and I think we could get some value here with him.  Solid connections with Wilkes and Leparoux.

2^nd #4 The Feature ran awesome last out, just improved and ran a monster race that could be good enough to get him the win here.  Gotta love having Mitchell Murrill aboard as well.

3^rd #1 Fugitive was also another one who ran a competitive third place last out, and I think the son of Candy Ride is on the right track.  Last out was a tougher race than he was used to and he ran quite well.

Race 9

1^st #2 Lone Sailor isn’t the horse he used to be, and I think this race could still be a bit too tough, but I want to give this professional the benefit of the doubt.  Earnings of $1.2 million at five years old, he’s a great horse.

2^nd #6 My Sixth Sense is a solid horse.  He’s tough to beat, and he’s always on the board, running the best races he can.  I think he has a chance here.  He’s having a monster year with his two wins out of four races.

3^rd #9 Core Beliefs is coming out of some graded races, got to appreciate the horses he’s been running against.  He’s at almost $900K in earnings.   Quite a bit of time off, so he’s going to be fresh, but also will need an out.  

Race 10

1^st #2 Peddlers Pride drops in class, and is trained by Bill Mott.  I like that he is going long on the turf, that should help him out.  He ran his best race at a mile so I am glad to see him going back to the distance.  

2^nd #9 Two by Two gets blinkers on, and drops just a little in class.  The turf really helped him out last out, and he works well with Chris Landeros riding.  I have high hopes for this one, hit the board the last two starts.

3^rd #1 Alfon’s Walde (IRE) has done great in the US so far, but the long layoff does concern me a little.  I think he will need an out.  Not familiar with his trainer either, but he’s seemed to do well with him in the three starts they’ve had together.