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Welcome to Laurel Park! Today’s free contest features eight races from Laurel. These free contests typically require a higher score than normal to win, so I’ve tried to create a core that will focus on a few cheaper horses who may significantly outrun their price tag. The card overall looks somewhat chalky, but let’s take a look below at a few main contenders.
If you need a refresher on scoring, please refer back to our debut article that goes a little more in-depth, located here.
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High Price Favorites
Sevilla Sangria $8,000 – Race 1
If you hang out in our discord, you probably know that I rarely ever bet last out maiden winners. However, I think Sevilla Sangria may be a horse who fits the “lightbulb” angle. She has always run decently in her races, but she had a knack for constantly finishing second and lacked a killer instinct. Once these notorious bridesmaid horses do get that first win, oftentimes it is like a “lightbulb” goes off in their head, and they run another winning race right back. She is only three years old, so she is likely still figuring things out a bit. She should have a pace advantage here, only having to deal with Ms. Hatti to her inside, and I think she offers a pricey but reasonable alternative to the two favorites in this race.
Bean Indiscreet $9,000 – Race 6
Race 6 is one of the worst races on the card, filled with horses who have shown no consistency in their form. Bean Indiscreet is probably the most likely winner of this paltry bunch. He is the only horse in the field who drops in class today, and he has already shown that he is competitive at a higher level. The jockey and trainer connections are very strong, both winning at over 20% this meet. Bean Indiscreet is far from a sexy pick, but any of his last three races should be enough to ensure he finishes in the top two today.
Mid Price Plays
Determined Focus $5,000 – Race 8
Determined Focus is a core horse who I will be keying a lot of my stable around. At first glance he may not appear super competitive based on his last race, but note that he ran against much tougher maiden special weight company that day. Additionally, he was stuck behind a slow pace on a strongly speed biased track. He now gets a drop to more reasonable level, and I think he should be able to take a step forward and pull off the upset against this field.
Value Plays
Golden Lassie $1,000 – Race 3
Golden Lassie is a bit of a risky play here, as it’s always tough to trust first-time starters. If you need a cheap filler though, I think this horse makes some sense. Golden Lad gets 12% debut winners, and this filly has a pretty healthy workout pattern leading into this race. It’s also encouraging to see a leading rider in Trevor McCarthy take the mount for a trainer who isn’t known for winning first time out. Connections elect to use the Maryland bred exemption to avoid running for a tag, which suggests this is a horse they don’t want to lose.
