Handicapper Tips & Picks

5-STRANGE ARRANGE looks tough. He’s had eight local starts and finished first or second in six of them.  He’s making his first start of the year but four solid drills should have him ready to roll. 2-GAVEL could offer some competition. He tired in last at Tampa but he’s been in the thick of things in many of his races and he seems equally adept on the front end or coming from out of it. 1-I AM LOWKEY is a pretty quick Iowa bred. His works are sufficient. He might be able to steal this on the lead.

Interesting race. Not in love with any in here but going to take a chance with 3-DESSERT FIRST. Speed was having a tough go of it on Thursday and runners coming from off the pace reigned supreme. Dessert First is a pretty good closer in a race filled with runners that want the lead. He might be able to fly by late. 2-SHESINTHEARMYNOW and 1-ACCELERATING BABE might wind up in a speed duel. Shesinthearmynow could be a bit quicker but Accelerating Babe won’t let her have a breather. And 4-DIAMOND’S JOY could easily join the early action.

5-BIGFOOT SIGHTING stretches back out. He finished fourth in his local debut but he just doesn’t possess the kind of speed necessary for short sprints. But with the stretch out, he should be among the early leaders and just might turn out to be the quickest of these. 2-MISSED OPTION, like most in here, ships in. He hasn’t shown a thing in two races but both were sprints on synthetic. But he popped a noteworthy four-furlong drill here a couple weeks ago. Maybe the switch in surfaces and the stretch out will suit him better. 1-CUTLASS KING will probably try for the lead. He finished third, on turf, here last year in his lone local appearance and he led much of the way in that race. Shipping back in from a tougher circuit helps his chances.

Twelve-year-old 3-MIDNIGHT BLUE NOTE could have the edge. He’s racing for the first time since September but had four useful drills in preparation for his return to racing. Not sure if he’ll be sent right after the lead but he has only one rival, Two Cookie Rule, likely to challenge him for the front end. 5-TWO COOKIE RULE doesn’t always try for the lead but he could be the quickest to get there if sent right from the gate. 2-DANVILLE and 1-MISTER CHARMING will be coming late. Danville just finished third in similar while Mister Charming turned up with a short sprint and now stretches to his best distance.

1-WAYLLEN RICHARD hasn’t shown much so far but he’s dropping a few levels and shipping from a tougher meet. Had four workouts since his last race in Louisiana. Looks ready for these. 3-MALIBU FINALE just missed in his first start of the year. All three of his races so far have been sprints but he is bred to go long and his barn sports a 30% win average with horses stretching out. 6-RAMESSES finished third to better in his first start of the meet. That was the first time in 11 races that he sprinted. Stretches out to what is probably a better distance for him while dropping to his lowest claiming level ever. Should be a major player. 5-MONEY AGENT tends to tire and he’s making his first start of the year off only one published drill but he does appear to hold a considerable speed advantage and he’ll be utilizing a rider that won with five of his first 11 mounts at the meet. 

This race is filled with speed but the quickest two members of the field race for the same barn so you have to wonder if they will both race. But they do have different owners so we’ll see. 2-UNCASHED, a multiple stakes winner, adds blinkers. He had only one race last year, in December, and won his first start of 2025, but has done little since. Maybe the blinkers will get him back on track. Stablemate 5-GOLDEN HORNET is probably just as quick. But it’s been almost exactly a year since he raced. His works say he’s ready but not sure he’s ready to put away the rest of the speed. 4-GUANARE, another former stakes winner, has been in terrible form but his recent races were on synthetic and he really didn’t seem to like it. It should be noted, however, that two of his three career victories came on off tracks. 3-GLOBAL EMPIRE is likely to be relatively ignored but the early pace of this race will probably be furious and he’s the best closer in the race.

1-DOUBLE THUNDER is the pick but it is a slim pick. I’ll ignore his last couple at Turfway; a lot of runners just don’t like synthetic surfaces. He always raced well here but he has had a bad case of seconditis. He won only one of his six races at the distance while finishing second five times. He’s adept and runs well with any kind of pace scenario but just not convinced that he wants to win here. 6-CODE RUNNER finishes fast. He won two of his three races here last year but was seriously overmatched in the other. 2-SIXWILLBERICH has been in competitive form at Turfway but he has raced well on dirt in the past. He was claimed from third-place finish in last. He’s still eligible for a non-winners of three but he has generated speed figures at times that suggest he could be competitive with this group.

9-VEGAS CONDO meets her easiest field ever. She has never done better than splitting a field but that should be a distant memory now that she’s on this easier circuit. 8-SPINNING GLORY might be the quickest of these. She tired late in her two previous races but both were on synthetic and both were at six furlongs. With the cutback in distance and the move to dirt, she might not be headed. 1-RACQUEL BLUE possesses dangerous speed. Oaklawn shipper tired in all of her races but she was probably meeting far tougher rivals. 2-MARY MOONGLOW, stablemate of Spinning Glory finished second in her lone start. That race took place last June. But she has been training well and she’ll be racing with first Lasix today. Would expect her to be a major player.