Laurel Park Horse Racing Picks for Friday 6/12/20
With most of the sports world on pause, it's a great time to dive into horse racing, and FanDuel Racing gives you the chance to do just that.
Starting at 12:40 p.m. EST, we have 10 races at Laurel Park. Using our projections as a guide, here are some of the best bets.
As always, keep an eye out for scratches and changes.
Tastes Like Plaid, Race 3 (1:44 PM)
FD Racing Odds: 6/1
numberFire's model originally liked Cam's Carter (8/5) to take Race 3, but with the gelding getting scratched, that opens the door for the next favorite pick, Tastes Like Plaid.
Tastes Like Plaid is off to a strong start to his career, finishing top three in five of six races since debuting this past November (2-4-3-1-2-2), which includes a victory at the end of last year.
He's now recorded a Speed Figure exceeding 80 in three of the past four races, per Equibase, showing more consistent recent form compared to contenders Ready To Run (3/1) and Hay Boy (9/2), both of whom are also racing for coming off much longer layoffs in their 2020 debuts.
Veteran jockey Rosario Montanez hasn't raced much in 2020, but he performed well last year, finishing top-three 41% of the time. He should also help Taste Like Plaid's chances.
Ebullient, Race 8 (4:25 PM)
FD Racing Odds: 9/2
Ebullient will have to fend off some tough competition in Tass (4/1) and Jabuticaba (9/2), but Ebullient's recent Speed Figures are as good or better. It also can't hurt that another contender, Trace Of Grace (9/2), has scratched.
Although Ebullient struggled in her last outing (71 Speed Figure), and her last five results have been mixed (4-5-1-7-4), she's boasted a Speed Figure of 94-96 in her prior four races. Of Tass and Jabuticaba, only Tass has achieved a mark that high in her last five, but she's yet to race in 2020.
Ebullient's jockey should also be a plus, as Avery Whisman has been cracking the top three 37% of the time in 2020. Our model picks the filly as today's Race 8 winner.
Stay Special, Race 9 (4:58 PM)
FD Racing Odds: 3/1
Coming off a career-best 96 Speed Figure in her last race and a solid 85 before that -- resulting in a win and runner-up -- it's hard not to like Stay Special in Race 9.
This could very well be the best form she's shown in her career, besting the recent showings of both Annika Gold (5/2) and Hashtag Selfie (9/2).
The only potential issue is that Stay Special hasn't raced since October, but she still looked the part in a late-May workout, and jockey Katie Davis is producing a stellar top-three rate of 56% in 2020 and posted a 45% mark last year.
Both numberFire and Timeform like Stay Special to take this race.
