Kentucky Downs Horse Racing Picks for Saturday 9/12/20
It's a great time to dive into horse racing, and FanDuel Racing gives you the chance to do just that.
Starting at 1:15 p.m. EST, we have 11 races at Kentucky Downs. Using numberFire’s projections and Daily Horse Picks as a guide, here are some of the best bets.
As always, check the program for scratches and changes, and monitor the weather and track conditions.
(I will reference Equibase's Speed Figure in selected races, which tells you how fast a horse has been running in each of its races -- adjusted for track, distances, and conditions.)
Regal Glory, Race 7
FanDuel Racing Odds: 9/5
The boutique six-day meet at Kentucky Downs continues Saturday with some of the best turf racing in the county. We enjoyed Wednesday's and Thursday’s card with a pair of winners each day at solid odds and prices. Let’s continue today as there are five stakes races with purses of $500,000 or more.
Race 7 is the $500,000 Grade 3 Ladies Turf at one mile. The top pick, according to numberFire’s data, is favorite Regal Glory (9/5) with Lady Apple (6/1) and Secret Message (4/1) projected to hit the board. Daily Horse Picks (DHP) also likes the EPO Chad Brown-trained Regal Glory to win with top jockey Jose Ortiz riding.
Regal Glory and Secret Message are the class of this field of eight and should both be included in your Exacta and Trifecta wagering despite no experience running on this track. The speed rating of DHP favors Secret Message, while the pace and front-end speed favors Regal Glory and Tapit Today (5/1), Brown's other mare in this race.
Arklo and He’s No Lemon, Race 10
FanDuel Racing Odds: 9/2 and 10/1
Race 10 is the $1 million Kentucky Turf Cup at 1 1/2 miles, and heavy favorite Zulu Alpha (7/5) will take a ton of action for EPO trainer Mike Maker. Zulu Alpha is the class of the field with the most speed, and numberFire projects him to win while DHP has him finishing second behind longshot Red Knight (12/1), who has not raced since January for trainer Bill Mott.
Zulu Alpha is a monster on the turf and has won 12 times, including 3-for-4 this year with a runner-up finish. Arklo (9/2) is a threat for EPO trainer Brad Cox but needs faster fractions to run into from off the pace. He has a win and runner-up finish over the turf track, including last year’s Kentucky Turf Cup as the favorite when finishing 3 lengths behind the winner, Zulu Alpha.
Also, Zulu Alpha won from off the pace in his last start and was 4 lengths in front of sixth-place finisher Arklo. He’s No Lemon (10/1) finished eighth in that race at lower odds but is healthy and should improve with a jockey change to Javier Castellano. Grand Journey (20/1) is a longshot and is Mike Maker’s other colt in this race who moves up in class. If he wins, you’ll have a better idea of the power of EPO.
Bound for Nowhere and Stubbins, Race 11
FanDuel Racing Odds: 5/1 and 6/1
Race 11 is the $700K Turf Sprint at 6 furlongs. The winner gains entry into the $1 million Breeders’ Cup Turf Nov. 7 at Keeneland for the Breeders' Cup World Championships. A number of runners are worth watching as a handful of them will run again in the Breeders’ Cup Turf.
Totally Boss (9/2) returns as defending champion of the Runhappy Turf Sprint. Imprimis (8/1) finished fourth last year, three lengths behind Totally Boss, and both runners were non-factors in last year’s BC Turf Sprint. Stubbins (6/1) finished fourth in the BC Turf Sprint and has raced a little better than the other two this summer. Having some experience racing at Kentucky Downs is an advantage, and Stubbins has it along with Totally Boss, Imprimis and Bound for Nowhere (5/1) for the hottest trainer at the meet Wesley Ward.
Bound for Nowhere has finished within a neck of winning three of his last five races, and that includes as the frontrunner at a shorter price than Totally Boss in his recent Grade 2 race at Keeneland.
Stubbins is the top pick of numberFire, and he showed a ton of ability as a 3-year-old. His recent Grade 1 race was a fourth-place finish at lower odds. Kanthaka (5/1) is running here after finishing second off a long layoff at double-digit odds ahead of Stubbins in that last race.
