HORSE RACING

​Keeneland Horse Racing Picks for Friday 4/2/21

It's a great time to dive into horse racing, and FanDuel Racing gives you the chance to do just that.

Starting at 1:05 p.m. EST, we have 10 races at Keeneland. Using numberFire’s projections and Daily Horse Picks as guides, 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.)

Fauci and Bodenheimer, Race 7

FanDuel Racing Odds: 2/1 and 4/1

Race 7 is the Palisades Turf Sprint at 5 1/2 furlongs on the turf. The top pick according to numberFire’s data is favorite Fauci (2/1) followed by Bodenheimer (4/1). Guaranteed Tip Sheet also has those two finishing first and second. Fauci is a son of Malibu Moon. He’s a highly touted runner who has one win and three runner-up finishes in four starts. This is his 2021 debut after posting 90 and 85 speed figures when finishing runner-up in a pair of stakes races in 2020.

Bodenheimer also makes his sophomore debut in 2021, winning a sprint at this distance on the front end last October with a 105 speed figure. He then finished eighth in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint, but he’s wickedly fast and will likely be battling up front with Chasing Artie (7/2), who finished second in January and then won his last race five weeks ago wire-to-wire at Gulfstream with an 81 speed figure.

Blameworthy (4/1) ships in from the Fair Grounds, where he’s run all five of his races with two wins and two runner-up finishes. His last race was a win five weeks ago with a 93 speed figure.

Farsighted and Twenty Carat, Race 8

FanDuel Racing Odds: 4/1 and 5/2

Race 8 is the $100K Beaumont Stakes for three-year-old fillies going 7 furlongs. The Grade III race has seven runners with the favorite, Slumber Party (2/1), ultra impressive in winning her only start by 7 lengths in January with a 98 speed figure.

But numberFire’s algorithm projects My Girl Red (5/1), who is on the rail, and Farsighted (4/1) to decide this race.

My Girl Red makes her 2021 debut. She’s 2-for-3 racing in California, winning a Grade II race as the favorite but in a slower time. Farsighted is 2-for-5, breaking her maiden here last October. She won her 2021 debut impressively at Gulfstream a month ago with a 98 speed figure and now tries to do it again going one additional furlong.

Twenty Carat (5/2) is all speed with a maiden win in her second start five weeks ago. She also won by 7 lengths with a 99 speed figure.

Scarlett Sky and Earls Rock, Race 9

FanDuel Racing Odds: 2/1 and 2/1

Race 9 is the $150K Grade II Kentucky Utilities Transylvania Stakes for three-year-olds going 1 1/16 miles on the turf. The numberFire data likes favorites Fire At Will (9/5), Earls Rock (2/1) and Scarlett Sky (2/1).

Fire At Will makes her second start after a layoff, which is a 21% winning angle for EPO trainer Mike Maker, according to Horse Racing Radar. She ran poorly on dirt last race in the Fountain of Youth but won the Breeders’ Cup Turf last November.

Scarlett Sky is training lights out with a pair of bullet workouts since finishing second with a 103 speed figure last month. That was a minor stakes race at this distance, and she just missed from off the pace. Strong stretch rider Joel Rosario takes over as jockey.

Earls Rock has won both her starts this year at Santa Anita, including a minor stakes last race for EPO trainer Phil D'Amato. That was from off the pace but in a sprint, and she stretches out after posting a pair of mid-90s speed figures her last two races.