Betting the Blue Grass Stakes on a Budget

Classy Class has a chance to upset favored Carpe Diem in Saturday's Blue Grass. (Photo by NYRA/Coglianese Photo)
The Road to the Kentucky Derby heads into Lexington full steam ahead for the Toyota Blue Grass Stakes at Keeneland. Carpe Diem has seized the attention of Derby gurus, following his impressive fall campaign and a five-length romp in last month’s Tampa Bay Derby.
The hype surrounding Carpe Diem is merited. In his four starts, he has won three and took second to Texas Red in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile. His trainer-jockey combo of Todd Pletcher and John Velazquez indicates he will be conditioned and in position to win and earn his connections their share of the $1-million purse. He’s taken his talents from Saratoga to Keeneland to Santa Anita and down to Tampa Bay Downs and has shown that he’s the real deal every step of the way. The Giant’s Causeway colt has the class, connections and track record to show he is primed to perform at an elite level here.
If by chance he runs into a troubled trip or wakes up on the wrong side of the hay, a few horses in this field of eight can steal a victory, one being Unrivaled. He’s enjoyed a nice string of victories at the speedy Parx track, collecting back-to-back wins by a combined 20 lengths in his past two starts. His owner, Team Valor, would not bring him to town and place him in this race if they didn’t see true Derby potential and a real chance to put a dent in Carpe Diem’s otherwise stellar record. Unrivaled should be able to handle the distance and could close from deep off the pace to get to the wire first. His price of 12-1 is particularly attractive.
Classy Class is another candidate to get up and nip Carpe Diem. He ran in the series of East Coast prep races and invades Kentucky with the hopes of turning the tides of his 3-year-old campaign. His recent pair of thirds in the Gotham and Withers at Aqueduct came in the form of two different running styles. He faded to third in the Withers, after leading the majority of the race. Most recently, in the Gotham, Junior Alvarado hopped aboard and took him off the pace, where he closed to a third-place finish. While horses of this age are still developing their running style, one could make the case that Classy Class figures his out in the Blue Grass.
Betting Strategy A
$5 Exacta Box: Unrivaled, Carpe Diem, Classy Class
Betting Strategy B
$2 Win, Place, Show: Unrivaled
$4 Exacta Box: Unrivaled, Carpe Diem, Classy Class
$1-million Toyota Blue Grass Stakes
Saturday, Keeneland Race Course, Race 10, 6 p.m. ET
1 1/8 miles, dirt, 3-year-olds
Coverage on NBC Sports at 5 p.m. ET 

PP

Horse

Jockey

Trainer

Owners

M-L

1

Ocho Ocho Ocho

Santiago Gonzalez

James Cassidy

DP Racing

6-1

2

Gorgeous Bird

Brian Hernandez Jr.

Ian Wilkes

Marylou Whitney Stables

8-1

3

Pepper Roani

Miguel Mena

Mike Maker

Skychai Racing and Sand Dollar Stable

12-1

4

Unrivaled

Robby Albarado

Marya Montoya

Team Valor International

12-1

5

Carpe Diem

John Velazquez

Todd Pletcher

WinStar Farm and Stonestreet Stable

1-1

6

Frammento

Gary Stevens

Nick Zito

Mossarosa

8-1

7

Classy Class

Junior Alvarado

Kiaran McLaughlin

Cheyenne Stables

6-1

8

Danzig Moon

Julien Leparoux

Mark Casse

John C. Oxley

8-1