Betting the Jenny Wiley on a $20 Budget

Eden Prairie winning the Blushing K. D. Stakes last December. (Photo by Lou Hodges)
If you love to watch fillies and mares racing on the grass, you are in for a treat on Saturday afternoon at Keeneland, where the $300,000 Jenny Wiley Stakes will be contested at 1 1/16 miles on the turf. The Jenny Wiley is a Grade 1 race and a victory will go a long way towards propelling the race’s winner to the upper echelon of the female turf division in the United States. 
The two horses expected to attract the most betting money in the Jenny Wiley are Filimbi and Ball Dancing.  It should come as no surprise that both of these horses are represented by some familiar trainers and jockeys, with Filimbi being trained by Bill Mott and ridden by Joel Rosario and Ball Dancing trained by Chad Brown with jockey Javier Castellano aboard.  Both Filimbi and Ball Dancing have finished in the money (“in the money” means finishing 1st, 2nd, or 3rd in a race) in Grade 1 races at Keeneland in the past, and it would come as no surprise to see one of them find the winner’s circle on Saturday. 
That being said, instead of settling for one of the Jenny Wiley’s betting favorites in Filimbi or Ball Dancing, I am an advocate of betting on one of the longer shots in this race:  Eden Prairie.
Eden Prairie has already been very successful during her racing career, having earned nearly $400,000 in 22 lifetime races (including seven victories).  However, the main reason I am a fan of Eden Prairie in the Jenny Wiley is because of the early speed she possesses.  Eden Prairie is the only horse in the Jenny Wiley Stakes who has previously shown that she can take the lead early in a race, and carry that speed all the way to victory.  If she employs the strategy of taking an early lead and trying to hold off the fillies and mares who will be doing their best running late in the race, I think Eden Prairie will be tough to run down at generous odds in the Jenny Wiley. 
Betting Strategy:
A)              $10 Win/Place 8
B)              $5 exacta 8 with 3/4
                  $5 exacta 3/4 with 8
$300,000 Jenny Wiley S.
Keeneland, Saturday,  Race 9, Post time 4:46 p.m. ET
1 1/16 miles on the turf for fillies and mares 4 years old and older

PP

Horse

Jockey

Trainer

Owner

ML

1

Personal Diary (KY)

Joe Bravo

Victoria Oliver

G. Watts Humphrey Jr & St. George Farm Racing

10-1

2

Starstruck (IRE)

Jose Lezcano

Jose Fernandez

Calumet Farm

15-1

3

Filimbi (KY)

Joel Rosario

Bill Mott

Juddmonte Farm

8/5

4

Ball Dancing (KY)

Javier Castellano

Chad Brown

W.S. Farish & Steve Mooney

2-1

5

Hard Not to Like (ON)

Irad Ortiz Jr.

Christophe Clement

Speedway Stable

5-1

6

Samiam (KY)

Kerwin Clark

William Van Meter

Tom VanMeter, ect

20-1

7

Emotional Kitten (PA)

Julien Leparoux

Wesley Ward

Ken & Sarah Ramsey

8-1

8

Eden Prairie (KY)

Florent Geroux

Neil Pessin

Lothenbach Stables

10-1

Filimbi carries 120 lbs, all others 118