DerbyJackpot’s Best Bets of the Weekend for May 16-17
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Pimlico Race Course photo courtesy of Eclipse Sportswire
America’s Best Racing and DerbyJackpot team up to provide horseplayers with their best bets of the weekend in a regular feature blog that will run on Fridays.
Each week, one of our crack handicappers - Jose Contreras, Dan Tordjman, Victoria Garofalo or Cory Moelis – will provide at least one “Best Bet” of the weekend, ideal for a win bet.
The post also will include some combination of additional bets for the weekend.
For some posts, our handicappers will try to identify a longshot play of the weekend, a nice opportunity to swing for the fences on a win bet or to take a shot with a show bet.
Our handicappers also will look for strong exacta plays for the weekend or occasionally try to spot a nice opportunity to bet a trifecta or superfecta.
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Saturday, May 16
Exacta Box (Gonzo Bet)
Pimlico Race Course, Race 9 – Gallorette Handicap, 3:19 p.m. ET
This is quite the evenly matched field and a good betting race, and I’m going with a three-horse exacta box.
#3 EMOTIONAL KITTEN: Longshot Emotional Kitten has four wins at this distance on the grass, including a win on the turf at Pimlico. She’s faced a better field before, and trainer Wesley Ward is winning at 26% for the year. It’s a value bet at 10-1 on the morning line.
#9 TOKEN OF LOVE: Token of Love makes her U.S. debut today. She’s only been off the board once in seven starts in Europe, all on the grass, and is in capable hands with trainer Graham Motion. She should be a square price!
#7 HARD NOT TO LIKE: Hard Not to Like’s name says it all! She ran second in this race last year with a troubled trip, has four wins at this distance and boasts one the top grass trainer-jockey combos in Christophe Clement and John Velazquez … a must use!
Best Bet (Win Bet/Monkey Bet)
Pimlico Race Course, Race 12 – Longines Dixie Stakes, 5:25 p.m. ET
#2 IRONICUS: Big trainers, big jockeys, big days: that’s the motto I’ve went by for my entire life and have seen it play out time and time again. Longshot Ironicus takes a big class jump today into stakes company, but he has done everything right in his career and, under the guidance of Hall of Fame trainer Shug McGaughey and with jockey Javier Castellano set to ride, he looks great. He has finished on the board in each of his last six starts, the distance suits him perfectly and he is always closing ground late. Ironicus should get a solid pace setup today, and he might win at a big price!
Sunday, May 17
Best Bet (Win Bet/Monkey Bet)
Belmont Park, Race 4, 2:53 p.m. ET
#16 JC’S SHOOTING STAR: One of these gals will no longer be a maiden after this race, and I’m betting on Jc’s Shooting Star to finally get the job done if she draws into the field as a main-track-only entrant. With a runner-up finish on the main track at Belmont her last time out, two seconds in as many starts, and a 16% win percentage from trainer David Donk and jockey Manny Franco when they team up, I’m hoping this is another win under their belts.
Exacta Box (Gonzo Bet)
Belmont, Race 7, 4:26 p.m. ET
#10 RUNAWAY POSSE: Runaway Posse is a big closer who has run game seconds in last two race, including a neck loss. He has a bullet workout leading into this race, but the only knock is the outside post.
#2 THURGOOD: Thurgood could be this good. There’s not much to beat here for this lightly raced colt, whose three starts include a game win at Saratoga Race Course and a second at Belmont. He’s in the best hands with trainer Christophe Clement for a win on the turf Sunday, and I expect a strong race off an extended layoff.