Betting the Best Pal on a $20 Budget

Swipe (left) and Found Money (right) are the two stakes winners in the field for the Best Pal Stakes on Saturday at Del Mar, but Team ABR's Jose Contreras landed on a different horse as his winner. (BENOIT photos)
The Grade 2, $200,000 Best Pal Stakes on Saturday at Del Mar drew a compact but competitive group of six 2-year-olds.
The hot barn of Doug O'Neill will send out a pair of undefeated runners and both of them are owned by Reddam Racing: Found Money and Nyquist.
A closer look at the field:
#1 Found Money is a perfect 2-for-2 to begin his career and is one of only two runners in the field with a stakes win. I would imagine that he will need to be on the lead from that inside post.
#2 Paynes Prairie arrives from Belmont Park off a good-looking maiden score when sent off as the heavy favorite. This new trainer doesn’t have strong stats with new acquisitions, and this colt might need some more time to get used to his new surroundings.
#3 Bistraya is the only maiden in the field and didn’t show much in his debut when only beating two runners to the finish line. If a few of his competitors burn out on the lead, he might be able to improve and pick up the pieces in the trifecta or superfecta.
#4 Swipe needed every inch of that long stretch at Los Alamitos to get the job done in his last start. He’s going to need to sit a good, tracking trip behind the leaders.
#5 Nyquist looked like an experienced runner in his winning debut when battling throughout to get the job done by a head. This owner-trainer-jockey combination has been on a roll, and this guy looks to have plenty of talent in the tank.
#6 Annie’s Candy is a nose and a head away from having a perfect 3-for-3 record to being his career. He has enough speed to lay close to the pace and make his move down the stretch. The outside post should allow him to track the leaders.
$20 Betting Strategy:
$10 win: #5 Nyquist
$1 trifecta: 5 with 1,6 with All
$200,000 Best Pal StakesSaturday, Del Mar, Race 5, 7:10 p.m. ET6 ½ furlongs, dirt, 2-year-olds

PP

Horse

Jockey

Trainer

Owners

Odds

1

Found Money

Corey Nakatani

Doug O'Neill

Reddam Racing

5-1

2

Paynes Prairie

Martin Pedroza

Michael Pender

McShane Racing

5-2

3

Bistraya

Gonzalo Nicolas

Ricky Agarie

LeeAnn Ohanesian

20-1

4

Swipe

Kent Desormeaux

Keith Desormeaux

Big Chief Racing

2-1

5

Nyquist

Mario Gutierrez

Doug O'Neill

Reddam Racing

3-1

6

Annie's Candy

Tyler Baze

Peter Miller

Chad Littlefield and Rockingham Ranch

4-1