Bernier: How I'd play Pimlico for Friday, May 15

Handicappers Matt Bernier and Kenny Peck are going head to head with $500 to wager on the Black-Eyed Susan Day card at Pimlico.

Friday’s card is highlighted by the Black-Eyed Susan for 3-year-old fillies, and while there are some decent wagering opportunities I can honestly say I don’t love anything throughout the day. That’s not to be used as an excuse – on with the competition!

RACE 8 – MISS PREAKNESS

I really wanted to make a large wager on Graham Motion’s filly MISS ELLA (3) as I thought she was the most talented runner in the race – even if this wasn’t her ideal distance. When the news came out Thursday afternoon that she’d likely be scratched, my enthusiasm was tempered in a major way. That being said, there is another runner in the Miss Preakness that greatly intrigues me. On paper it looks like the early fractions in this race will be scorching; having said that, I really find SUPER SAKS (4) quite interesting in this spot. She comes back in two weeks after running in the Eight Belles at Churchill Downs on Kentucky Oaks Day, and after setting honest fractions early she understandably faded late. Today she’ll put the blinkers back on, and I think it’s safe to say she’s going to be the “speed of the speed” in this spot.

$50 to WIN/SHOW: 4) Super Saks = $100

:: Peck: How I'd play Black-Eyed Susan Day

RACE 11 – BLACK-EYED SUSAN

LUMINANCE (8) looms as the most likely winner in this spot, but there’s something about the handling of her leading up to this race that I don’t love. I thought she’d have figured in the Kentucky Oaks, but her connections chose to bypass that spot and point here. I’ll use her defensively in exactas with a horse that intrigues me a bit, PURE (2). Pure finally broke her maiden last out at Santa Anita, and if Victor Espinoza can keep her a bit closer throughout the early stages of the race I think she can get involved.

$50 to WIN/SHOW: 2) Pure = $100
$50 EXACTA BOX: 2, 8 = $100

RACE 14 – PIMLICO SPECIAL

On paper he’s simply not fast enough, but I loved the way KID CRUZ (6) galloped out in his latest effort, which came at Aqueduct. He’s a notoriously lazy horse that needs to be ridden from the very beginning of the race, but that doesn’t concern me. He’s bred to relish the 1 3/16 miles of the Special, and I can’t say the same about some of the other logical contenders. Add in the fact that I don’t love the likely favorite in here (COMMISSIONER (10), and I’ll take a stab with this Linda Rice trainee.

$50 to WIN/SHOW: 6) Kid Cruz = $100