LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Carl Spackler returns from a long layoff, Talk of the Nation returns for a new trainer, and who knows what the returns from the Appleton Stakes really mean. That, in a nutshell, is the $350,000 Opening Verse Stakes, a one-mile grass race for older horses Thursday at Churchill Downs. The Opening Verse drew 12 entrants, five of whom exit the March 30 Appleton at Gulfstream Park. While Smokin’ T won that race, it’s difficult to assert he ran meaningfully better than several others. Skyro finished eighth in the Appleton, the worst placing among the quintet coming back in the Opening Verse, but was beaten less than two lengths by Smokin’ T, who surged in the final strides to get up by a head. A 17-1 shot finished second, a 60-1 chance third, and if you ran that Appleton 10 times, you might get eight different winners. Smokin’ T did win the River City Stakes last fall at Churchill, but two caveats apply: The race was contested over 1 1/8 miles, and, more importantly, this is a different grass course than the troubled one used last year and refurbished over the winter and spring. Proven Churchill grass form proves nothing right now. :: DRF Kentucky Derby Package: Save on PPs, Clocker Reports, Betting Strategies, and more. Among the other Appleton four, Ice Chocolat merits the strongest consideration. Alternating between turf sprints and miles during 2023, Ice Chocolat had a solid season, finishing third over one mile in the Grade 1 Fourstardave. At the top of the homestretch in the Appleton he traveled like a winner. By the eighth pole, he had become hopelessly blocked by a wall of horses with no chance to get up. Churchtown’s Appleton sixth came with a wide, uncovered trip, and the horse probably hit a career high point finishing second by a neck to Annapolis in the 2023 Opening Verse. Again, that turf is not today’s turf, and Churchtown does not necessarily like this Churchill grass course. Ah Jeez exits a third-place finish in the Grade 1 Kilroe Mile at Santa Anita, but that was a classic case of “someone had to finish third.” Du Jour dominated that Southern California mile, Easter was a clear-cut second, and Ah Jeez at 61-1 picked off rivals exhausted after setting or pushing a hot pace. Talk of the Nation and, perhaps even more so, Carl Spackler ranked among the better 3-year-old grass horses of 2023. First or second in six of his seven grass races, Talk of the Nation won the $1 million Gun Runner at Kentucky Downs and ended his 2023 campaign with a close second in the Bryan Station Stakes at Keeneland. A good year, for sure, but this year Talk of the Nation, owned by Joseph Allen and the China Horse Club, resides in the barn of trainer Todd Pletcher after being trained by Shug McGaughey. Pletcher said the horse came to him from a training center one week before Talk of the Nation logged his first timed workout for Pletcher on March 23 at Palm Beach Downs. “All his works have been on dirt. He seems like a straightforward horse, trains well,” Pletcher said. “I expect him to run well first time back, but also to be ready for a good performance in his next start.” Carl Spackler could be the leading talent in the Opening Verse, a winner in three of his four starts, his lone disappointment on Derby Day 2023, when he was eighth here as the favorite in the American Turf. At Saratoga last summer, Carl Spackler convincingly won the Hall of Fame and the Saranac. Back in Kentucky for a start last fall, the colt suffered a case of colic that required surgical intervention. :: Bet with the Best! Get FREE All-Access PPs and Weekly Cashback when you wager on DRF Bets. “So, this horse is back and doing super, and I do expect him to run very well – if he handles the course,” trainer Chad Brown said. “He’s always trained like a good one, this guy.” Carl Spackler, named after actor Bill Murray’s character in the legendary comedy “Caddyshack,” does appear, from posted workout videos, to be training well on dirt. You won’t get the right price on a horse returning from such a long layoff. But Carl Spackler and Talk of the Nation at least were not part of that Appleton morass. :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.