King: Ky. Downs stakes make for enticing pick five play

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – With four stakes races run consecutively to close out the card at Kentucky Downs on Saturday, the sequence is ripe for horseplayers who enjoy multirace wagers. And many players will find appeal in the all-stakes pick four.

This handicapper is going to throw one more race into the mix so as to play a pick five, a wager that at Kentucky Downs has a takeout of just 14 percent and can be played in 50-cent combinations. So, without further ado, let’s get to handicapping and formulating a TicketMaker play.

◗ Race 6, Leg 1, maiden special weight

STAND UP GUY (No. 8, 9-2) ran second first out to heavily favored Luck of the Kitten on Million Day at Arlington, and with the latter returning to finish second in the Kentucky Downs Juvenile after stumbling at the start, this horse is the clear choice. He rates as a “A” play, or a confident selection using the ABC format used in TicketMaker to rank horses.

TWENTY GAUGE (No. 4, 10-1) and LAWN RANGER (No. 7, 8-1) are lesser “B” plays who offer value but don’t have the same likelihood of winning as the top choice. The former also ran second in his lone start, coming in an off-the-turf race at Ellis Park that was run in the slop, and may improve on turf, being by Fusaichi Pegasus, whose progeny often like grass. And the latter holds appeal after a second at Ellis Park on turf in which he ran a respectable 63 Beyer Speed Figure.

◗ Race 7, Leg 2, More Than Ready Mile

Just two horses go on the tickets here: REGALLY READY (No. 4, 5-2) is an “A,” and GUYS REWARD (No. 3, 2-1) a “B.”

REGALLY READY rebounded from a poor showing in the Firecracker late in the Churchill meet to take a stakes that was taken off the turf at Mountaineer by 12 1/2 lengths. A top-class performer this year, the only concern with him is that he was unplaced in one prior start on the unique Kentucky Downs course.

GUYS REWARD doesn’t always fire but is capable of a top race when he does. He is battle tested, coming off seven straight graded stakes tries.

◗ Race 8, Leg 3, Kentucky Downs Ladies Sprint

Two “A” runners go into TicketMaker: CORPORATE CULTURE (No. 6, 8-1) and SKY TREASURE (No. 3, 7-2). The former offers value, sitting at 8-1 after four straight in-the-money finishes in New York, and the latter enters this race off a pair of lofty Beyers earned on the Woodbine turf course.

Secondary “B” runners are RICHIES PARTY GIRL (No. 8, 4-1) and QUAY (No. 10, 8-1), who both have quality form sprinting on grass.

◗ Race 9, Leg 4, Kentucky Turf Cup

TRICKY HAT (No. 7, 6-1) is a proven stayer who just won the John’s Call at Saratoga, and WAR DANCER (No. 3, 3-1) is a graded stakes winner who comes off a fourth in the Grade 1 Sword Dancer. They are “A” horses to use in TicketMaker.

O’PRADO OLE (No. 10, 5-1) has only made $98,971 but ran competitively in the Sword Dancer when sixth and gets tossed in the tickets as a “B.”

◗ Race 10, Leg 5, Kentucky Downs Ladies Turf

I’M ALREADY SEXY (No. 8,3-1) is the class of the nightcap, being a two-time Grade 3 winner who drops after finishing sixth in the Grade 1 Beverly D. She is the lone “A” play in the race.

As backups with the potential to blow up the gimmicks with a victory, we’ll toss three “B” runners in the pick five: KEPI (No. 7, 6-1), ROSEE IS COZEE (No. 2, 12-1), and SISTER GINGER (No. 4, 8-1).

◗ The TicketMaker play

Plugging the horses mentioned above into TicketMaker using a base bet of 50 cents and a budget of $77 generates an all “A” play for $1.50; four “A”s and a “B” for $1; and three “A”s and two “B”s for 50 cents. The race by race sequences with numbers appears in the accompanying chart.