King: Pimlico pick five play for Friday, May 15

The pick five at Pimlico has just a 12 percent takeout, per statistics from The Horseplayers Association of North America, and that makes it an intriguing wager Friday on Black-Eyed Susan Day.

And for those that like guaranteed pools – personally they don’t mean anything to me unless I think a track will fall short of its guaranteed minimum - Pimlico is assuring a pool of at least $250,000 for the wager.

Here’s a look at the pick five races that begin on race 7.

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Race 7

In my mind the list of top contenders in this race runs four deep. So let’s use them all in the pick five – playing in numerical order Playful Love (1), Mobilize (6), Charm City Gal (8), and Silverville (10).

Race 8

Next up is the Miss Preakness, another race in which it seems best to go four deep. Enchanting Lady (1), Miss Ella (3), Divine Dawn (6), and Huasca (11) are the ones to use.

Take note that the connections of Miss Ella have talked of scratching in favor of going in the Acorn next month. So if she comes out – and handicappers are advised to check for that and any other updates before first post - that would reduce the horses used to three.

Race 9

Crowd favorite and win machine Ben’s Cat (3) will be a single for many players in this grass dash, the Jim McKay Turf Sprint, and though he is my top choice, I think Bold Thunder (7) and Amelia’s Wild Ride (9) have a chance to upset. So let’s use all three.

Race 10

Time for a single: Stopchargingmaria (2). A dual grade 1 winner last year, she is stretching out to a distance she loves, 1 1/8 miles, and returning to Pimlico, where she won the Black-Eyed Susan last year. She’s the class of the race, and only running here because Todd Pletcher was dissatisfied with how she trained at Churchill before the Grade 1 La Troienne on Derby Day. But her two works since at Keeneland and Belmont have been swift, and more in line with her usual breezes.

Race 11

Let’s close out with three horses in the Black-Eyed Susan, using Gulfstream Park Oaks third-place finisher Danessa Deluxe (1), Kentucky Oaks eighth-place finisher Include Betty (5) and Santa Anita Oaks runner-up Luminance (8)

The Tickets

Using the horses described above, a 50-cent pick five play of 1,6,8,10 with 1,3,6,11 with 3,7,9 with 2 with 1,5,8 costs $72. It drops to $54 if Miss Ella is indeed scratched from the Miss Preakness.