King's preview: Mandatory payouts on closing day

Closing day, mandatory payouts

The last of 38 racing days of the spring meet at Churchill Downs comes today, and as is customary for tracks when they end their meets, there are mandatory payouts in the gimmick wagers that otherwise go forward with a carryover.

A carryover of $17,398 in the Single 6 Jackpot sweetens that bet, which begins on race 5 and which can be played in 20-cent denominations. And the $1 Super Hi 5, offered in the last race, the 10th, has a carryover of $4,977.

No stakes on tap, but two allowances

A pair of first-level allowances, both with good-sized fields, are the best races on the 10-race card, along with a maiden race for 2-year-old fillies that drew an overflow field going six furlongs.

The first allowance, the seventh, is a 1 1/8-mile turf contest for older fillies and mares, and a narrow edge goes to Princess Mariah. She has a win and a second in two starts this meet on turf, both times running Beyer Speed Figures in the 80s. That ranks her as the fastest turf filly by numbers.

La Reine Bourbon and Bitty Kitty are ones to use in the exotics with Princess Mariah. The former comes off a second-place finish in an allowance at Churchill, while the latter just broke her maiden in fast time locally, though with a favorable ground-saving trip.

The ninth, at six furlongs on the main track, also is for fillies and mares. There, Angie’s Prim Lady offers value appeal, being 4-1 on the line and likely to go off that price or higher on the rise out of the claiming ranks following a runner-up finish.

Jubilant Vision might be the most talented of the lot, but not having raced since winning at Churchill last September, she may need a start to return to peak fitness.

Spot plays

Race 3
SURFACE CLASSIC (#4, 2-1) is the second choice on the morning line but deserves to be favored after a fourth in his debut against better. He broke slowly that day but should race more professionally after that much-needed experience.

Race 6
WINKATDAWAT (#7, 4-1) ran dismally in his latest in the mud but is the class of the field and looks set to rebound with a sharp drop to $5,000 claiming. That recent failure came against starter runners, but he previously had been second when in for a tag against a far richer group.

Early Scratches

Race 1
#3 Fivefeethi Nrisen

Race 6
#8 A J’s Fortune

Race 7
#11 Bluegrass Sapphire