Every Friday thru Sunday 1/ST BET handicapper Jeff Siegel offers his best wagering opportunity from a selected North American racetrack. These “Best Plays” can take the form of a win wager, exacta, trifecta, or a daily double, pick-3, pick-4 or pick-6. Selections are listed in chronological order.
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Santa Anita – Ninth Race – Post time: 5:22 PT
2-Ole Silver (6-1)
Speedy filly has the pedigree to improve a ton routing and finally gets her chance to prove it in this nine furlong grassy starter optional claimer for fillies and mares. The daughter of Acclamation continues to train in highly impressive fashion, goes for a barn that has strong stats with the sprint-to-route angle, and switches to bug girl J. Pyfer, who seems likely to employ the proper gate-to-wire tactics that should bring out the best from this P. D’Amato-trained filly. Lightly-raced with plenty of improvement in her and listed at 6-1 on the morning line, she is a strong win play and rolling exotic single.
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Churchill Downs – Ninth Race – Post time: 10:11 ET
1-Roderick (9/2)
Has been away for a couple of months since failing to handle a sloppy track when unplaced as the 4/5 favorite in the Hutcheson Stakes and today tries grass in this year’s edition of the William Walker Stakes. The W. Ward-trained colt raced poorly in his only prior outing on turf, but he has trained well on the sod and will outclass this field if he can transfer his best dirt form to this surface. The son of Into Mischief draws the rail and has enough early speed to use it to his advantage, so at 9/2 on the morning he is worth a gamble in the win pool and in rolling exotic play.
