Churchill Downs: Horse racing pick of the day for Nov. 12

Weekday picks and plays for Thoroughbred racing.

Thursday, Nov. 12

Churchill Downs, Race 8: Maiden special weight (6 furlongs, 4:36 p.m. ET)

The experienced fillies in this 6-furlong sprint for 2-year-olds don’t appear too formidable, so let’s take a shot with the first-time starter #8 Abrogate (5-1 on the morning line), who sold for $270,000 as a yearling.

Under the care of trainer Steve Asmussen, Abrogate has shown promising speed in the mornings. She breezed 5 furlongs from the Churchill Downs starting gate in 1:00 2/5 on two occasions in recent weeks.

Asmussen has been hot with 2-year-old first-time starters at Churchill Downs this year. He has a 10-for-29 (34%) record with those types, and jockey Ricardo Santana (a 38% winner riding 2-year-olds sprinters at Churchill) will take the mount.

At 5-1, a simple win bet on Abrogate should be sufficient to produce an enticing payoff.

$25 to win on #8 Abrogate

Good luck!