Churchill Downs: Horse racing pick of the day for Nov. 26

Weekday picks and plays for Thoroughbred racing.

Thursday, Nov. 26

Churchill Downs Race 9: Allowance optional claiming (6 furlongs, 3:24 p.m. ET)

#1 Strike Power (12-1 on the morning line) hasn’t run in nearly a year, but that might be a good thing for the speedy son of Speightstown. With a quartet of triple-digit Brisnet Speed ratings under his belt, Strike Power is easily the fastest horse in Thursday’s field on his best day. He just has trouble stringing long campaigns together.

As a 3-year-old in 2018, Strike Power started off strong with a gate-to-wire victory in the Swale (G3), and a runner-up effort in the Fountain of Youth (G2), but he subsequently burned out and was beaten by by double-digit margins in his final four starts of the season. The story was the same in 2019, as Strike Power kicked off the year with a dominant allowance win and a close runner-up effort in the True North (G2) before finishing no better than fifth in his final three runs.

The fact Strike Power tends to fire his best efforts when fresh suggests he’ll be a dangerous factor at Churchill Downs while making his first start for Hall of Fame trainer Steve Asmussen. Hot jockey Ricardo Santana picks up the mount, so at 12-1, I’ll take a shot betting Strike Power to win and will be keying him under "ALL" in a small exacta.

$14 to win on 1 Strike Power
$1 exacta: ALL with 1 ($11)
Total: $25

Good luck!