Horse Racing Free Picks among great TwinSpires.com Brisnet.com Handicapping Information

Whether you want picks, information to make better picks, or (if you’re like me) both, TwinSpires.com & Brisnet.com offer a variety of products and services to improve your wagering experience.

The products can be found at the link. The services come in different forms such as Stable Alert, our Youtube channel, carryover watch, podcasts, this blog, and e-mails. In fact, some of you might have gotten a free pick e-mailer from James Scully today to kick off Oaklawn’s racing week.

James likes a price to kick off the late Pick 4 (race 6-9) in Hot Springs, Arkansas, and while I’m not quite as creative as a 12-to-1 morning line tab with any of my picks in the sequence, I do think other favorites are vulnerable as well, particularly in race 7.

Race 7 is an optional claimer for older males going 1 1/16 miles on dirt. The race is worth an extremely robust $74,000 and only the longest shot in the field of nine—#8 Ride the Lightning—is in for the tag.

Another interesting wrinkle to the field is that it lacks early speed. There are no “E” types in the field, and of the nine entrants only #1 Tapitsphere and #7 Winkatdawat are even “E/P” types with the former having 5 Quirin Speed Points and the latter 8 such points, suggesting that an uncontested lead is Winkatdawat’s if jockey Julio Felix wants it.

That last bit is a little concerning considering Felix is just 3-for-79 at the meeting, BUT he does have a positive ROI on “E/P” types, and unlike Tapitsphere, Winkatdawat has gate-to-wire wins on his program page (with credible records at both the track (3-for-7) and distance (5-for-9) as well).

#3 Raagheb looks to be overbet in this spot, having burned money in his last two tries at this level, and the E2 pace ratings suggest that either of the aforementioned “e/p” types could put some distance on this one when the real running starts turning for home. Of the closers, I actually prefer #4 Sheikinator who gets mild post relief on the return from the Mid-Atlantic.

I’d look to play #7 Winkatdawat at his morning line price or better, and in multi-race wagering would want to have 1, 4, and 7 on my tickets.

UPDATE: Unfortunately, James's hot horse scratched from leg 1 (race 6), but that departure does put the race more in focus at least. Here's how I'm playing the late Pick 4 today at Oaklawn.

3 with 1, 2, 3, 4, 7 with 1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 8, 9 with 1 ($17.50)

3, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11 with 1, 4, 7 with 2, 3, 9 with 1 ($36)

3 with 1, 4, 7 with 2, 3, 9 with 1, 3, 7, 8, 11 ($22.50)

$76 total

Good luck everyone!