How to bet the Tenacious Stakes

A total of eight boys will go postward in the $100,000 Tenacious S. at Fair Grounds on Saturday. The contest seems top-heavy to me, with the trio of morning-line choices seemingly a cut above the rest of the contenders in the cast, and I will center my wagers around the three. 

Tenacious Wagers

• $20 exacta 2 with 7 ($20)
• $3 superfecta 2 with 1,7 with 1,7 with all ($15)
• $1 superfecta 2 with 1,7 with all with 1,7 ($5)

The Brad Cox-trained #2 Just a Touch (7-5) owns five stakes placings in his lifetime, two at the Grade-1 level, and will look to break through with his initial black-type tally in this tilt. By Justify, the colt has run four good ones since returning off the long layoff in 2025 and owns a two-for-two mark at Fair Grounds in advance of his return to this locale. The four-year-old bay is in a bit of a tricky spot with speed to both his inside and outside, but the Kentucky-bred has the versatility to adapt to any scenario with Luis Saez in the irons. 

#7 Not This Boy (2-1) has missed by a head and a nose in his two previous stakes tries and rates an obvious chance in this spot. Not This Time gelding has won or placed in each of his eight career runs to date and has trained forwardly in advance of his first run since September. The Kentucky-bred four-year-old has the advantage of drawing outside of his two main foes and might capitalize on it with Jose Ortiz taking the reins. 

Robertino Diodoro’s #1 Komorebino Omoide (4-1) checked in second in both the Louisiana (G3) and Mineshaft (G3) on the surface earlier this year and will be a major player with something resembling those performances. The five-year-old chestnut was a smart runner-up in the Thanksgiving Classic S. at six furlongs on this oval off the layoff and will appreciate the stretch out in distance on his occasion. He is quick enough from the gate to be up top early on, and I expect him to be sent to gain the edge from the break with his helpful draw on the fence. Paco Lopez has been riding well at the meeting and will be in the silks atop the five-year-old once again.