How to play the King's and Queen's Pick 3 at Woodbine

The non-consecutive E.P. Taylor (G1) and King's Plate are the first two legs of the King's and Queen's Pick 3, a special $5 minimum wager offered at Woodbine on Saturday.

TwinSpires players can opt in to vie for a 25% profit boost (up to $50) on their winning wagers in the King's and Queen's Pick 3, which kicks off at 4:14 p.m. ET. Here's how I'll be playing the sequence.

$5 Pick 3: 3 with 3,7,11 with 5,8 = $30

Race 7: E.P. Taylor (G1), 4:14 p.m. ET

She Feels Pretty is the deserving odds-on favorite, especially after airing in the Natalma (G1) over this course when last visiting two years ago. However, it might be worth going against the crowd, most of whom will be singling her in this sequence, in the hope that a longer price can kill most tickets right off the bat.

Despite her lack of experience at or near this level in England, Godolphin homebred #3 Diamond Rain (6-1) is a logical alternative. The daughter of Shamardal, whose only lackluster runs on grass were either unexpected (in the case of the Ribblesdale [G2] at Royal Ascot) or on soft ground, has won a pair of minor stakes on the turf. And last time, she displayed surface versatility by winning over the all-weather in Group 3 at Newcastle.

Although Godolphin hasn't won this race in 17 years, they've successfully targeted Woodbine stakes for many seasons and rarely send one not ready to put in a good effort. She's the value horse to single, compared to She Feels Pretty.

Race 9: King's Plate, 5:34 p.m. ET

Lots of ways to go in this 13-horse field of Canada's leading three-year-olds of both sexes. #3 Notorious Gangster (9-2) is a must-use after making belated progress to get second in the nine-furlong Plate Trial. The ultra-consistent son of Classic Empire should be even better with an extra furlong to work with here and enters off a sub-1:00 bullet work going five furlongs.

#11 Tom's Magic (5-1) is a two-time stakes winner in the U.S. and faces Canadian-breds for the first time. His turf form, perhaps, will transfer cozily to Tapeta. More of a wild card is second-time starter #7 Runaway Again (12-1), who was quite impressive winning on debut a month ago in good time. It's asking a lot of him to beat more seasoned foes, but the Stronach homebred possesses an impeccable pedigree as his dam is kin to this race's 1997 winner Awesome Again, later a Breeders' Cup Classic (G1) hero and prominent sire.

Race 10: King Edward (G2), 6:11 p.m. ET

Here's another race where I'll be fading the logical favorite, in this case Cruden Bay, who ran huge off an 11-month layoff to defend his title in the Connaught Cup (G2). He didn't fare so well last season when trying to double up in this race, so some regression is possible after such a taxing effort.

Younger rivals like #5 Dresden Row (3-1) and #8 Gas Me Up (6-1) appeal. Dresden Row is potentially sitting on a peak effort in his third start off the bench, while Gas Me Up steps back up into stakes company for the first time since his juvenile days after winning both of his turf sprint allowance tries earlier in the meet, the latter by more than three lengths.