Pick 5 of the Week: Kentucky Downs Saturday, August 29

I will be ambitious and take a shot at the middle Pick 5 on the fantastic card on opening day at Kentucky Downs on Saturday. 

Race 4 Wager

50-cent Pick 5: 1,6,9 with 8,11 with 3,7 with 4,9 with 1,7,11,12 ($48)

Race 4 – Allowance

An allowance dash will kick things off in the wager with a cast of nine youngsters set to travel 6 1/2 furlongs on the unique turf surface. #1 Never Sleep (5-2) ran a fine second on the grass at first asking, prior to graduating on the dirt second time out for Rivelli. The $450,000 son of City of Light looms large from the fence under Walter Rodriguez. 

#9 How’s Al Today (7-2) ran down a clear one on the dirt at Churchill in his winning debut before finishing a distant third in the Saratoga Special (G2) most recently. I expect the chestnut son of Munnings to appreciate the move to the lawn beneath Brian Hernandez, Jr. Trainer Rustory Arnold is always dangerous at this meeting and will saddle the debuting #6 Ryba (15-1), who is bred for the sod. I’ll include the colt in the first leg. 

Race 5 – Allowance

Juvenile fillies will go 6 1/2 panels in the second piece of the demanding sequence. I thought that #8 Duty Bound (8-1) was professional in a debut tally at Colonial over a decent field and could be a good one going forward. The Jack Sisterson-trained son of Jack Christopher inherits the services of Florent Geroux. 

#11 Valkyrie (4-1) has been outrun in a pair of stakes tries after posting a solid first-out victory beneath the Twin Spires in April and will make her grassy debut in the heat. The Early Voting filly comes in fresh with good recent works, and I expect her to improve with the surface change under Hernandez. 

Race 6 – Juvenile Sprint S. 

The boys will speed 6 1/2 grassy panels in the $750,000 tilt. I’ll go two deep in the middle leg with Todd Pletcher’s #3 Pinpoint (9-2) and the Ben Colebrook-trained #7 Admiral’s Order (8-1) in the deep contest. 

Race 7 – Ladies Turf Sprint (G1)

A tilt with a purse of $1.75 million and a Grade 1 attachment attracted an outstanding field of 12 in the 6 1/2-furlong dash. #4 Ag Bullet (8-5) has won this race two seasons in succession and will bid for a three-peat for Baltas. The Twirling Candy mare was a good second in the Jaipur (G1) versus the boys at Saratoga in her seasonal bow and is a must-use. 

#9 In Our Time (6-1) has run two big races on the course in the past and comes in with a rapid bullet drill in her latest morning move for Saffie Joseph. She will give the reigning queen all that she can handle with her best. 

Race 8 – Maiden Special Weight

The one-mile tilt for juveniles attracted an oversubscribed field of 16 to close out the challenging play. With the connections of so many horses now pointing to this lucrative meeting, I often give a long look to debut runners and second-time starters in the maiden events. 

To conclude the play I will use first timers #7 Family Crest (15-1) and #12 Uncle Anthony (8-1), as well as second timers #1 Jas (8-1) and #11 Seminal (5-1).