Playing the All-Stakes Pick 4 at Fair Grounds

TwinSpires.com is giving away a 1 million-points bounty on each of the three Pick 4s Saturday at Fair Grounds and I’ll focus on the all-stakes edition, which begins in Race 8 and runs through the $400,000 Risen Star (G2).

Here are my thoughts on the sequence:

Race 8, Daisy Devine: #10 Notte d’Oro has recorded three of her five career turf wins at Fair Grounds (3-for-4 overall locally) and runs well fresh for trainer Christophe Clement. She’ll be keyed in my main tickets along with #3 Street of Gold, winner of the January 16 Marie G. Krantz Memorial over the course; and #5 Faufiler, a French Group 3 scorer who appears to be training forwardly for her 5-year-old bow. Will add #6 Pink Poppy, #7 Fila Primera and #9 Cash Control to a back-up ticket.

Race 9, TwinSpires.com Rachel Alexandra: Expect to see #8 Stageplay continue to show more in her second start this year for Steve Asmussen. Curlin filly showed good class last fall and opened 2016 with a fine score in January 16 Silverbulletday at Fair Grounds; she’s a single on three tickets. #9 Royal Obsession and #5 Lemon Drop Belle, the 1-2 finishers in a recent allowance, will used as back-ups on one ticket.

Race 10, Fair Grounds H. (G3): #6 Chocolate Ride is a horse for the course, improving his local mark to 6-5-1-0 in the January 16 Col. Bradley (G3), and he’ll be the one to catch under Florent Geroux. #7 Departing showed solid class in a limited sampling of turf starts last year, recording a G2 win, and could show more this year for Al Stall Jr. I give him the best chance of an upset and will include on all tickets. #1 Wireless Future, #3 Roman Approval & #8 Blarp are back-ups.

Race 11, Risen Star:  #6 Gun Runner is my top choice -- very keen on the Candy Ride colt as a Kentucky Derby contender for Asmussen – but I respect the chances of #2 Mo Tom and look for another strong effort from the late runner at 1 1/16 miles. They are keys to the Pick 4. The back-up ticket will include #7 Its All Relevant, who figures to show speed from start off a sharp wire-to-wire maiden win at Gulfstream; Lecomte runner-up #8 Tom’s Ready; accomplished turf runner #10 Airoforce, an impressive winner of the Kentucky Jockey Club (G2) in the slop and making his first start on a fast track today; and #12 Uncle Walter, a lightly raced colt eligible to improve upon a third in his stakes debut, the Lecomte.

Pick 4 Tickets (Races 8-11)

I’ll build four .50-cent Pick 4 tickets costing a total of $57, with a chance to hit it multiple times.

Ticket 1: 3,5,10 with 8 with 6,7 with 2,6,7,8,10,12  ($18)

Ticket 2: 3,5,10 with 8 with 1,3,6,7,8 with 2,6 ($15)

Ticket 3: 3,5,6,7,9,10 with 8 with 6,7 with 2,6 ($12)

Ticket 4: 3,5,10 with 59 with 6,7 with 2,6 ($12)

Check out the TwinSpires.com Kentucky Derby Dream Bet contest, where you can play to win a trip to this year’s Kentucky Derby and Oaks and a $25,000 win bet on the Kentucky Derby