Playing the All-Turf Pick 3 at Keeneland April 3

For fans of turf racing and low takeout, Keeneland's daily $3 All-Turf Pick 3 is one of the track's more appealing wagering options. It's a wager I'll be looking at more closely during the spring meet, which kicks off Friday.

The All-Turf Pick 3 encompasses the final three scheduled grass races on opening day. Here's how I'll be playing it.

$3 ticket: 9 with 3,4,7 with 3,7 = $18

Race 6: Allowance, 3:40 p.m. ET

In a race filled with horses that have been stuck in this N1X condition a long time, it will be no surprise if most gravitate to the lightly raced Without. But I'll go in a slightly different direction and take a stand with #9 Sumood (4-1) as my single.

A Shadwell homebred son of grass champions Kitten's Joy and Lahudood, Sumood earned a belated maiden win last out at Turfway with first blinkers after finishing second or third in four previous tries. Now five, the gelding was sidelined for a while after his only prior run on the grass, which occurred at last year's spring meet when he finished third as a mild favorite over yielding ground. Given that Sumhood did not work back following that run, the assumption is that he exited that race with an infirmity.

I suspect, given his pedigree, Sumood's best work lies ahead, on grass. Also in his corner is trainer Brendan Walsh, who enjoyed an outstanding spring meet a year ago, winning with 10 of 36 starters.

Race 8: Transylvania (G3), 4:44 p.m. ET

After dominating his first two starts, a maiden here last fall and an allowance at Fair Grounds in January, #7 Remember Mamba (7-2) could be any kind. But he does concede stakes experience and will be a short price for the potent DeVaux/Ortiz combo.

I'll also use #4 Attfield (12-1), a stakes winner at Aqueduct last fall who probably didn't care much for the Tapeta surface at Turfway when a retreating seventh in the John Battaglia Memorial. #3 Noble Dynasty (8-1), a rallying second to Attfield in the Central Park S., is an intriguing scion of Kingman and Hall of Fame mare Royal Delta who has the potential to have a good season for Bill Mott.

Race 10: Maiden, 5:48 p.m. ET

The sequence ends with this one-mile maiden special weight for three-year-olds. Although there are a couple of logical threats that competed in a key Jan. 25 maiden at Gulfstream, I'll look at a pair of longer-priced runners.

#3 Ravenous (10-1), from the Walsh barn, made late progress to garner minor awards in his first two outings and hopefully can show a bit more positional speed in his three-year-old debut.

#7 Obelus (8-1), by multiple Grade 1 turf star Divisidero, took a liking to the surface on his first crack at it last time at Fair Grounds. It was also his first attempt around two turns, which he'd probably been wanting to do after three losses sprinting on the dirt.