Shapiro provides Derby City 6 ticket for players, returns $21,832 for $147

Editor's Note: Scott Shapiro walks the public through his suggested ticket construction which earned, to those who took his advice, a nice payout on the Derby City 6 mandatory payout at Churchill Downs on Nov. 28.

Like many horseplayers, I put my faith in odds-on favorite #13 Promises to Dance after she drew in off the also-eligible list in the first leg. 

The daughter of Broken Vow ran a huge 94 BRIS speed rating on debut when racing to the wire with Marissa’s Lady on Halloween. Marissa’s Lady came back to win the inaugural edition of the Fern Creek S. on Saturday, flattering the performance of Promises to Dance. Fortunately, the Brad Cox trainee worked out a good stalking trip from her outside draw and crossed the wire first to kickoff the Derby City 6. 

The second leg of the sequence appeared to be a race with a number of horses that wanted to be on or near the lead, so I used several, including a number of runners from off the pace.

The late scratch of #12 Off We Go took some of that early gas out of the race, but fortunately there was still an honest enough pace to set things up for 44-1 shot #1 Enter Sandwoman, who got out of the gate well, found a comfortable spot, and powered home to an easy win in the end. 

This led to my second single, another horse that was well backed by the public in #5 O P Firecracker. This did not appear to be the strongest race for the level, and this Will Take Charge colt exited a strong event on the Stars of Tomorrow I on opening day.

Thankfully, I was the recipient of one of many difference-making rides this fall from leading jockey Tyler Gaffalione. The Robert Medina trainee got a perfect pocket trip and somehow found his way to the wire first. Without the dream run, he likely does not win. 

I felt great about my position heading into the second half of the sequence, with the top two betting choices along with a price option in Race 10, five of the seven runners in Race 11, and several in the finale. 

#5 Cody’s Wish won his third straight over Churchill's one-turn mile, wearing down a game #9 Ducale in the final strides and keeping most of those that had the first three winners alive. However, when #9 Ebben pulled away from the field in the 11th at odds of 9-1, it definitely knocked a lot of those that were leaning on the logical runners in the penultimate leg out of the mandatory payout event. 

With my payouts ranging from a little over $10K to well over $20K, I was confident I would get home in the first-level allowance event to close the sequence. I was also hoping I could beat #8 Lady Traveler, since her payout was several thousand dollars less than the next closest option.

In the end it was #13 Fire On Time that got the right trip and held off #12 Social Dilemma to solidify a winning combination. It was a great way to close out a great fall meet at historic Churchill Downs.