Bets for the $750 Turfway Synthetic Championships NHC Qualifier

The Turfway Park Synthetic Championships is taking place at Turfway Park on Sunday. Four stakes worth a combined $1 million serve as the sporting highlights of an ultra-competitive 10-race card.

Meanwhile, one of the betting highlights is the $750 Turfway Synthetic Championships NHC Qualifier, a lucrative tournament on TwinSpires.com.

Turfway Park: $750 Turfway Synthetic Championships NHC Qualifier

As many as two National Horseplayers Championship (NHC) seats will be awarded to the top finishers in the $750 Turfway Synthetic Championships NHC Qualifier. In addition, $5,000 in cash prizes will be added to the prize pool.

The tournament requires players to wager their entire $500 bankroll across at least five races at Turfway Park (minimum $50 per race).

Here are a couple of tournament wagers we recommend playing:

Race 8

• $25 to win on #12 Encino
• $25 Double: 12 with 3
  Total: $50

Race 8 is the $250,000 Prairie Bayou S. taking place over one mile on Tapeta. A couple of short-priced entrants, #5 Dresden Row (4-1) and #7 Quatrocento (7-2), are among the early scratches.

This leaves #12 Encino (3-1) as a formidable favorite. He hasn’t missed the exacta in five starts on Tapeta. At Turfway Park specifically, he boasts a win in the John Battaglia Memorial S. and a runner-up finish in the Kentucky Cup Classic (G3) on his record.

Encino is versatile in terms of running style and has the red-hot jockey/trainer duo of Flavien Prat and Brad Cox in his corner. Prat guided Encino to a win in the Sept. 19 Presque Isle Mile on Tapeta, so we’re confident the stage is set for Encino to deliver a comfortable victory while returning to Turfway.

Race 9

• $50 to win on #3 Howard Wolowitz

Race 9 is the $250,000 Holiday Cheer S., a six-furlong Tapeta sprint.

#3 Howard Wolowitz (5-2) is a formidable favorite. Although he’s best known for winning the 6 1/2-furlong Franklin-Simpson (G1) on turf, he’s also 2-for-2 on Tapeta. One of those wins came in the 2024 Holiday Cheer, in which Howard Wolowitz tracked splits of :21.47 and :43.60 before taking over to win comfortably with a flashy 101 Brisnet Speed rating.

Howard Wolowitz was last seen tiring to finish seventh by 4 1/4 lengths in the Turf Mile (G1) at Keeneland. Cutting back from one mile to six furlongs should send Howard Wolowitz back to the winner’s circle.

Bonus: Turfway Park $12,583 Super High 5 carryover

Another excellent betting opportunity at Turfway is the non-jackpot $12,583 Super High 5 carryover available to chase in Race 10, a 1 1/16-mile Tapeta maiden special weight for two-year-olds.

We suggest keying #5 Empire West (5-2) on top of your tickets. The Brad Cox trainee rallied from midfield to finish second in his debut in a one-mile turf maiden special weight at Churchill Downs. Empire West finished fast on the clock, and the form was flattered when the third-place finisher returned to win his next start.

Since 2022, Cox has compiled a stellar 6-for-12 (50%) record saddling experienced two-year-olds in route races at Turfway Park. This statistic cements Empire West as the horse to beat.

Good luck!