Friday’s Best Bets and Quick Picks: First-time starters for Cox

Handicapper J. Keeler Johnson shares best bets and quick picks for Friday, June 27 at Churchill Downs and Aqueduct, including two promising Brad Cox trainees.

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• $40 Los Alamitos TB Challenge
• $120 Penn National Feeder to 7/5 Indiana Derby KDBC/NHC Qualifier

Best Bets and Quick Picks

Churchill Downs: Race 3: Maiden Special Weight (six furlongs on dirt, 1:43 p.m. ET)

#8 Chopsticks (3-1) looks ready to factor on debut for trainer Brad Cox, a 23% winner with first-time starters. A daughter of two-time champion Essential Quality, Chopsticks has shown speed in the mornings, most notably clocking five furlongs in :59 4/5 at Churchill Downs.

Let’s bet Chopsticks to win, then add an exacta using #2 Go to Girl (4-1) and #6 Mo Lake Time (9-2) for second place.

Selections

• #8 Chopsticks (3-1)
• #2 Go to Girl (4-1)
• #6 Mo Lake Time (9-2)

Wagers

• $20 to win on #8 Chopsticks
• $5 Exacta: 8 with 2,6 ($10)
  Total: $30

Aqueduct: Race 7: $50,000 Maiden Claiming (1 1/8 miles on turf, 4:10 p.m. ET)

There isn’t much pace in this field, so we’ll side with #9 Makeyourmoment (3-1) to deliver victory. The four-year-old gelding has run well when showing pace-tracking speed in both his starts over this course and class level in 2025, finishing fifth by three-quarters of a length and second by half a length.

Makeyourmoment’s early speed should give him a tactical advantage over deep-closing #4 Iron Max (7-5), so we’ll play a win bet and exacta accordingly.

Selections

• #9 Makeyourmoment (3-1)
• #4 Iron Max (7-5)
• #7 Ataturk (9-2)

Wagers

• $22 to win on #9 Makeyourmoment
• $8 Exacta: 9 with 4
  Total: $30

Churchill Downs: Race 11: Maiden Special Weight (6 1/2 furlongs on dirt, 5:58 p.m. ET)

Since 2022, trainer Brad Cox has gone 9-for-38 (24%) debuting three-year-olds at Churchill Downs. This bodes well for #8 Bold Strength (4-1), an unraced son of Constitution, who sires a solid 15% winners from first-time starters.

Bold Strength enters off a promising series of workouts, including five furlongs from the Keeneland starting gate in 1:00 2/5. His 4-1 morning-line odds are enticing, so we’ll keep our strategy simple with a win bet.

Selections

• #8 Bold Strength (4-1)
• #7 Copp (6-1)
• #11 Evan On Earth (7-2)

Wagers

• $25 to win on #8 Bold Strength

Good luck!