Friday’s Best Bets and Quick Picks: Superwolf goes for five in a row

Handicapper J. Keeler Johnson shares best bets and quick picks for Friday, May 29 at Churchill Downs, Gulfstream Park, and Belterra Park, including an exacta in the Best of Ohio Babst/Palacios Memorial S.

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• $40 Churchill Downs Challenge
• $100 Churchill Downs Challenge
• $54 Penn National Bet and Set Feeder to 5/31 Churchill Downs SFBC Qualifier
• $40 Penn National Challenge

Best Bets and Quick Picks

Churchill Downs: Race 2: Maiden Special Weight (1 1/8 miles on dirt, 1:14 p.m. ET)

After competing well in a series of maiden special weights on turf and Tapeta, #3 Ati Girl (4-1) ran better than ever when switching to dirt for a 1 1/4-mile maiden special weight on April 25 at Churchill Downs. She rated as many as 2 1/2 lengths behind modest fractions of :23.84, :49.18, and 1:14.77, then closed ground into a swift :23.79 final quarter-mile to finish second by 1 1/2 lengths.

Having proven her worth over 1 1/4 miles, Ati Girl shouldn’t have any difficulty handling the 1 1/8-mile journey in Race 2. A little better pace setup might be all she needs to deliver victory under five-time Eclipse Award-winning jockey Irad Ortiz Jr., so let’s bet Ati Girl to win and key her over #1 Tap to Open (6-5) in an exacta.

Selections

• #3 Ati Girl (4-1)
• #1 Tap to Open (6-5)
• #7 Lady Law (6-1)

Wagers

• $20 to win on #3 Ati Girl
• $10 Exacta: 3 with 1
  Total: $30

Gulfstream Park: Race 2: Maiden Special Weight (4 1/2 furlongs on dirt, 1:22 p.m. ET)

#7 Melody Queen (4-1) showed some ability when debuting in a five-furlong sprint over this track and class level two weeks ago. While she was no match for the runaway winner (who led by daylight at every call), Melody Queen raced in second place throughout and finished ahead of an odds-on favorite.

Trainer Ramon Minguet wins at a sharp 23% rate with second-time starters, so Melody Queen figures to run as well or better on Friday. At 4-1, she’s worthy of a win bet.

Selections

• #7 Melody Queen (4-1)
• #8 Straight to Jail (5-1)
• #3 Lamdara (5-2)

Wagers

• $25 to win on #7 Melody Queen

Belterra Park: Race 4: Best of Ohio Babst/Palacios Memorial S. (six furlongs on dirt, 4:30 p.m. ET)

#5 Superwolf (2-1) has won four starts in a row, including two sprint stakes. In his 2026 debut, he obliterated a six-furlong allowance at Belterra Park by 10 3/4 lengths.

Superwolf appears well-spotted to snag his fifth straight win on Friday. It helps that he has the red-hot jockey/trainer duo of Erik Barbaran and Robert Gorham in his corner. They’ve won at a 32% rate teaming up together over the last two months.

We’ll place a win bet on Superwolf and key him over #1 Boots Malone (4-1) in an exacta.

Selections

• #5 Superwolf (2-1)
• #1 Boots Malone (4-1)
• #2 Empire’s Fire (7-2)

Wagers

• $32 to win on #5 Superwolf
• $8 Exacta: 5 with 1
  Total: $40

Good luck!