Picks and plays for the $400 Churchill Downs Challenge tournament

Amid the excitement surrounding Saturday’s Belmont (G1) card at Saratoga, don’t forget to play the $400 Churchill Downs Challenge tournament on TwinSpires.com.

The basic requirements are simple: bet your $300 bankroll across at least five races on the Saturday card at Churchill Downs (minimum $30 per race) to climb the leaderboard and compete for cash prizes. If 25 players participate, the winner will receive $1,875 and the runner-up $625.

The 11-race card gets underway at 12:45 p.m. ET. You’ll want to watch the weather before placing any tournament bets. Rain on Friday reduced the Churchill Downs main track to mud and caused a couple of grass races to be rained off the turf. There’s a chance more rain will fall on Saturday, so don’t be surprised if the grass races are switched to dirt again.

That could significantly impact Race 10, the $225,000 Mighty Beau S. It’s slated to take place over 5 1/2 furlongs on turf, and a switch to dirt could prompt notable scratches. Morning-line favorite #2 Arrest Me Red (5-2), for example, might withdraw since he’s competed almost exclusively on turf and synthetic and ran poorly in his lone dirt start to date.

RELATED: Betting exotics in the 2025 Mighty Beau Stakes

Whether the Mighty Beau stays on turf or switches to dirt, you’ll want to back #5 Epic Ride (9-2). A veteran of the 2024 Kentucky Derby (G1), Epic Ride has the pedigree to handle grass, but is a proven commodity on dirt. He exits a runner-up finish in the Maryland Sprint (G3) to the red-hot Booth and also placed in a tough edition of the Blue Grass (G1) last year.

• Race 10: $30 to win on #5 Epic Ride

The weather should have less of an impact on Race 5, a $30,000 starter allowance for fillies and mares racing one mile over the main track. #7 Bolt On the Rocks (9-5) enters in hot form and looks like the filly to beat whether she encounters a wet track or not.

Since transitioning to the care of trainer Chris Hartman, Bolt On the Rocks has wired a six-furlong maiden special weight at Oaklawn Park and a seven-furlong $30,000 starter allowance at Churchill Downs, earning sharp Brisnet Speed ratings of 79 and 88. In her third start for Hartman, Bolt On the Rocks finished a pacesetting second in a 6 1/2-furlong $30,000 starter allowance at Churchill, earning an 80 Speed rating.

There isn’t much pace in Race 5, so Bolt On the Rocks figures to secure an easy lead while stretching out over one mile. None of her rivals have posted a Brisnet Speed rating higher than 86, so if Bolt On the Rocks runs back to her 88 from two starts back, she can deliver a comfortable victory over #5 I Had That One Too (5-2).

• Race 5: $40 to win on #7 Bolt On the Rocks (9-5)
• Race 5: $10 Exacta: 7 with 5
  Total: $50

Good luck!