Wednesday’s Best Bets and Quick Picks: First-time starter at 12-1

Racing at Horseshoe Indianapolis (Photo by Coady Photography)
Handicapper J. Keeler Johnson shares best bets and quick picks for Wednesday, Aug. 6, at Horseshoe Indianapolis and Saratoga, along with horses to play in the $1,472 Pick 6 carryover at Colonial Downs.
Today’s special offers from TwinSpires include:
- New Players $200 Sign-Up Bonus: Open your TwinSpires.com account using the offer code BET200 to start earning a $200 bonus.
- Colonial Downs $3,000 Turf Trial: Play the Colonial Downs Turf Trial (involving $10+ win bets in turf races at Colonial Downs) for a chance to split a $3,000 prize pool on Wednesdays and Thursdays in August.
Today’s TwinSpires tournaments include:
- $150 Saratoga Feeder to 8/9 Saratoga/Arlington Million MMBC Qualifier
- $50 Saratoga Challenge
- $160 Mountaineer Feeder to 8/16 Saratoga/King's Plate KDBC/NHC Qualifier
Racing Roundtable ep. #98 | Live Stream@AshleyAnd502, @James_Scully111 & Vance Hanson reconvine to debate the big weekend of #BC25 #WAYI races from Saratoga & Del Mar and what else caught their eye from the weekend. https://t.co/ZPz2u5PJnI
— TwinSpires Racing 🏇 (@TwinSpires) August 5, 2025
Best Bets and Quick Picks
Horseshoe Indianapolis: Race 2: Maiden Special Weight (five furlongs on dirt, 2:41 p.m. ET)
Since 2020, trainer John Ortiz has compiled an excellent 7-for-16 (44%) record debuting juveniles in dirt sprints at Horseshoe Indianapolis. This suggests #1 Just Deeds (12-1) is capable of outrunning his odds.
Just Deeds has put together a respectable work tab at Churchill Downs and is slated to be ridden by Danilo Grisales, who has gone 2-for-8 (25%) when teaming up with Ortiz over the last two months.
Let’s place a win bet on this son of Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile (G1) winner Liam’s Map.
Selections
- #1 Just Deeds (12-1)
- #5 Camden Hills (7-2)
- #6 Black Hornet (2-1)
Wagers
- $20 to win on #1 Just Deeds
Saratoga: Race 7: Birdstone S. (1 3/4 miles on dirt, 4:31 p.m. ET)
#6 Digital Ops (3-1) is an interesting contender in this dirt marathon. He’s never run farther than 1 3/16 miles, but he enjoyed his lone try over that trip in a $50,000 allowance optional claimer on Oct. 26, leading all the way to win by 1 3/4 lengths.
Digital Ops exits a pacesetting runner-up finish in a 1 1/8-mile $75,000 allowance optional claimer at Saratoga, for which he earned a career-best 101 Brisnet Speed rating. There’s a chance this son of Kentucky Derby (G1) winner Nyquist will thrive while stretching out significantly in distance, so let’s bet Digital Ops to win and key him over #2 Parchment Party (7-5) and #4 Lambeth (5-2) in a small trifecta.
Selections
- #6 Digital Ops (3-1)
- #2 Parchment Party (7-5)
- #4 Lambeth (5-2)
Wagers
- $25 to win on #6 Digital Ops
- $2.50 Trifecta: 6 with 2,4 ($5)
Total: $30
Horseshoe Indianapolis: Race 6: Maiden Special Weight (7 1/2 furlongs on turf, 4:45 p.m. ET)
Since 2020, trainer Brad Cox has gone 8-for-23 (35%) debuting juveniles in turf races less than one mile in distance at Horseshoe Indianapolis.
This stat bodes well for #9 Mountain Wolf (9-2). A lengthy work tab capped off by half a mile in :48 4/5 should have the son of Protonico fit for a competitive debut under jockey Marcelino Pedroza Jr., a 60% winner teaming up with Cox over the last two months.
At 9-2, Mountain Wolf is worthy of a win bet.
Selections
- #9 Mountain Wolf (9-2)
- #8 Drink Cornbread (8-1)
- #10 Tiempos Buenos (15-1)
Wagers
- $25 to win on #9 Mountain Wolf
Carryover Watch
Colonial Downs: Race 4: $1,472 Pick 6 carryover (1:57 p.m. ET)
Winning a share of Wednesday’s $1,472 “Old Dominion 6” Pick 6 carryover at Colonial Downs won’t be easy.
A massively difficult sequence is on tap for the 50-cent wager. Every leg of the Pick 6 has drawn at least nine horses, and counting also-eligible entrants, there are 67 entries in total, averaging nearly 11.2 per race. It works out to 1,632,960 possible Pick 6 outcomes before scratches.
One of the most challenging legs of the sequence is Race 5, a maiden special weight for two-year-old fillies dashing 5 1/2 furlongs over the outer turf course. The field drew 14 entries (including two also-eligibles), and nine of them are first-time starters.
After analyzing the contenders, we recommend Pick 6 bettors use the following four horses in Race 5:
#1 Y’allreadyforthis (5-1): A daughter of More Than Ready, who has enjoyed success siring early-maturing grass stars, Y’allreadyforthis enters off a bullet half-mile workout in :47 at Colonial Downs. The bay filly warrants respect under hot jockey Paco Lopez, a 20% winner at Colonial this meet.
#7 Ironclad (5-1): Trainer Peter Eurton wins at a respectable 10% rate with horses debuting on turf. A series of sharp workouts, including bullet half-miles from the starting gate in :47 1/5 and :47 4/5, suggests Ironclad has talent. The daughter of More Than Ready will be ridden by hot jockey Ben Curtis, a 25% winner at Colonial this meet.
#11 Silver Juani (4-1): After dueling for the lead in a five-furlong maiden special weight over the Colonial Downs turf, Silver Juani tired to finish third. Trainer Gerard Ochoa wins at a lofty 20% rate with second-time starters (far exceeding his 4% lifetime win rate with first-time starters), so look for Silver Juani to improve in her second try.
#12 Screen Test (6-1): A daughter of early-maturing juvenile Not This Time (who sires 17% winners on turf), Screen Test is trained by Graham Motion, who has compiled a solid 8-1-2-2 record debuting juveniles in turf sprints at Colonial Downs since 2020. A bullet half-mile workout from the starting gate in :48 3/5 last month is a positive sign for Screen Test, as is the fact she’ll be ridden by jockey Jorge Ruiz, a 43% winner teaming up with Motion over the last two months.
Good luck!
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