Wednesday’s Best Bets and Quick Picks: Stakes double at Horseshoe Indianapolis

Handicapper J. Keeler Johnson shares best bets and quick picks for Wednesday, Aug. 26 at Horseshoe Indianapolis, along with a ticket for the $1,158 Super High 5 carryover at Mountaineer.

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.
• $2,000 Exacta Hit It and Split It at Horseshoe Indianapolis: Opt in and hit two exactas at Horseshoe Indianapolis for a chance to split a $2,000 prize pool each racing Wednesday in August.
• 15% Odds Boost at Saratoga: Opt in to receive a 15% odds boost (up to $25 per day) on your winning single-horse win wagers at Saratoga each racing Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday in August.
• 15% Odds Boost at GBI Racing: Opt in to receive a 15% odds boost (up to $25 per day) on your winning single-horse win wagers at select GBI tracks from Monday, Aug. 10 through Monday, Aug. 31.

Today’s TwinSpires tournaments include:

• $112 Saratoga Bet and Set Feeder to 8/30 Kentucky Downs King of the Turf Qualifier
• $200 Saratoga Feeder to 8/28 Saratoga SSBC Qualifier
• $150 Saratoga Challenge
• $40 Saratoga Challenge
• $90 Mountaineer Bet and Set Feeder to 8/30 Saratoga NHC Qualifier
• $40 Mountaineer Challenge

Best Bets and Quick Picks

Horseshoe Indianapolis: Race 7: Maiden Special Weight (5 1/2 furlongs on dirt, 5:16 p.m. ET)

#7 Legendary Odds (10-1) is a first-time starter trained by Whit Beckman, who has compiled an excellent 10-4-1-2 (40%) record at Horseshoe Indianapolis this meet.

Legendary Odds enters off a promising series of half-mile workouts at Churchill Downs and is eligible to outrun his morning-line odds. Let’s bet him to win.

Selections

• #7 Legendary Odds (10-1)
• #6 Glacier (6-1)
• #5 Best Life (7-1)

Wagers

• $25 to win on #7 Legendary Odds

Horseshoe Indianapolis: Race 8: Peony H. (1 1/16 miles on turf, 5:47 p.m. ET)

#3 Royal Justice (4-1) is unbeaten in three starts on turf, all at Horseshoe Indianapolis. That includes a pace-tracking triumph in a one-mile $30,000 allowance optional claimer last month, in which she defeated Peony morning-line favorite #1 Louder Than Words (7-2) by 1 1/2 lengths.

Royal Justice appears well-spotted to bring her grass record to 4-for-4. Let’s bet her to win and single her to start a daily double.

Selections

• #3 Royal Justice (4-1)
• #1 Louder Than Words (7-2)
• #7 Itzforever (8-1)

Wagers

• $24 to win on #3 Royal Justice
• $6 Double: 3 with 5
  Total: $30

Horseshoe Indianapolis: Race 9: Bucchero H. (1 1/16 miles on turf, 6:18 p.m. ET)

#5 Chicory Blaze (6-1) is 2-for-2 on turf. Last year, he won the one-mile Snack H. at Horseshoe Indianapolis by a head. Last month, he rallied to take a one-mile allowance by a neck.

Those victories yielded sharp Brisnet Speed ratings of 85 and 86. Chicory Blaze looks fast enough to bring his grass record to 3-for-3 with a triumph in the Bucchero, so we’ll bet him to win and single him to conclude our double bet.

Selections

• #5 Chicory Blaze (6-1)
• #4 V Max (4-1)
• #12 Gas Alley (8-1)

Wagers

• $24 to win on #5 Chicory Blaze

Carryover Watch

Mountaineer: Race 8: $1,158 Super High 5 carryover (9:55 p.m. ET)

If you like handicapping races held over unusual distances, then you’ll love pursuing Wednesday’s $1,158 Super High 5 carryover at Mountaineer.

The prize pool is up for grabs in Race 8, a $7,500 claimer for three-year-olds and older horses sprinting two furlongs—a mere quarter-mile!—on dirt.

The four favorites on the morning line bring strong credentials to the table, and we anticipate they’ll run 1-2-3-4 in one order or another.

Wagers

• $1 Super High 5: 1,2,8 with 1,2,8,9 with 1,2,8,9 with 1,2,8,9 with 4,5 ($36)

#2 Cash Customer (3-1) and #8 Where Ya At Vince (4-1) are tried-and-true two-furlong specialists. Cash Customer has tackled this track and distance six times since December, recording four wins and two seconds while competing in claimers ranging in value from $4,000 to $10,000. His two losses came by narrow margins to none other than Where Ya At Vince.

Where Ya At Vince has competed three times in two-furlong sprints at Mountaineer this year. He beat Cash Customer in his first two attempts, then finished second by half a length to that rival in a $10,000 claimer on July 13.

Cash Customer and Where Ya At Vince are formidable contenders, but so too are #1 Super Kick (2-1) and #9 Interval (6-1).

Super Kick has set the pace in nine of his 10 career starts. He routinely runs the opening quarter-mile of longer sprints in :21-and-change, suggesting he has the speed to vie for victory while cutting back to two furlongs. It helps that he’s dropping in class out of a $16,000 claimer, and the fact he’ll be ridden by hot jockey Luis Negron (a 22% winner at Mountaineer this meet) is appealing.

As for Interval, he’s cutting back in distance after finishing second in a pair of recent $4,000 claimers sprinting six furlongs and 5 1/2 furlongs at Mountaineer. He opened up daylight leads in both of those races, and his speed could be dangerous while shortening up to two furlongs. However, stepping up to the $7,500 claiming level could complicate his path to the winner’s circle, so we’ll only use Interval for the underneath slots of our Super High 5 ticket.

We’ll round out our play with #4 Remys Gunsmoke (10-1) and #5 Uncaptured Boy (20-1), two horses with early speed who are cutting back in distance.

Good luck!