Wednesday’s Best Bets and Quick Picks: Triple Crown nominee at 6-1

Handicapper J. Keeler Johnson shares best bets and quick picks for Wednesday, May 6 at Thistledown and Horseshoe Indianapolis, including an unraced Triple Crown nominee at 6-1 morning-line odds.

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• $40 Horseshoe Indianapolis Challenge
• $74 Horseshoe Indianapolis Feeder to 5/15 Churchill Downs Bonus Feeder
• $48 Penn National Bet and Set Feeder to 5/22 Churchill Downs Bonus Feeder

Best Bets and Quick Picks

Horseshoe Indianapolis: Race 1: Maiden Special Weight (six furlongs on dirt, 2:10 p.m. ET)

Since 2023, trainer Rodolphe Brisset has gone 2-for-4 (50%) debuting three-year-olds in dirt sprints at Horseshoe Indianapolis. This bodes well for #5 Lighter (6-1), a Triple Crown-nominated son of Constitution, who sires a strong 15% winners from first-time starters.

Lighter arrives at Horseshoe Indianapolis off a bullet five-furlong workout in 1:00 2/5 at Keeneland. At 6-1, this $400,000 yearling acquisition is worthy of a win bet. We’ll also play him over #8 King of Sheba (5-2) in a small exacta.

Selections

• #5 Lighter (6-1)
• #8 King of Sheba (5-2)
• #1 Exodus (3-1)

Wagers

• $25 to win on #5 Lighter
• $5 Exacta: 5 with 8
  Total: $30

Thistledown: Race 6: $12,500 Starter Optional Claiming (six furlongs on dirt, 3:20 p.m. ET)

#5 Cause of Love (5-1) might be 10 years old, but she’s in hot form these days. Her last two starts sprinting six furlongs against $10,000 claiming company have yielded comfortable victories with respectable Brisnet Speed ratings of 72 and 73.

#3 S’mor Crafty (8-5) has been running fast than Cause of Love as of late, but her best recent Brisnet Speed ratings have been earned racing one mile, so cutting back to six furlongs is at least a small question mark.

Let’s try betting Cause of Love over S’mor Crafty in an exacta.

Selections

• #5 Cause of Love (5-1)
• #3 S’mor Crafty (8-5)
• #6 Shez Shacked Up (3-1)

Wagers

• $15 Exacta: 5 with 3

Horseshoe Indianapolis: Race 6: Maiden Special Weight (one mile on turf, 4:45 p.m. ET)

#7 Twirling Daisy (5-2) got off to a slow start when debuting in a 1 1/16-mile maiden special weight over the Keeneland turf course, but she did pass a couple of rivals late to finish seventh, beaten nine lengths.

The 70 Brisnet Speed rating Twirling Daisy earned is only two points lower than the par winning number for Wednesday’s conditions. Perhaps adding blinkers while shipping to an easier circuit can send Twirling Daisy to the winner’s circle.

We’ll keep our strategy simple with a win bet.

Selections

• #7 Twirling Daisy (5-2)
• #12 She’s Honed In (9-2)
• #4 Minstrelly (8-1)

Wagers

• $30 to win on #7 Twirling Daisy

Good luck!