Weekend Winners Club

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Saturday, September 11, 2021.  Kentucky Downs will be wrapping up it’s short lived but high priced meet tomorrow, but not before holding 5 graded stakes races today worth over $4 million in purse money.  2 of the races will issue an automatic Breeders’ Cup berth to the winner.

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Kentucky Downs is known in horseplayer circles for a few things.  1. They have the shortest meet in North America.  2.  They have the largest average purse size in North American racing.  3.  They have the largest average field size. And 4. All their races are on turf.  Racing begins at 1:20pm.

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Consistent with their form, they have 125 horses running in their 11 turf races after morning scratches today.  There are only 2 races with field size of under 11, and 0 with fields of less than 9.  Get today’s Free Grid here to follow along and make your picks.  Scratches have already been removed from this file.

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The slew of stakes racing begins at about 4pm with the Mint Ladies Sprint G3 for females competing for $600k.  6.5f is a tad too long to just go with the highest speed, but considering Superstition is also top in Power rating and has a good stakes record, it’s easy to pick her at 4-1.

Second in speed is Yes It’s Ginger, who’s in great form right now and 12-1 looks attractive, but hasn’t raced farther than 5.5f in a long time.

Next are Jakarta who we’ll ignore, and the favorite Venetian Harbor, whose last turf race was a G2 win at this distance.

But I wouldn’t be afraid to plug in the top LP runners into your exotics here.  Catch a Bid at 8-1 and Gogo Shoes at 30-1(!!!) should both excel at this distance, especially if a speed battle ensues.  Constantia would also do well in that scenario but is only 5-1.

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Next, the Ladies Turf G3 will begin at about 4:35pm, with 9 talented mostly 5yo mares competing at a mile for $750k.  I really wouldn’t be afraid to single the favorite Princess Grace here, who is tops in Power and stamina. But you can never ignore the top LP’s at a mile.  She’sonthewarpath and Summer in Saratoga both offer good value here.

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The 6f Turf Sprint G3 will begin at about 5:10pm and this one is really weird for a sprint because there’s literally only one early runner on paper.  I’m assuming most of the riders know this and won’t let Bombard just have it her own way up front at 10-1 for a berth to the BC Turf Sprint and the winner’s share of the $1 million purse.

Imprimis at 6-1 has top Power rating and every right to win this with a smart ride by Irad.  The favorite Casa Creed is top in LP and Stamina but will have to move up earlier than usual.  Same goes for the late running Fast Boat at 10-1 who won the Troy last out beating several others in this field. She also has a pair of the best PF’s of the last 4 outings.

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The Calumet Turf Cup G2 begins at 5:45pm with 13 of the top turf routers racing for a BC Turf berth and another $1 million purse. 

There’s not much in the form of early speed in this one, so don’t be surprised to see Channel Cat go off as the favorite and hold on to the front end for a piece of the pie.  Tide of the Sea will also be in the early mix and has mostly excelled at this distance in the past.

What do you do when the top LP at 12f is at 15-1?  You bet on Glynn County of course. Also registering high on the LP and Stamina scales are favored Arklow, 12-1 Fantasioso, and 15-1 Imperador.

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The last but not least stakes race is the Franklin Simpson G2 for 3yo’s only going 6.5f on turf for a $600k purse.  Again, very little early speed for a sprint, giving Into the Sunrise a very legitimate shot at 12-1, with top Speed, EP and 2^nd in Power ratings.

County Final should press the pace early and has great value at 8-1.  Next could come Next at 5-1, cutting back from route distance.

Favored Point Me By is also cutting back and with top LP and Power is impossible to ignore here.

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The last race of the day is a high dollar MSW for 2yo’s going 8f, and there is some great value in this one with lots of great trainers and promising juveniles.

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That’s it for today’s precap.  Remember you can get the Grid for all your favorite tracks and races, every race day, using this link.

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