Betting on a Budget at Oaklawn For Friday 3/26

I thought it might be fun to try and make a little money on a typical Friday card at Oaklawn Park, I’m going to show you how a frugal bettor like myself would try and make a little cash without risking much money at all. Also if you are kind of new at this sport, this would be a good starter course for you. So let’s dive into the card and try and hit some winners on a $50 budget limit.Keep in mind that I’m doing this on Thursday before the races on Friday so I have no idea of the scratches or any changes that may occur. I also can’t predict any weather changes or what the track conditions might be.

Race 1 is a $10,000 Maiden for 3yr. olds and up

Talk about a tough race to handicap to start the day. You have a field of 10 horses who have never won a race and can be claimed for $10,000. Simply put, these horses are not very good and my instincts tell me to stay away from betting much at all on this race. Any of the 10 could win and most importantly any of the 10 could lose, so keep that in the back of your mind.

I’m going to go with 2,8,7 as my very shaky picks.

My top choice is the #2 Reinsure. He has been knocking on the door finishing twice in his two starts at the meet. Maybe he can get John Prather his second win at the meet. My 2nd selection is the #8 Mr.Peterkin trained by the Hall of Famer D.Wayne Lukas. He has two thirds in similar company in his last three starts. Rounding out the top 3 is the #7 Majestic Day who ran pretty well here last year. Trained by Ingrid Mason maybe he can return to form.

I’m going to bet $2 to win on the 2 only because I want some action. I’m not wasting my money on these guys.

Race 2 is a $6250 claimer for 4 yr.olds and up which have not won a race since Sept.26, 2020

Ok, we have another race with older horses who aren’t very good. Another tough one to handicap but at least they have won a race before.

I’ll go 5,3,1 for Race 2

Karl Broberg sends out my top choice #5 Chicory Blue is 7/2 on the morning line. He has three starts in the 2021 season and has a solid 2nd and 3rd finish to his credit. Broberg wins a ton of these kinds of races and that makes him my selection as the winner. The #3 Gospel Abe is an interesting choice and I’ll make him my 2nd selection. Trained by the Hall-of Famer Jerry Hollendorfer he won four times in 2020 so he knows where the winner’s circle is. He has a solid 3rd out of his three starts at this meet so he has a chance. Finishing off my top 3, I’ll go with the #1 Gigging guided by Chris Hartman. This guy ran at the $16,000 level in his last race so he is taking a significant drop. The Hartman horses are running much better after a slow start so he is a logical choice.

I’ll again go $5 to win on the 5 just to stay interested and save my bankroll for something better later in the day.

Race 3 is a Maiden Special Weight for 3 year olds

This race has a short field of 6 horses with 4 of them first time starters. Again, a difficult race to predict. Hard to analyze first timers who have never actually been in a race. The good news there are only 6 to choose from.

Top 3 picks are 2,6,4

The obvious first choice is the #2 Baby Cloud sent out by John Ortiz. She has a 2nd over the track in her only start which is at least something to go on. Plus she gets the services of David Cabrera in the irons and he has been riding very well. #6 Polyester Bride is trained by Mac Robertson who had a very good two days last weekend. He also is out of Super Saver and in this field he is a solid choice to win but I’ll take him as my 2nd choice especially at 7/2. Finishing out the trifecta I will go with the #4 Lindsylu simply because of the Asmussen-Santana connections.

I’m going to bet a $2 exacta box on the 2-6 for a wager of $8.

Race 4 is a $10,000 maiden for Arkansas Bred Fillies 3yr olds and up

Wow, is there ever going to be a decent race to bet? Another race with bad horses running for a $10,000 tag that any can win and all can lose.

I have to pick someone to win so I will go with the 2 Hamazing Lace trained by Ingrid Mason. This horse has a 2nd and a 3rd out of three starts at the meet. On paper she should win but this is an unpredictable type of race. My 2nd choice will be #9 This Girl Does trained by Ron Moquett. She is dropping from 2 uninspiring Maiden Special Weight races all the way down to a $10,000 maiden claimer. She is 8/1 and I think she has a shot to improve and is worth a try at this price. I’ll round out my top 3 picks with the #7 Frankie’s Moonshine who is dropping down also. Paul Holthus is still looking for his first win in 2021 and he is too good a trainer to go winless.

I’m betting a $2 exacta on the 2,9 for a $4 wager.

Race 5 is a $20,000 Allowance Optional Claimer for fillies and mares 3 yr. olds and up

#I really struggled finding a winner here so when I do that I try and look for a price that might pull off an upset. I settled on the #6 Tiddly trained by Ernie Witt who does well with Arky breds and the morning line has him at 8/1. I seriously doubt we get that but let’s hope we do. She has 1 start this year in the $150,000 Downthedustyroad Stakes race for state breds. It was her first start since May of last year where she enjoyed a solid 2020 meet at Oaklawn. I think she needed a race after the long layoff and fits in well here. My second choice is the #1 Lovely Lou under the direction of Randy Matthews. She won a Maiden Special Weight on February 7th and finished 7th in an allowance for her first race against winners. She was solid last year at the meet and I’m counting on a better effort in this slot. My final pick will be the 5 EuroMe from the F.Dewayne Loy barn. This horse has hit the board on all three of her starts so far in the 2021 meet.

Again, I’m going light and betting $5 on the 6 to pull off an upset.

Race 6 is a 10,000 claimer for 4 yr.olds and up

I like the 1,4,5 in this one. The #1 Believeinholidays is trained by Federico Villafranco and owned by Danny Caldwell and these are the kind of races they specialize in and win. He finished third 2 races back at a $30,000 tag and got a 92 speed figure. That’s good enough for me. The #4 Ike trained by Ron Moquett has a win at the 7500 level and is listed at 6/1. I like the odds, I like the trainer, and I like Cabrera riding him. Finally the #5 Tashkent has Karl Broberg bringing him to this race. He also wins tons of these claiming races so he should be live in this one.

I’m going $5 to win on the 1 and use the 1,4,5 in a 50 cent pick 3 which I will add at the end of this post.

The 7th race is a $30,000 Starter Optional Claimer for 4 yr.olds and up.

I like the 2,7,5 for my selections for the 7th. I like the #2 Hop Kat because Tom Amoss is the trainer and Florent Geroux is the rider. That’s a solid combination. The horse has a victory in a similar level race at the Fairgrounds and a solid 2nd place at Oaklawn. He had solid speed figures and is a logical choice. The #7 Lord Dragon is a very serious challenger from the Roberto Diodoro barn and all that barn does is win. He ran in an $80,000 allowance in his last start so he is taking a significant drop. The final contender for me is the #5 Arrival. He has ran well in 3 previous starts this year and if he runs his best he could win in this spot.

I’m going to use the 2,7 in a couple of 50 cent pick 3s which I will add at the end of this post. I really like the 2 in this race but I think his odds will be too low to bet anything on him.

The 8th race is an Allowance for Fillies 4 yr.olds and up.

The feature race of the day is another short field of 6 and has some nice horses to pick from here.

I’m going 2,4,1 in an even field.

My top selection the #2 French Empire who has won 5 of his last 7 starts and finished 2nd in the other two she didn’t win. If you are a form bettor like me, that is what you look for. She has a win at this meet, she’s won at the Fairgrounds, she’s won at Churchill, and she has won at Turfway. So, she doesn’t care where she runs. So what’s not to like? Nothing really except it’s a horse race and anything can happen. My 2nd choice the #4 Headland is sent out by Steve Hobby. She seems to be slipping just a tad as she gets older but her last two starts have been strong. She won a similar allowance race at Remington in December and has a solid 2nd place finish here at Oaklawn. She always runs well and I can’t leave her off my ticket. My pick to run out the Top 3 is the #1 Sunny Dale trained by Jerry Hollendorfer. This is another very consistent horse who always runs well. I don’t think she can win but if you are playing any exotics you better not overlook her.

Again, I’m going to use several horses out of this bunch in some pick 3’s which I will detail at the end of this post.

The 9th and final race of the day is a $20,000 Allowance Optional Claimer for Arkansas Bred Fillies 3 yr.olds and up

This is another tough one to predict as all of these are evenly matched. I’m going to go 10,2,1 and cross my fingers that I’m right.

I like the #10 Presley trained by Al Cates who is a good trainer with Arky breds. This horse broke her maiden here in 2020, then went to Ruidoso Downs and finished 2nd in a Stakes race in June before taking the rest of the year off. She returned in January and ran a strong 2nd in an allowance race and I think she is a solid choice in this spot. After her, I think you can make a case for a lot of the others. I settled on the 3 yr.old #2 Heated Argument trained by Jaime Gonzalez. She has one race under her belt which was an impressive debut win on Feb. 6th at Oaklawn in a Maiden Special Weight. I think she will continue to improve. I went with the #1 Hissy Missy as my final selection. This one is sent out by Tammy Hornsby and has hit the board in both of her starts in similar allowance races so she is in good form also.

My wager will be $5 to win on the 10.

So, let’s summarize our wagers for the day:

Race 1- $2 to win on the 2 – $2

Race 2 $2 to win on the 5 = $2

Race 3 $2 exacta box on the 2-6 = $8

Race 4: $2 exacta box on the 2-9 = $8

Race 5: $5 to win on the 6 = $5

Race 6: $5 to win on the 1 = $5

In race 6: I’ll start a pick 3 here: .50 cent: 1,4,5/2,7/1,2,4 = $9

Race 9: $5 to win on the 10 = $5

So, after all my analysis I have wagers totaling $43 which leaves me with $7 left that I can play with on the actual day of the races. This card was a tough one but I managed to find something on each race to bet on and let’s hope I can hit a winner or two and maybe you can find something that you can use.