Papa Dudes Free Churchill Downs Picks 5/16/21

We are back again with some free picks at Churchill Downs on a Sunday. There have been some crazy results this week and the races have been unpredictable. Let’s see if things can get back to making sense.

Race 1: Claiming

My Picks: 2,5,3

Race 2: Maiden

My Picks: 1,8,7

Race 3: Claiming

My Picks: 5,4,2

Race 4: Maiden

My Picks: 5,3,2

Race 5: Maiden

My PIcks: 5,4,11

Race 6: Maiden

My Picks: 6,5,1

Race 7: Allowance

My Picks: 9,8,11

Race 8: Starter

My Picks: 3,9,10

Race 9: Maiden

My Picks: 10,3,11

Best Bets of the Day

Race 5: I like #5 Burrow trained by Brad Cox. This horse has a 2nd place finish out of 2 starts and is trying turf for the first time. He has shown some speed and the connections are solid. The morning line is 6/1 and that is too good to pass up.

The Bet: $20 to win on #5

Race 6: #6 Tenth of Gold is sent out by Steve Asmussen in this maiden claimer. He narrowly missed a victory in his last start at Oaklawn Park and he has good speed and should improve enough to beat this field.

The Bet: $30 to Win on #6

Race 8: I like #3 Exulting trained by Mike Maker. The horse has won his last two starts in similar races at Oaklawn. He is in great form and in a race with a fast pace, he has enough speed to get to the front and can has the closing power to hold off the others.

The Bet: $20 to Win on #3

Best Sports Plays of the Day

The NHL playoffs begin today with 3 games on tap. Let’s take a look at those 3 games

Pittsburgh vs. New York Islanders

The Penguins have the No.1 seed in the East and they are playing well. The Islanders are struggling as they come into the playoffs having won only 3 out of their final 10 outings. Pittsburgh won 6 out of the 8 regular season meetings. I like the Penguins to win this series in 5 games.

Game 1 Bet: Pittsburgh

Minnesota at Vegas

The Wild won 5 out of the 8 regular season games against the Knights and have played well against them. So, they have a chance in this series. However, Vegas is so deep and have so much scoring potential I don’t see them losing this series. Vegas in 5.

Game 1 Pick: Vegas

Tampa Bay at Florida

This shapes up as a terrific series between the 2 Florida teams. There isn’t much to choose from as these clubs are equal. The Panthers had the edge in the regular season 5 games to 3 but the Lightning are the defending champions. I’m going Tampa in 7.

Game 1 Bet: Tampa Bay

Here are my predictions for the rest of the playoff series:

Washington over Boston in 6

Toronto over Montreal in 6

Carolina over Nashville in 6

Colorado over St.Louis in 6

I hope I’m wrong on this one. Let’s Go Blues!!!!

Edmonton over Winnipeg in 6

There you have it. There is nothing more exciting than the Stanley Cup Playoffs and there is nothing harder to win. Can’t wait to get started. Have a great week everyone and let’s hope we hit some winners.