Papa Dude’s Free Oaklawn Park Picks for Friday 4/2/21

It’s another new week of racing at Oaklawn Park and we’re back to hit some winners on this solid Good Friday card. The action is starting to heat up from around the country, so let’s get it rolling this week.

Race 2: Claiming

This is a $6250 claiming race and #3 Aqwaam is sent out by Karl Broberg who wins tons of these types of races. He has a win in a similar race and the 2nd place horse came back to win in his next start. The main threat will be the #1 Shakes Creek trained by Robertino Diodoro and that one is a worry.

The Bet: $10 to Win on #3

Race 5: Claiming

Leading trainer Steve Asmussen trains and owns the #1 Ragatagtag and is running for the first time off the claim. She has been running at the Fairgrounds and will be making her first start over the Oaklawn surface. Asmussen usually does well with these types of horses that he owns and trains.

The Bet: $10 to Win on #1

Race 6: Maiden Special Weight

Brad Cox has #9 Dolly Dimple in this spot. In her debut race she finished a solid 2nd and should show improvement in this race for Arkansas Breds. I won’t get creative here, this horse should get the job done.

The Bet: $10 to Win on #9

Race 8: Starter Allowance

The #5 Reason to Soar looks like a solid pick in this race. He finished 2nd to his stablemate in his last start and had won three in a row before that effort. This is my strongest play on the card.

The Bet: $20 to win #5

Papa Dude’s Sports Play of the Day

While we are at it, let’s take a stab at the NCAA Women’s Final Four which will take place later on this evening. While most of us focus on the Men’s Final Four, the women’s version just might have the better matchups, as both the men’s games look like mismatches on paper.

In game 1, two No.1 seeds will matchup as South Carolina with a 26-4 record goes up against Stanford at 29-2 and the number 1 seed overall. Stanford comes in as a 5.5 point favorite and deservedly so. They are able to score and also can shut people down on defense. In the regional final they were down 45-33 in the 3rd quarter against a solid Louisville team before going on 45-17 run to close out the game. That is really impressive. On the other hand, South Carolina may be the best defensive team left in the tournament. They held Texas scoreless for an entire quarter in their regional victory. This should be a good one!

The Play: Stanford (-5.5)

In game 2, perennial power UConn will take on newcomer Arizona who will be playing their first final four game ever. Will the UConn experience be the difference in this one? Probably so, but will that be enough for the Huskies to cover the 13.5 points that they are favored by? That’s a lot of points to give in a Final Four game. The Wildcats have a great player in star guard Aari McDonald who has scored 30 plus in the last two games and that makes them a threat to beat the spread.

However, we are talking UConn here and I’m going with the Huskies to cover the 13.5 point spread.

The Play: UConn (-13.5)

I’ll be back tomorrow with Saturday’s picks at Oaklawn and also analyze the Men’s Final Four. Hope we hit some winners today!