Papa Dude’s Free Picks for Churchill Downs 5/22/21

It’s an 11-race card for this Saturday at Churchill with two stakes races thrown into the mix. The action should be interesting, with several solid betting options amongst the card. Let’s see what we can do to find some winners.

Race 1: Maiden

My Picks: 3,7,5

Race 2: Claiming

My Picks: 4,2,1

Race 3: Allowance

My Picks: 1A,2,4

Race 4: Maiden

My Picks: 8,9,7

Race 5: Stakes

My Picks: 2,4,6

Race 6: Claiming

My Picks: 6,8,4

Race 7: Maiden

My Picks: 7,4,5

Race 8: Allowance

My Picks: 10,5,8

Race 9: Stakes

My Picks: 5,4,8

Race 10: Allowance

My Picks: 2,4,1

Race 11: Starter

My Picks: 3,4,10

Best Bets of the Day

Race 1: Maiden

I like #3 Gunite trained by Steve Asmussen and the son of Gun Runner. He has one race under his belt finishing a hard charging 3rd on a sloppy track. He should improve enough to get his first win.

The Bet: $20 to Win on #3

I will also bet a small wager on a Pick-3 using these three races. In Race 1, I’m going to use #3 Gunite and #7 Roger McQueen. Race 2 has 3 solid choices in #1 Rude Awakening, #2 Centerfold Angel, and #4 Black Kettle. And in Race 3, I will go with #1A He’s in Charge, #2 Cazadero, and #4 Bob’s Edge.

The Bet: .50-cent Pick 3: 3,7 / 1,2,4 / 1,2,4

Race 3: Allowance

Al Stall trains #1A He’s in Charge in this one. He has two wins and a close second in his last three starts and has a win over the local track. He is in great form and is a good choice in this race.

The Bet: $30 to win on #1A

Race 5: Stakes

In the G3 Winning Colors, I’m going with #2 Frank’s Rockette. This filly finished first and second in two similar races at Oaklawn earlier in the year. She has good early speed and has shown the ability to hang on and close well enough to win.

The Bet: $20 to Win on #2

Best Sports Plays of the Day

The NBA playoffs get into action today with 4 first round matchups.

Miami at Milwaukee

The Heat head into Milwaukee for this afternoon battle. The Bucks went 46-26 in the regular season and finished first in the Central Division. They are an uptempo high-scoring team and won 8 out of their last 10 games. They are tough to defend. Meanwhile, the Heat are also playing their best ball of the season and are a hard-nosed playoff tested bunch. They could come in here and steal this one.

My Pick: Milwaukee -4.5

Dallas at LA Clippers

These are two teams I don’t have much confidence in. Dallas is playing better than the Clippers in the last 10 games but the Clippers are the better team. I’m very tempted to take the Mavs but I’m going to stick with LA.

My Pick: LA Clippers -5

Boston at Brooklyn

This certainly looks like a mismatch on paper but the Celtics have all that tradition going for them and the Nets don’t. Still the talent difference is so great that I have to believe Brooklyn will prevail in this one.

My Pick: Brooklyn -7

Portland at Denver

This series looks to be pretty even and the oddsmakers agree as the Nuggets are a 1 point favorite at home. Portland has been playing well and won by sixteen in the series finale against the Nuggets on Sunday. However, that game meant very little to Denver. This series will probably go the distance.

My Pick: Denver -1

That’s it for today. Sunday we will wrap up the week at Churchill and tackle some more NBA matchups as well as the NHL. Good luck everyone!