RT lucks out yesterday; leads PDJFund charity contest going into weekend: Saturday RT & Garrity pick races at Churchill Downs, Belmont Park
Bettors Insider's two horse racing handicapping experts – Chris Garrity (@belmostickey) and RT and SmartCap (@RTsSpot) – have agreed to take part in a weekly handicapping contest throughout June.
For the contest, each handicapper will designate one of his race picks per weekday and two on Saturday and Sunday. Win, place, show betting only. $20 per bet. Weeks run Monday through Sunday.
The 'capper with the most money at the end of each week will have a donation made in his name to the Permanently Disabled Jockeys Fund. You can donate to the fund here.
Play along and in future months you may have a chance to beat the pros.
Yesterday
RT bet $7 win, $13 place on 3-Hidden Ruler in the 7th race at Churchill Downs. Garrity put $20 to win on 7-Mr. Buff, in the 9th at Belmont. Hidden Ruler finished 2nd and returned $27.30. For at least the third time this week, Garrity's pick finished second. RT is now +$30.40. Tankerville ran backwards down the stretch and jogged home out of the money. Garrity is -$100.
RT's Picks
The pick: Churchill Downs, Race 8, $7 to win, $13 to place on 4- VJ's Bet, post time 4:14 pm EDT
The pick: Churchill Downs, Race 10, $7 to win, $13 to place on 1-Miss T Too, post time 5:50 pm EDT
For RT's full SmartCap analysis and an in-depth look at these races, please check out his post here.
Garrity's Picks
We’ve selected two graded stakes races for our contest plays today.
The Pick: Belmont Park, Race 9, $20 to win on 2-Point of Honor. Post time is 5:36 pm EDT
Grade 1 Ogden Phipps Stakes, 1 1/16 miles, Dirt, Fillies & Mares 4 & Up
Why: The field for the Phipps came up a bit short, but there’s a lot of quality in the six entrants. We like 2-Point of Honor, who starts for trainer George Weaver. She’s coming off a third-place finish in the Grade 1 Apple Blossom Handicap at Oaklawn Park, so she’s in good form, but what we really like about her is running style: races at this distance at Belmont Park are run around one turn, rather than two, and they can consequently play more like sprints than routes. That, plus the presence of a couple of speedy runners, should lead to a fast early pace that will set up Point of Honor’s stretch run. Look for her to be galloping at the back of the pack early, and to be charging late. We will bet her to win. The bet: Belmont Park, Race 9, $20 to win on 2-Point of Honor.
The Pick: Churchill Downs, Race 11, $12 to win/$8 to place on 1-Perfect Tapatino. Post time is 6:22 pm EDT.
Grade 3 Louisville Stakes, 1 ½ miles, Turf, 4 & Up
Why: The Louisville drew a field of twelve, and the runners are a mixed bag, having last raced all over, many coming off long layoffs. There really isn’t a runner in the race who is in prime form right now.
It is partly because of this that we are going for a big price in here, with 1-Perfect Tapatino, a 6-year-old French-bred who starts for trainer Roger Attfield. He’s run 21 times, all of them in Europe, and though he has not run in the bigger races over there, there’s one somewhat esoteric thing in his past performances that we like: he has run better the firmer the turf has been. He’s going to get very firm footing today, and we think that makes him very live here. We also like the fact that he’s proven at the distance, having won 12 furlong races four times, unlike many of the other entrants, who look to want shorter. Attfield is also more than capable of getting European imports to fire in their U.S. debuts. At 20-1, we will play Perfect Tapatino to win and to place. The bet: Churchill Downs, Race 11, $12 to win/$8 to place on 1-Perfect Tapatino.