BetAmerica’s horse racing pick of the day: Arlington Park, Sept. 11

Arlington Park features eight races on Friday, Sept. 11. Here are our weekday picks and plays for Thoroughbred racing at Arlington.

Arlington Park, Race 1: Maiden special weight (6 furlongs on Polytrack, 3:05 p.m. ET)

Triple Crown nominee #5 Atone (4-5 on the morning line) is the expected favorite after finishing sixth with a troubled trip over the Woodbine Tapeta track on Aug. 16. Hopelessly blocked behind rivals around the turn and down the stretch, the Godolphin homebred was only beaten 2 1/2 lengths, despite never getting a chance to lengthen his stride.

The son of Into Mischief will be formidable if he gets a clean run on Friday, though #6 Rule Follower (5-2) is also intriguing. Rule Follower weakened while finishing fifth in his first two starts over the Arlington turf course, but switching to Polytrack could trigger an improved performance from this well-bred son of Algorithms.

In terms of connections alone, Rule Follower warrants respect. Trainer Larry Rivelli has won at a 36% rate at Arlington this summer. Hot jockey Jareth Loveberry has ridden 40 winners this meet through Sept. 9 (twice as many as any other jockey), striking at a 40% rate when teaming up with Rivelli.

Atone and Rule Follower appear to rank a cut above their opposition, so let’s box them in the exacta, favoring the lower-paying combination with Atone on top.

$13 exacta: 5 with 6
$7 exacta: 6 with 5
Total: $20

Good luck!

---

Bet horse racing at BetAmerica!