BetAmerica’s horse racing pick of the day: Aug. 25, Presque Isle

Weekday picks and plays for Thoroughbred racing.

Tuesday, Aug. 25

Presque Isle Downs, Race 2: Maiden special weight (1 mile and 70 yards, 5:10 p.m. ET)

There is an extraordinary lack of speed entered in this race for fillies and mares over the Tapeta track. The seven entrants have combined to race 28 times, yet none have ever employed frontrunning tactics and none have earned a Brisnet E1 Pace rating higher than 89.

Whoever ultimately forges to the lead figures to enjoy an uncontested early advantage, so let’s take a shot with #4 Lemon Popper (7-2 on the morning line). A 3-year-old daughter of Elusive Quality, Lemon Popper broke slowly in her July 30 debut traveling a mile on turf at Arlington Park, then passed a few rivals to finish seventh by 8 3/4 lengths.

It wasn’t a particularly inspiring debut, but Lemon Popper has come back to post fast workouts at Keeneland, including a half-mile in :47.80 Aug. 12. If she breaks alertly Tuesday, she can head to the front under leading jockey Pablo Morales and steal this race.

At 7-2, a win bet is in order, but we’ll also play Lemon Popper over #3 Ski Bunny (3-1) and #5 Safari Queen (5-2) in the exacta.

$20 to win on #4 Lemon Popper
$5 exacta: 4 with 3,5 ($10)
Total: $30

Good luck!