BetAmerica’s horse racing pick of the day: July 8, Keeneland

Weekday picks and plays for Thoroughbred racing.

Wednesday, July 8

Keeneland, Race 8: Allowance (5 1/2 furlongs, 4:57 p.m. ET)

High-percentage trainer Wesley Ward will saddle #2 Maven (7-2 on the morning line) and #5 Cambria (4-1) in this allowance dash for sophomores.

Both are stakes winners bred for speed. Maven claimed the 5-furlong Molecomb (G3) in France last summer, while the filly Cambria rallied to victory against males in the 6 1/2-furlong Kentucky Downs Juvenile Turf Sprint S. in September.

But Maven and Cambria are scheduled to make their 2020 debuts Wednesday, and this is a competitive field.

#10 Digital (3-1) has shown promise on dirt and could fire a big shot in his first run on turf, though he has shown a tendency to flatten out down the lane. And #9 Race Driver (8-1) didn’t get a very quick pace to work with when he rallied to finish fourth behind stakes winners Chimney Rock and Jack and Noah in a Churchill Downs allowance over this distance.

These four look like the main players in Wednesday’s sprint, so let’s aim for a big score and combine them in a trifecta.

$2 trifecta: 2,5,9 with 2,5,9,10 with 2,5,9,10 ($36)

Good luck!