BetAmerica’s horse racing pick of the day: June 11, Churchill Downs

Weekday picks and plays for Thoroughbred racing.

Thursday, June 11

Churchill Downs, Race 8: Allowance/optional claiming (1 1/16 miles, 4:46 p.m. ET)

#1 Aurelia Garland (3-1 on the morning line) was an impressive debut winner for trainer Wesley Ward 13 months ago, when she flashed speed to dominate a 5-furlong dash at Belmont by five lengths. The daughter of Constitution subsequently went to the sideline and did not run again until May 16, when she transitioned to the care of Rodolphe Brisset and finished third in a 7-furlong allowance sprint at Churchill.

Aurelia Garland’s performance was eye-catching, because she broke sluggishly and ran into traffic off the turn. She then weaved her way through the pack to finish third, beaten just 5 1/4 lengths. The winner, Four Graces, came right back to win the Dogwood (G3).

A sharper start can put Aurelia Garland in the mix for victory. The stretch out to 1 1/16 miles shouldn’t be an issue, since Constitution is siring high-level route runners and Brisset wins at a 20% rate with horses running long for the first time.

For the exotics, there are plenty of logical contenders to sift through, so we’ll keep things simple and bet Aurelia Garland to win.

$30 to win on #1 Aurelia Garland

Good luck!