BetAmerica’s horse racing pick of the day: June 29, Delaware Park

Weekday picks and plays for Thoroughbred racing.

Monday, June 29

Delaware Park Race 1: Maiden special weight (5 furlongs, 1:15 p.m. ET)

#7 Hipnotizada (2-1 on the morning line) is the expected favorite for high-percentage trainer Anthony Pecoraro, who has won with 29% of his 2-year-old starters at Delaware Park since 2015.

But Pecoraro’s runners often benefit from their initial outing. He has gone 38-for-103 (37%) with experienced juveniles at Delaware, but just 7-for-53 (13%) with first-time starters.

With this in mind, let’s try to beat Hipnotizada with #2 Cilla (8-1).

A daughter of two-time Horse of the Year California Chrome, Cilla was produced by the Into Mischief mare Sitting At the Bar, a stakes-winning 2-year-old whose two previous foals both matured early enough to win as juveniles. The best of them — Jack the Umpire — even won the Jean Lafitte S. during his first season on the track.

Cilla is trained by Brett Brinkman, a 19% winner with first-time starters, whose lone debut runner at Delaware over the last five years landed in the winner’s circle. We’ll bank on Cilla to fire a sharp effort at nice odds, with a bet to win and in an exacta box with Hipnotizada.

$10 to win on #2 Cilla
$7 exacta: 7 with 2
$3 exacta: 2 with 7
Total: $20

Good luck!