Fair Grounds: How to bet the 2022 Pan Zareta Stakes

A total of 10 fillies and mares will travel 5 1/2 furlongs on the Fair Grounds main strip in Saturday’s $100,000 Pan Zareta S. The wide-open affair is a demanding handicapping puzzle and I feel compelled to spread with a few value contenders in the dash in hopes of cashing a healthy ticket.

Pan Zareta Wagers

• $1 exacta: 2, 3, 10 with all ($27)
• $3 exacta: box 2, 3, 10 ($18)
• 50-cent trifecta: 2 with 3, 10 with all ($8)
• 50-cent trifecta: 3, 10 with 2 with all ($8)

#2 New Boss (10-1) earned her top Brisnet Speed figure the last time she raced on the dirt when annexing the Pea Patch S. at Ellis Park last summer. Trained by Bret Calhoun, the four-year-old chestnut has failed to hit the board from four subsequent turf outings since that stakes coup, but she switches surfaces and has a lot of room to improve while making just her third start in more than 13 months.

The Street Boss filly has posted a trio of solid morning breezes in anticipation of this heat, and she figures to get a nice trip tucked in behind the pacesetters while saving ground to the top of the lane. David Cohen picks up the mount atop the upset contender.

#10 Ulikeapples (15-1) was claimed out of her race three back and has posted a pair of fine results on the green following the move to trainer Jose Camejo. The Nyquist sophomore is a bit of a flier in the dash, but she owns substantial early foot and should have a clear voyage while breaking from the outermost post slot in the field.

The Kentucky-bred bay has yet to win from three lifetime tries on the dirt, but she might peak in her third off the claim and comes in relatively fresh for an outfit that is always dangerous in one-turn sprints. The price will be right for the $170,000 yearling purchase with Jose Rodriguez in the silks.

#3 Perfect Happiness (8-1) exits a very good effort in an allowance heat at Churchill Downs last time out for Chris Hartman. The Majesticperfection five-year-old has improved in each offering since being claimed by her current connections, and a repeat of her latest showing will give her a chance inside the final furlong after rallying into a contested early pace. The bay mare zipped a bullet half-mile in preparation for Saturday and will track in midpack to the top of the lane under Mitchell Murrill.