Horse Racing This Weekend: Key Races, Top Horses & Best Bets [April 12-13]
Keeneland Scenics (Photo Courtesy of Keeneland)
April 12th, 2025
Jump to each section below for easy access to everything you need for horse racing this weekend!
Get ready for horse racing this weekend
Discover everything you need to know about horse racing this weekend, including top horses, best bets, tournaments, key races, and many great promotional bonus offers you just can't say no to.
Come back to find more weekly horse races and promotional offers every weekend.
.@AshleyAnd502 has the TwinSpires Weekend Windup for what to watch for this weekend! ⏱️🏇 pic.twitter.com/5iBDuRDTet
— TwinSpires Racing 🏇 (@TwinSpires) April 11, 2025
Top horses and best bets for horse racing this weekend
The key horse races this week include the last race on the Road to the Kentucky Derby, offering some of our top horses and best bets this week, the Lexington Stakes. Horse of the Year, Thorpedo Anna, travels to Oaklawn for the Apple Blossom for yet another chance at the winner's circle as another one of our top horses and best bets this weekend as part of some great horse racing this weekend.
With the Kentucky Derby just around the corner, it is time to prepare! We offer a one stop shop of everything you need to know about the Kentucky Derby, including pedigree, odds, up-to-date news and notes, education, and much more! You'll find something for everyone!
We will also have LIVE coverage coming up of the Kentucky Derby post position draw and, of course, Thurby, the Kentucky Oaks, and Kentucky Derby!
Click to jump to each race listed!
Run for the Roses sign at the Kentucky Derby (Photo by Jessica Piat / TwinSpires.com)
2025 Kentucky Derby News and Notes
The Kentucky Derby news and notes offers all of our coverage cultivated in one place! This resource is for those who want to bookmark and stay up to date with all the relevant information Kentucky Derby fans and horse-players would want to know from our leading experts.
Our sister sites, Brisnet.com and KentuckyDerby.com also have similar editor-curated content-aggregate posts to streamline our users’ hunt for the latest key information on the Fastest Five Minutes In Sports.
Best Bets for the Lexington Stakes
Read the full analysis here: Tipsheet: 2025 Lexington Stakes
A well-matched field of seven sophomores will travel 1 1/16 miles over the Keeneland dirt in Saturday’s $400,000 Lexington S. (G3). Check out these best bets for horse racing this weekend below.
Lexington Stakes Wagers
Top Horses for the Lexington Stakes:
Click on each horse name to add them to your stable. Never miss a race they're a part of again!
#7 PRAETOR: Top pick beat Sovereignty in his two-year-old finale and dusted allowance runners at Gulfstream Park to kick off his three-year-old season for Chad Brown. $725,000 son of Into Mischief has every right to improve in his second appearance since the fall and having Flavien Prat in the silks is a bonus, too. The Kenbtucky-bred bay will be forwardly placed throughout in his stakes bow.
#3 BULLARD: Bob Hope S. (G3) romper was last seen finishing third in the San Vicente S. (G2) and will make his route debut today for Mike McCarthy. Dark bay son of Gun Runner is bred for the distance, and his running style suggests that he will perform well at two turns, as well. The $675,000 yearling purchase will have regular pilot Umberto Rispoli in the silks.
#6 GOSGER: Nyquist homebred has run a pair of good ones to commence his career and is training swiftly in advance of his two-turn debut for Walsh. The gray is bred to love the distance and he also has the speed to stay in touch in the early going, as well. I expect the colt to be in range at the top of the lane with Irad taking the reins.
RELATED: Meet the Contenders: 2025 Lexington Stakes
Horseplayers have new, powerful video weapon in handicapping arsenal
The integration of WSC Sports' AI-powered video technology into the TwinSpires platform isn't just another tech rollout – it's a game-changer for serious Derby preparation.
Best Bets for the Apple Blossom
Read the full analysis here: Betting With, and Against, Thorpedo Anna in the Apple Blossom
Six brave souls will hope to upend reigning Horse of the Year #6 Thorpedo Anna (2-5) in the $1.25 million Apple Blossom H. (G1) at Oaklawn Park on Saturday. However, if your heart is simply not set on the favorite here are some options to bet with and against Thorpedo Anna.
Thorpedo Anna – With
- $12 superfecta 6 with 5,7 with 3,5,7 with 3,5,7 ($48)
Thorpedo Anna – Against
- $4 superfecta 5,7 with 3,5,6,7 with 3,5,6,7 ($48)
6 minutes to post, a very flashy Friday Flash Play @keeneland today!
— Ashley Anderson (@AshleyAnd502) April 11, 2025
Make sure you opt in to that @TwinSpires Daily Double Down promo while you’re at it.💰 pic.twitter.com/9x58avpUT9
Top Horses for the Apple Blossom Stakes
Click on each horse name to add them to your stable. Never miss a race they're a part of again!
#7 Wild About Hilary (20-1) is something of an all-or-nothing type, but she has shown nice improvement since the fall and could benefit from being outside of Thorpedo Anna in the affair. Midnight Lute four-year-old led at every call in a fine Bayakoa S. (G3) win and comes in fresh with four solid morning drills in the interim, The Kentucky-bred will undoubtedly need a lifetime best to upset this cast, but she has won four of her last five on the dirt and is not impossible under Ramon Vazquez.
#5 Where’s My Ring (5-2) is the obvious main danger to the favorite after registering a 104 Brisnet Speed number in an allowance tally on the oval most recently. The Val Brinkerhoff pupil lacks consistency overall, but she has run a few huge races in her lifetime, and the Twirling Candy filly might peak in her third run off the shelf, as well. The bay put in a solid four panels on the oval leading up to this and will have Francisco Arrieta in the silks.
#3 Free Like a Girl (10-1) was an excellent second to Thorpedo Anna in the Azeri last time and the 21-time winner has to be included in the exotics, for sure. I don’t expect the daughter of El Deal to run much better than she did last time at this stage of her development, but a repeat of that strong performance will find her getting a check beneath Julien Leparoux.
Racing in the 2019 Kentucky Derby (G1) at Churchill Downs (Photo by Coady Photography)
How weather conditions affect horse racing: rain, wind, and extreme temperatures
Horse racing isn’t an indoor sport. Competition takes place at outdoor racetracks that are, unsurprisingly, at the mercy of weather conditions.
Rain, wind, and extreme temperatures are three of the most common weather conditions affecting horse racing. Let’s explore how these conditions can impact race results or even curtail racing altogether:
The Jury: Expert Picks, Bets, and Fades
The TwinSpires Jury of James Scully, Ashley Anderson, and Darin Zoccali are back to defend their best bets and fades of the week at Keeneland, host of the final stop on the Road to the Kentucky Derby on Saturday, and Oaklawn Park, where Thorpedo Anna is set to make her second start of her four-year-old campaign.
Post Position Draw LIVE COVERAGE
Join us during the Kentucky Derby post position draw for LIVE up-to-date coverage, pedigree information, and everything you need to know about the Kentucky Derby, incuding our LIVE coverage of the big day! Join us for a lively discussion and let us know who you think will be in the winners circle after the 151st Kentucky Derby!
Hoist the Gold winning the 2023 Cigar Mile (G2) at Aqueduct (Photo by Coglianese Photography / Credit to Joe Labozzetta)
Exacta of the Week: Commonwealth Stakes at Keeneland Tuesday
The Exacta of the Week will come from Keeneland on Tuesday with the focus on the wildly competitive $250,000 Commonwealth S. (G3). Originally scheduled for Saturday, the seven-furlong contest on the main strip attracted a big field of 12, and it appears to be a fine wagering opportunity. Check out these best bets.
Race 7 Exacta Play
- $5 exacta key box 6 with 2,5,8 ($30)
Keeneland Scenics (Photo Courtesy of Keeneland)
Exotics Plays for the 2025 Jenny Wiley Stakes
A fantastic field of nine fillies and mares will travel 1 1/16 miles over the Keeneland grass in Saturday’s $650,000 Jenny Wiley S. (G1). The affair has a strong international flair to it, and I feel that the imports will have the ultimate say inside the final furlong in the important event.
Jenny Wiley Exotics
- $16 exacta 6 with 1 ($16)
- $6 exacta box 1-6 ($12)
- $5 trifecta key 6 with 1,2 ($10)
- 50-cent superfecta 1,6 with 1,6 with 2 with all ($6)
- 50-cent superfecta 1,6 with 1,6 with all with 2 ($6)
B G Warrior wins the Wishing Well at Turfway Park (Photo by Coady Photography)
Pick 4 of the Week: Laurel Park Saturday
Four black-type events will headline a fine nine-race card at Laurel Park on Saturday, and a trio of the stakes tilts are a central part of the Pick 4 of the Week.
Race 6 Wager
$1 Pick 4: 2,4,5,8,11 with 2,3,7 with 3 with 2,3 ($30)
Keeneland (Photo courtesy of Keeneland)
Pick 3 of the Week: Keeneland Sunday
The Pick 3 of the Week will come from Keeneland on Sunday, concluding with the ultra-competitive Giant’s Causeway S.
Race 6 Wager
$1 Pick 3: 4,6 with 1,5,9,10 with 2,4,6,7 ($32)
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