How to bet the 2023 Franklin Stakes

Defending champ #1 Caravel (9-5) will lead a field of nine postward in Sunday’s $350,000 Franklin S. (G2) at Keeneland. The 5 1/2-furlong turf dash attracted a solid, if not spectacular field, and the gray mare will have every chance to move her local mark to 4-for-4 with her best performance in the affair.

Franklin Wagers

$5 exacta key box: 1 with 4,5,8 ($30)

$1 trifecta: 1 with 4,5,8 with all ($21)

$.50-cent trifecta: 4,5,8 with 1 with all ($10.50)

Trained by Brad Cox, the fleet daughter of Mizzen Mast is the reigning Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint (G1) victress and thrives at the Lexington locale. She didn’t put her best foot forward when an even fourth over soft going in the Troy S. (G3) at Saratoga most recently, but the Keystone State-bred has trained well leading up to this endeavor, and I expect her to be difficult to upend on Sunday. Regular pilot Tyler Gaffalione will send the top pick from the opening bell of the heat.

The likelihood of a robust early tempo in the dash will benefit Phil D’Amato’s #8 Tony Ann (8-1) with Flavien Prat in the stirrups. The Cairo Prince five-year-old has put in a pair of very solid efforts in turf sprints in 2023 and has a lot of room for improvement while making just her third appearance since November. The lightly raced lass drilled a swift half-mile at this venue leading up to the heat and will come from off the pace as a key exotics piece.

Wesley Ward’s #4 Twilight Gleaming (6-1) was fourth after dueling through wild splits in the dash last season and is always a danger in these types of tilts. The National Defense four-year-old didn’t fire at Del Mar in July, but she has trained in fast fashion since that outing, and the filly might be the one to run down turning for home with John Velazquez in the stirrups.

The Jonathan Thomas-trained #5 Bay Storm (9-2) is too consistent to leave off of the ticket. By Kantharos, the five-year-old has run at least 10 very good races in succession, and she beat a few of her contenders last time out at Kentucky Downs, as well. The Kentucky-bred mare has been first or second in five of her six lifetime tries at the distance and will be stalking the contested early pace beneath Florent Geroux.