How to bet the Remington Springboard Mile

At first glance Hall of Fame trainer Steve Asmussen appears to have Sunday’s $400,000 Remington Springboard Mile Stakes surrounded.

A five-time winner of the Springboard Mile, Asmussen has entered three starters in the one-mile Road to the Kentucky Derby prep race. Three-time stakes winner #3 Rowdy Yates is the most accomplished and looms as an obvious contender after back-to-back wins at Remington Park, while Clever Trevor Stakes winner #5 Jungle Runner and Hopeful Stakes (G1) runner-up #12 Shoplifted likewise brings high-class form to the mix.

But Asmussen isn’t a shoo-in to reach the winner’s circle Sunday. Not with #4 Answer In shipping in from Kentucky for accomplished trainer Brad Cox.

Although the Springboard Mile will be Answer In's stakes debut, he has the look of a promising youngster with the ability to step up in class. In his debut, sprinting six furlongs at Churchill Downs on September 14, Answer In broke slowly and raced wide, but overcome those obstacles to finish just a nose behind next-out Street Sense Stakes winner South Bend.

This performance made Answer In the 1-2 favorite when he stretched out to seven furlongs October 27, and the gelded son of Dialed In delivered a big performance. After he tracked the early pace, Answer In pounced to the lead turning for home and pulled away under a vigorous hand ride to score by 5 1/4 lengths.

With a final furlong in a rapid :12.14, Answer In recorded a fast final time of 1:22.48, which translated to a 96 Brisnet speed rating. The strength of this performance was reiterated when runner-up Race Driver returned to break his maiden in decisive fashion.

Answer In has trained sharply since his impressive maiden win and breezed a bullet five furlongs December 3 at Churchill Downs. Cox has compiled a solid record at Remington Park over the last two years, with six of his 10 starters in the exacta, and he has enlisted acclaimed jockey Javier Castellano to ride Answer In.

There’s plenty of speed in the Springboard Mile field, so Answer In should be able to work out a comfortable trip off the lead. The way he finished in his maiden score suggests he’ll have no trouble stretching out to a mile.

Let’s key Answer In in the exacta Rowdy Yates and Shoplifted.

$7 exacta: 4 with 3,9 ($14) $8 exacta: 4,9 with 4 ($16)

Good luck!