How to bet With, and Against, Ain’t Life Grand in the Razorback Handicap

A massive field of 13 will go postward in Saturday’s lucrative $600,000 Razorback H. (G3) at Oaklawn Park on Saturday. Multiple stakes victor #4 Ain’t Life Grand (7-2) is the one to beat for conditioner Kelly Von Hemel. 

Ain’t Life Grand – With

$8 trifecta key 4 with 5,8,12 ($48)

Ain’t Life Grand – Against

$.50-cent trifecta 5,8 with 4,5,8,12 with all ($33)

$2 exacta box 5,8,12 ($12)

By Not This Time, the five-year-old makes his first run since the summer and has put in some very good morning drills in advance of this assignment, including a bullet five-eighths drill on the oval two moves prior. Bred in Iowa, the dark bay has been a consistently good performer in his lifetime and capped his four-year-old year with a solid third-place result in the Cornhusker H. (G3). The favorite is a winner on the oval and will be rallying from off the pace with Martin Garcia in the stirrups. 

Steve Asmussen’s #8 Magic Tap (9-2) might go off favored at post time while making his second run of 2024. The gray son of Tapit hinted that he was a horse on the rise last season, and the four-year-old prepped for this contest with a sturdy allowance win on the course last time out. The Winchell color bearer has a lot of room for improvement while being lightly raced, and he will be in range throughout the tilt with Tyler Gaffalione in the silks. 

#5 Octane (5-1) was a close second in the Sunshine Millions Classic in his latest venture and rates a big chance with something close to that performance on Saturday. The Juan Alvarado trainee is very good on his best day, and the son of Brethren prepared for this event with a bullet five furlong drill, as well. The Florida-bred bay is swift from the gate and will be forcing the tempo from the opening bell beneath Julien Leparoux. 

In a race where numerous runners prefer to be in the mix from the start, Kenny McPeek’s #12 Escapologist (20-1) could be a threat in the latter stages at a big price. The four-year-old son of Good Magic has won or placed in his last six runs on the dirt and has posted a pair of good efforts on this surface this season, as well. The one-run closer will have Brian Hernandez, Jr. in the irons.