Looking for longshots in the Charles Town Classic, Oaks

Competitive fields have assembled for a pair of graded stakes races Friday night at Charles Town.

The Charles Town Oaks (G3) for 3-year-old fillies and the Charles Town Classic (G2) for older runners have both drawn large, evenly matched fields. The favorites rarely win these two rich events, so let’s play accordingly and think outside the box with our tickets.

Race 10: Charles Town Oaks (G3, 9:43 p.m. ET)

The Charles Town Oaks is an unusual race. Held over 7 furlongs, it’s technically a sprint. But since Charles Town is a 6-furlong track, the Oaks takes place around two turns, which can lend an advantage to fillies with more stamina than pure sprinters.

The majority of Charles Town Oaks winners previously contested a stakes race running a mile or farther. Many fillies fit the bill in the 2020 Charles Town Oaks, including probable favorite #3 Tonalist’s Shape (3-1 on the morning line), who was victorious in the 7-furlong Forward Gal (G3) and 1-mile Davone Dale (G2) during the winter at Gulfstream Park.

But the filly I’m keen to play is #1 Turtle Trax (10-1). Third against quality competition in Keeneland’s 7-furlong Beaumont (G3) last month, Turtle Trax has cracked the trifecta in her last four starts sprinting, but also displayed enough stamina to finish second in the two-turn Suncoast S.

I’m optimistic Turtle Trax will enjoy the two-turn, 7-furlong configuration of the Charles Town Oaks, so at 10-1, she is worth keying with “all” in the exacta.

$1 exacta: 1 with ALL ($9)
$1 exacta: ALL with 1 ($9)
$1 exacta box: 1,3 ($2)
Total: $20

Race 11: Charles Town Classic (G2, 10:18 p.m. ET)

We’ll take a creative approach to betting this three-turn, 1 1/8-mile race. Inside post positions have historically been at a disadvantage in the Charles Town Classic, so we’ll oppose the runners drawn in posts 1, 2, and 3.

#9 War Story (4-1) will be our key horse. The battle-tested veteran has shown a clear affinity for the tricky configuration of this track. He has cracked the trifecta three times in the Charles Town Classic.

But here’s the problem — War Story has never won the Charles Town Classic, and he has been an infrequent winner throughout his career. He has placed second or third at a high percentage.

He is also 8 years old, and while he displayed strong form during the winter at Gulfstream (he placed third in the Pegasus World Cup), I’m not expecting him to produce a career-best effort off a 7-month layoff.

So my wagering will be a bit unorthodox. I’ll key War Story in the trifecta, but only for second and third. For the remaining slots, I’ll spread deep, with every horse not drawn inside, and hope to catch a longshot or two for a hefty payoff.

$0.50 trifecta: 4,5,6,7,8,10 with 9 with 4,5,6,7,8,10 ($15)
$0.50 trifecta: 4,5,6,7,8,10 with 4,5,6,7,8,10 with 9 ($15)

Good luck!