Tuesday’s Best Bets and Quick Picks: Price plays around North America

Handicapper J. Keeler Johnson shares best bets and quick picks for Tuesday, Aug. 6, at Horseshoe Indianapolis and Assiniboia Downs, along with non-favored horses to play in the $2,339 Pick 6 carryover at Finger Lakes.

Best Bets and Quick Picks

Horseshoe Indianapolis: Race 6: $20,000 maiden claiming (five furlongs on turf, 4:45 p.m. ET)

#7 Steel Link (9-2) ran well over this course, distance, and class level on July 3. After dueling for the lead through fractions of :21.08 and :44.92, he stayed on to finish third by 2 1/2 lengths, earning a respectable 68 Brisnet Speed rating.

If Steel Link catches a more relaxed pace Tuesday, he can vie for victory at a nice price. Let’s bet him to win, then single him to start a double wager.

Selections

• #7 Steel Link (9-2)
• #10 Executive Power (7-2)
• #9 Voodoo Devil (8-1)

Wagers

• $15 to win on #7 Steel Link
• $10 Double: 7 with 8
  Total: $25

Horseshoe Indianapolis: Race 7: maiden special weight (six furlongs on dirt, 5:16 p.m. ET)

#8 Bowstreet (9-2) has been freshened since finishing second in a pair of maiden special weights on Tapeta during the winter. Returning to dirt should make him formidable; he debuted in a six-furlong maiden special weight over the Churchill Downs dirt last fall and finished second by a head after setting a fast pace, earning a 90 Brisnet Speed rating.

None of the other experienced horses in this field have earned a Brisnet Speed rating higher than 82, so the door is open for Bowstreet to graduate in his fifth career start. His 9-2 morning-line odds are enticing, so let’s bet Bowstreet to win and single him to conclude our double wager.

Selections

• #8 Bowstreet (9-2)
• #1 Air It Out (5-2)
• #7 Sweet as Sin (6-1)

Wagers

• $30 to win on #8 Bowstreet

Assiniboia Downs: Race 5: Manitoba Oaks (one mile on dirt, 10:15 p.m. ET)

#1 Candy Oak (6-1), a newcomer to Assiniboia Downs, may be capable of upsetting the Manitoba Oaks. She broke her maiden in a one-mile maiden special weight on dirt at Ellis Park last August, and two starts back she finished second by a head in a $50,000 allowance optional claimer racing one mile over the Lone Star Park grass.

Candy Oak has now transferred to the care of hot trainer Rick Wise, a 40% winner at Assiniboia Downs this meet. Jockey Antonio Whitehall (a 31% winner teaming up with Wise over the last two months) is named to ride, so let’s take a shot betting Candy Oak to win.

Selections

• #1 Candy Oak (6-1)
• #5 She’s My Niece (5-2)
• #3 Midnight Lady (4-1)

Wagers

• $25 to win on #1 Candy Oak

Carryover Watch

Finger Lakes: Race 3: $2,339 Pick 6 carryover (1:58 p.m. ET)

Planning to play Tuesday’s $2,339 Pick 6 carryover at Finger Lakes? We’re here to help you catch a nice payoff by recommending a pair of non-favored horses to include on your tickets:

Race 5: #6 My Cool Hand Luke (4-1)

Only seven horses have entered this six-furlong allowance for horses who have never won two races. The morning-line favorite is #1 Coin Jar (3-1), a debut winner who finished third over this track, distance, and class level on July 8. But on that occasion, he came home 1 1/4 lengths behind runner-up My Cool Hand Luke, who is the 4-1 third choice and a must-use contender.

My Cool Hand Luke has run twice this year, both times at Finger Lakes in six-furlong allowances for non-winners of two races. He cracked the trifecta in both of them and earned sharp Brisnet Speed ratings of 77 and 76. Those numbers stack up well against the Race 5 field, so My Cool Hand Luke has every chance to deliver victory for hot trainer Paul Barrow, a 28% winner at Finger Lakes this meet.

Race 7: #3 Hey Toby (8-1)

Race 7 is another allowance for horses who have never won two races, this one taking place over one mile and 70 yards on dirt. Hey Toby is making his Finger Lakes debut after cracking the trifecta in three of his five starts on the New York Racing Association circuit.

Hey Toby ran well in a six-furlong $30,000 maiden claimer for New York-breds at Saratoga last month. He led all the way through quick fractions to win by one length with a 79 Brisnet Speed rating. That number fits well against Tuesday’s field, and Hey Toby posted an 86 when second over the same distance and class level at Aqueduct during the spring.

That 86 is the highest number belonging to any horse entered in race 7, so Hey Toby is eligible to outrun his odds in a big way for hot trainer Jeremiah Englehart, a 24% winner at Finger Lakes this meet.

Good luck!