Best bets for the $400 Gun Runner KDBC Qualifier tournament

Saturday’s stakes-packed card at Fair Grounds is the focus of the $400 Gun Runner KDBC Qualifier tournament on TwinSpires.com.

Bet your entire $200 bankroll across at least five races at Fair Grounds (minimum $20 per race) to climb the leaderboard and compete for an entry into the 2025 Kentucky Derby Betting Challenge. One KDBC seat will be awarded for every 25 entries in Saturday’s qualifier tournament.

If you’re planning to play the tournament, here are a handful of horses and wagers to consider:

Race 3: Allowance (one mile on turf, 2:00 p.m. ET)

John Mucciolo of TwinSpires favors three-year-old #12 Coin Miner (12-1) to upset his elders while returning from an 8 1/2-month layoff. Stretching out around two turns for the first time since a 3 1/4-length defeat in the Bourbon (G2) last fall can help Coin Miner’s chances.

Check out Mucciolo’s plays for Race 3, which include a trifecta betting Coin Miner with fellow longshot #2 First Player (10-1) on top.

Race 7: Gun Runner S. (1 1/16 miles on dirt, 4:00 p.m. ET)

Mucciolo and I are in agreement: #5 Admiral Dennis (9-5) is the horse to beat in this Road to the Kentucky Derby qualifier after winning a one-mile maiden special weight at Churchill Downs by 3 1/2 lengths.

MUCCIOLO: Tipsheet: 2024 Gun Runner Stakes

I suggest tournament players bet trifectas counting on #1 Built (7-2) to finish either second or third. The speedy son of Hard Spun exits victory in a seven-furlong maiden special weight at Keeneland and is bred to stretch out over 1 1/16 miles.

• $5 Trifecta: 5 with 1 with 2,3 ($10)
• $5 Trifecta: 5 with 2,3 with 1 ($10)
  Total: $20

Race 9: Tenacious S. (1 1/16 miles on dirt)

#1 Track Phantom (3-1) is 3-for-3 racing 1 1/16 miles and showed strong form at Fair Grounds last winter, winning the Gun Runner and Lecomte (G3) before finishing second to future Breeders’ Cup Classic (G1) winner Sierra Leone in the Risen Star (G2).

Track Phantom recently ended a six-month layoff with a solid runner-up finish in a $100,000 allowance claimer at Churchill Downs. I’m confident he’ll move forward off that effort while returning to Fair Grounds and stretching back out over 1 1/16 miles.

Since morning-line favorite #7 Saudi Crown (9-5) is exiting a subpar performance in the Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile (G1), we suggest tournament players bet Track Phantom to win and key him over the red-hot #2 Kinetic (9-2) in an exacta for good measure.

• $14 to win on #1 Track Phantom
• $6 Exacta: 1 with 2
  Total: $20

Race 11: Untapable S. (one mile and 70 yards on dirt, 6:00 p.m. ET)

#4 Golden Gamble (5-2) is favored to win this Road to the Kentucky Oaks qualifier after trouncing a 1 1/16-mile maiden special weight at Churchill Downs by nine lengths.

MUCCIOLO: Betting with, and against, Golden Gamble in the Untapable Stakes

But don’t underestimate #5 California Sunset (9-2), a Brad Cox trainee who defeated Golden Gamble by 2 1/2 lengths when the latter debuted in a different 1 1/16-mile maiden special weight at Churchill. California Sunset has run just as fast as Golden Gamble on the Brisnet Speed rating scale, and Cox has won five of the first nine Road to the Kentucky Oaks qualifiers with his deep barn of juvenile fillies.

With all these positives in California Sunset’s corner, she’s worthy of a win bet.

• $20 to win on #5 California Sunset

Good luck!