Horseshoe Indianapolis: How to bet the 2024 Indiana Oaks

A total of eight three-year-old fillies will travel 1 1/16 miles on the dirt in Saturday’s $200,000 Indiana Oaks (G3) at Horseshoe Indianapolis. And I feel that the pair of contenders drawn to the outside will be prominent under the wire. 

Indiana Oaks Wagers:

$20 exacta 7 with 8 ($20)
$2 trifecta 7 with 8 with all ($12)
$2 trifecta 7 with all with 8 ($12)

Indiana Oaks Analysis

Juddmonte homebred #7 Impel (7-5) is the deserving favorite in the affair and seems poised to earn her initial stakes win in the contest. By Quality Road, the Brad Cox trainee was a dominant winner in the first two races of her career, and she gave a great account of herself when third in the deep Ashland S. (G1) at Keeneland in her third lifetime showing. 

Impel was strong once again in her most recent try when second best in the Eight Belles S. (G3) at Churchill Downs, finishing four lengths clear of her nearest foe in that smart performance. She has shown some improvement in all of her lifetime outings to date, and the bay seems like a very good fit at this kind of distance going forward. She possesses enough tactical speed to keep touch while stalking the tempo early, and pilot Florent Geroux will uncork her approaching the turn for home. Her best effort tops this cast. 

HANSON: Stronghold may have strong grip on Indiana Derby; Impel tops Indiana Oaks

Robert Medina’s #8 Little Jamie (12-1) has put in four mostly good efforts in succession leading up to her stakes bow and I like her to be a factor at a price. The dark bay daughter of Collected exits a very nice try in a tough allowance heat beneath the Twin Spires most recently in what might turn into a ‘key’ race in time. The winner of that event is a stakes-placed filly with a lot of talent for Brad Cox, while the runner-up has a lot of ability in her own right and was claimed for a hefty $100,000 in November. 

Little Jamie will have the blinkers removed for Saturday and has posted a trio of nice morning drills in advance of this tilt, presumably with the hood off. She has delivered good Brisnet Late Pace numbers in four straight, and if the homebred moves forward with the equipment change, then she looks as good as any other player in the field to me. Corey Lanerie will take the reins.