Gulfstream Park: How to bet the Janus Stakes on Dec. 21

A deep cast of 12 turf dashers will speed five-eighths on the Gulfstream Park turf in the $140,000 Janus S. on Saturday, one of five black-type events on the big card. I don’t see a plethora of need-the-lead types in the heat, and I will favor the contenders that I expect to be in the hunt from the opening bell. 

Janus Stakes Wagers:

$10 win and place #7 That’s Right ($20)
$2 exacta key box 7 with 5,10,11 ($12)
$.50-cent trifecta box 5,7,10,11 ($12)

Janus Stakes Analysis

#7 That’s Right, one of two in the field making a first run for Brad Cox, looks to be swiftest of all from the gate. By Goldencents, the fleet five-year-old has kept very good company in his last four races with runner-up placings in the Wolf Hill S. at Monmouth and Parx Dash S. to his credit. The bay will run with blinkers off on Saturday but still figures to force the tempo from the break, and he also shows a sharp half-mile move in his latest morning spin, as well. John Velazquez will pilot the Kentucky-bred. 

The Dale Romans-conditioned #11 Coppola is also swift from the gate and has been facing top foes in 2024. By Into Mischief, the five-year-old has earned two stakes wins on the surface this campaign, and he has had the misfortune of running into the fantastic Cogburn in three of his seasonal assignments. The Kentucky-bred bay is inconsistent overall, but he has a fine post slot and an affinity for the oval, so he will be dangerous under Tyler Gaffalione. 

#5 Yes I Am Free didn’t factor as the favorite on the strip in 2023, but the Uncaptured gelding owns nine career victories on the course and could make a big run second time off the bench. The Florida-bred will make his first run for Brad Cox in the dash, and from his post, the gelding will have to be sent from the break. He finished a good third in a tough allowance race in his latest endeavor and has to be taken seriously at a fair price with Junior Alvarado taking the reins. 

Of the late runners in the contest, Michael Trombetta’s #10 Arzak is a multiple Grade 2 winner with a lot of class to him. The six-year-old son of Not This Time missed by just 1 1/2 lengths in the Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint (G1) in his most recent appearance, and any improvement off of that will make him especially tough in the latter stages with Irad Ortiz Jr. taking the reins. 

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