Wednesday’s Best Bets and Quick Picks: Turfway’s $1,992 Super High 5 carryover

Handicapper J. Keeler Johnson shares best bets and quick picks for Wednesday, March 26 at Gulfstream Park and Turfway Park, including horses to play in Turfway’s $1,992 Super High 5 carryover.

Today’s special offers from TwinSpires include:

• New Players $200 Sign-Up Bonus: Open your TwinSpires.com account using the offer code BET200 to start earning a $200 bonus.
• 5x Points on Harness Racing: Receive 5x rewards points on all bets at harness tracks (excluding show bets) each Monday through Wednesday from Feb. 17 through March 26.
• Winning Wednesday: Receive a 25% bonus (up to $25 per day) on winning single-horse win bets at selected tracks every Wednesday in March. Today’s track is Gulfstream Park.

Today’s TwinSpires tournaments include:

• $200 Tampa Bay Downs Feeder to 3/29 Arkansas Derby KDBC Qualifier
• $200 Turfway Feeder to 4/5 Blue Grass KDBC Qualifier

Best Bets and Quick Picks

Gulfstream Park: Race 5: $20,000 Starter Optional Claiming (one mile on dirt, 2:58 p.m. ET)

Aside from a recent misfire on Tapeta, #1 Morgan Point (8-5) has been in strong form. Five dirt starts since being claimed by trainer Carlos Perez have yielded three wins and consistent Brisnet Speed ratings of 90, 85, 91, 89, and 89.

Morgan Point looks like a great fit for this $20,000 starter optional claimer, so let’s bet him to spring a mild upset over #3 Freedom Road (6-5), who has won eight of his last nine dirt starts.

An exacta is the way we’ll play.

Selections

• #1 Morgan Point (8-5)
• #3 Freedom Road (6-5)
• #2 Grand Tower (15-1)

Wagers

• $20 Exacta: 1 with 3

Turfway Park: Race 2: $15,000 Maiden Claiming (1 1/16 miles on Tapeta, 6:25 p.m. ET)

#1 Saltwater Vixen (10-1) didn’t show much when debuting with a seventh-place finish in a six-furlong $30,000 maiden claimer at Turfway. But trainer Rodolphe Brisset wins at a 27% rate with second-time starters, and at a 20% rate with horses running long for the first time, so there are reasons to believe Saltwater Vixen can improve while dropping in class on Wednesday.

At 10-1, a win bet is in order.

Selections

• #1 Saltwater Vixen (10-1)
• #3 West Maple (3-1)
• #4 Haut Les Coeurs (5-2)

Wagers

• $25 to win on #1 Saltwater Vixen

Turfway Park: Race 3: $40,000 Allowance Optional Claiming (six furlongs on Tapeta, 6:55 p.m. ET)

#8 Script (3-1) has shown a clear affinity for the Turfway Tapeta track. His first start over this surface yielded a 3 1/4-length victory in a six-furlong $30,000 claimer. Then he finished second in a 6 1/2-furlong $40,000 allowance optional claimer against Simcoe, who returned to win a $62,500 allowance optional claimer over the same track and distance.

Script’s runner-up finish earned a sharp 92 Brisnet Speed rating, the highest number recently posted by any horse in Wednesday’s field. Let’s bet him to win and key him over 2024 Pat Day Mile (G2) runner-up #1 Nash (2-1) in an exacta.

Selections

• #8 Script (3-1)
• #1 Nash (2-1)
• #4 Beeline (9-2)

Wagers

• $22 to win on #8 Script
• $8 Exacta: 8 with 1
  Total: $30

Carryover Watch

Turfway Park: Race 8: $1,992 Super High 5 carryover (9:25 p.m. ET)

The final week of the Turfway Park meet gets underway on Wednesday with a $1,992 carryover up for grabs in the $1 Super High 5.

The prize pool is available to pursue in Race 8, a $15,000 maiden claimer for three-year-olds dashing 6 1/2 furlongs over the Tapeta track. A competitive 10-horse field has entered, and even at a glance, it’s clear many horses have viable chances to finish in the top five.

Here are three non-favored runners, including a couple of double-digit longshots, you’ll want to include on your tickets:

#3 Ground Shaker (15-1): Granted, Ground Shaker showed little in three starts on turf last year. But those were maiden special weights at Horseshoe Indianapolis and Ellis Park, one of which was won by future three-time stakes winner Chasing Liberty. Ground Shaker has been freshened since July and should appreciate dropping in class for a $15,000 maiden claimer. Switching to Tapeta, adding blinkers, and racing on Lasix for the first time can help Ground Shaker improve as well.

#7 Eerie’s Song (12-1): Although trainer Hutch Holsapple has gone 0-for-8 saddling first-time starters since 2022, three of those starters (38%) finished second or third. That bodes well for Eerie’s Song’s chances of factoring on debut. The gray gelding enters off a bullet half-mile workout from the starting gate in :35 1/5 and is eligible to outrun his lofty morning-line odds.

#9 Prichard (6-1): Prichard showed some ability in a one-mile turf maiden special weight at Horseshoe Indianapolis last fall, rallying to finish third. He was subsequently beaten less than 10 lengths when eighth in a $50,000 maiden claimer racing one mile over the Turfway Tapeta last December. Dropping in class for a $15,000 maiden claimer may allow Prichard to vie for victory, especially while adding blinkers and tackling a sprint for the first time.

Good luck!