Wednesday’s Best Bets and Quick Picks: Three Horseshoe Indianapolis stakes

Handicapper J. Keeler Johnson shares best bets and quick picks for a trio of stakes at Horseshoe Indianapolis on Wednesday, Oct. 2, along with a single for the $1,057 Pick 6 carryover at Finger Lakes.

Today’s special offers from TwinSpires include:

• Hoosier Park $10 Money Back: Receive refunds on win bets (up to $10) if your horse finishes second in any eligible race at Hoosier Park each Wednesday.

Best Bets and Quick Picks

Horseshoe Indianapolis: Race 8: Back Home Again S. (six furlongs on dirt, 5:47 p.m. ET)

#4 Elegant Justice (6-5) is unbeaten in two starts against Indiana-bred rivals, winning a 4 1/2-furlong maiden special weight and a 5 1/2-furlong allowance by double-digit margins. She’s also run well against non-state-restricted competition, finishing second in the 5 1/2-furlong Prairie Gold Lassie S.

The Back Home Again is restricted to Indiana-breds, and Elegant Justice owns by far the highest Brisnet Speed rating in the field, so the stage is set for another decisive victory. Let’s single her to start a double wager.

Selections

• #4 Elegant Justice (6-5)
• #6 Don’t Miss Out (6-1)
• #3 Miss Candela (12-1)

Wagers

• $30 Double: 4 with 4

Horseshoe Indianapolis: Race 9: Cardinal H. (1 1/16 miles on dirt, 6:18 p.m. ET)

#4 Corningstone (9-5) has been competing admirably against non-state restricted competition. This year, she’s finished second in the Locust Grove (G2) and third in the Houston Ladies Classic (G3).

Corningstone hasn’t missed the exacta in four starts over the Horseshoe Indianapolis dirt, winning three stakes, and dropping into the Indiana-bred ranks for the Cardinal should make her tough to beat. We’ll single her to conclude our double wager, then throw in an exacta using longshots #1 Louder Than Words (15-1) and #5 Bluelightspecial (12-1) for second place.

Selections

• #4 Corningstone (9-5)
• #1 Louder Than Words (15-1)
• #5 Bluelightspecial (12-1)

Wagers

• $5 Exacta: 4 with 1,5 ($10)

Horseshoe Indianapolis: Race 11: Circle City S. (six furlongs on dirt, 7:17 p.m. ET)

#1 Large Pour (9-5) is unbeaten and unchallenged in two starts at Horseshoe Indianapolis. After wiring his debut by 5 1/4 lengths over next-out maiden and allowance winner #5 Jazzole (3-1), he smashed an allowance by 17 3/4 lengths, earning a powerful 93 Brisnet Speed rating.

Large Pour looks downright formidable while making his stakes debut, so let’s key him over Jazzole in a cold exacta.

Selections

• #1 Large Pour (9-5)
• #5 Jazzole (3-1)
• #9 Mondavila (6-1)

Wagers

• $30 Exacta: 1 with 5

Carryover Watch

Finger Lakes: Race 3: $1,057 Pick 6 carryover (1:58 p.m. ET)

If you feel like pursuing a non-jackpot Pick 6 carryover on Tuesday, Finger Lakes is ready to oblige with a $1,057 prize pool up for grabs.

The $1 wager spans race 3 through race 8, a sequence featuring 42 horses (averaging seven horses per race) and 115,248 possible outcomes before scratches. Mathematically speaking, it’s hard to come across a simpler Pick 6, so this carryover is a budget-friendly one to chase.

That’s especially so since there’s a rock-solid single to be found in race 8. We’re referencing morning-line favorite #1 Sweet Anniversary (7-5), a three-year-old filly with three wins from four starts. Her lone defeat came when shipping to Saratoga for a summer allowance.

At Finger Lakes, Sweet Anniversary has been unstoppable. She debuted in a 5 1/2-furlong maiden special weight and led by daylight at every call to win by 15 3/4 lengths. Her second start yielded a one-length triumph in a six-furlong allowance. Then, following her defeat at Saratoga, she returned to Finger Lakes to wire a 1 1/16-mile allowance by eight lengths. All three of those victories came against non-state-restricted competition, and they yielded excellent Brisnet Speed ratings of 93, 88, and 88.

Race 8 is a one-mile and 70-yard allowance for New York-bred fillies and mares. Dropping into the state-bred ranks should make Sweet Anniversary difficult or impossible to defeat. None of her rivals have earned a Speed rating higher than 83 this year, so a typical performance from Sweet Anniversary should be more than enough to deliver victory for the hot jockey/trainer duo of Keiber Coa and Anthony Ferraro.

By singling Sweet Anniversary in the Pick 6, we can reduce the number of possible outcomes to consider from 115,248 down to 16,464. That’s a solid start to assembling competitive (and affordable) tickets.

Good luck!