Bettors Insider's two horse racing handicapping experts – Chris Garrity (@belmostickey) and RT and SmartCap (@RTsSpot) – have agreed to take part in a weekly handicapping contest throughout June.
For the contest, each handicapper will designate one of his race picks per weekday and two on Saturday and Sunday. Win, place, show betting only. $20 per bet. Weeks run Monday through Sunday.
The 'capper with the most money at the end of each week will have a donation made in his name to the Permanently Disabled Jockeys Fund. You can donate to the fund here.
Play along and in future months you may have a chance to beat the pros.
RT bet $7 win $13 place on 4-Mr. Classical in the 1st race at Parx. Mr. missed a chance to finish in the money. Garrity put $20 to win on 9-Applicator in the 8th race at Indiana Grand. But like many of the horses at Indiana Grand yesterday, he scratched. RT is now -$40 and Garrity is -$20 with an extra pick.
The Picks: Parx Racing, Race 2, $10 to win on 1 Vencil, $10 to win on #7 Inspired Options, post time 1:22 pm EDT
Why: #1 Vencil (7/2) — 2nd time Lasix and a hard fought race last out to rally and lose by a neck. That was against four year olds and up, so he has raced versus similar.
#7 Inspired Options (5/1) — the only three year old in this race was claimed by Laurel’s leading trainer Claudio Gonzalez after his one and only race. I must believe that Claudio has a keen eye for talent and sees something in him. He gets second Lasix, a five-pound weight break, and was second in the betting his last out with a heavy diet of works since.
The Picks: Parx Racing, Race 5, $20 to win on #6 - Defibrillator, post time 2:43 pm EDT, Parx Racing, Race 8, $20 to win on #8 - Arkaan, post time 4:04 pm EDT
Why: First, the 5th race: Defibrillator is trained by John Servis, who’s very hot, and he earned a big speed figure finishing second in a Maiden Special race last time out. This is a case where knowing the conditions of the race is important: this race is listed as a $40,000 maiden claiming race in the program, but a deeper look reveals it to be a “Waiver Maiden Claimer,” which means owners can enter horses without putting them up for sale. This is crucial information here: we don’t think we’d like Defibrillator if he could be claimed out of this racer for $40k, because that would be an indication that Servis is trying to get rid of him. But since he’s not in for a tag, we think it’s a shrewd move, allowing him to win a race against lesser company than in a Maiden Special race, without risking losing him via the claim box. A repeat of his last wins this -- and we think he will do just that. We will bet make our first contest play on Defibrillator to win at 8/5.
Next, the 8th race, It’s not very often that we see a $450,000 yearling purchase debut at Parx, but that’s what we have here, as Arkaan makes his first start for trainer Michael Pino. He’s a very well-bred colt, by top stallion Into Mischief and out of an Unbridled’s Song mare, but what we like more than his pedigree are his workouts: he’s been working steadily and well since February, and a couple of those morning drills are very quick, which suggests that he’s going to be a runner. Pino strikes at a very good 29% clip with firsters, so we’ll put our second contest play on Arkaan to win Race 8 at Parx, at 7/2 odds.