3 Expert Betting Tips For Keeneland

Spring time means horse racing in Lexington, Kentucky. Yes, this might be the best time of the year! The long winter is over and live horse racing returns to Keeneland. Keeneland’s prestigious spring meet begins in late March or early April every year and runs up till the end of April.

Closing day at Keeneland is one week before the Kentucky Oaks at Churchill Downs.

This meet is jam packed with graded stakes races and and talented two year olds. Spring time is the first time we see the new crop of two year old babies make their way into the starting gate.

This meet is loaded with excellent racing on turf and dirt. Sprint races like the Grade 1 Madison Stakes a 7 furlong event for fillies and mares. A Kentucky Derby prep race like the Bluegrass Stakes going a 1 1/8 miles for 3 year olds.

Turf races like the Grade 1 Makers Mark Mike and the Grade 1 Jenny Wiley.

When it comes to horse racing everyone is looking for the next winner. Keeneland is a special race track and you need some useful information to succeed there. So lets look into some expert betting tips for Keeneland Race Course.

See below for more handicapping tips

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Wesley Ward 2 Year Olds

When you think of the Keeneland spring meet one trainer comes to mind. This trainer is Wesley Ward. Ward is famous for developing 2 year old runners and getting the jump on other conditioners at this meet.

Ward annually brings his precocious 2 yo’s to Keeneland to run at their 4.5 furlong sprints. This is his specialty getting these runners fit and ready to break alertly out of the gate.

Ward’s horses break extremely well from the starting gate which gives his horses such an advantage over other inexperienced runners. Juvenile horses lack experience and breaking on top sometimes is the key to victory.

Wesley Ward will enter multiple horses in these races. Be careful only playing one of his horses when he has multiple runners. Usually the horse to beat in this situation is his other runner. So trying to play only the shorter price because everyone else thinks it’s the better horse can back fire.

With such a reputation for bringing well prepared horses to the races, bettors do recognize this. Unfortunately, betting win money on these horses isn’t always the best bet. Short prices do take some of the sizzle out of these runners when you bet them to win.

Use the Wesley Ward 2yo’s wisely. These horses don’t always pay poorly at the windows. Keeneland is special because they offer great racing and large betting pools. You as a handicapper can take advantage of this.

Use these precocious runners in pick 3’s and daily doubles. Of course using these horses in exactas and trifectas are also a way to play them. But, using these horses in wagers like pick 3’s or 4’s, will help you get value from these short priced babies.

Some handicapper’s do not like taking short prices on young horses. I certainly do understand.

What handicapping is all about is studying horses and their human connections “track record”. This record helps paint a clearer picture of how the horses will perform. Ward has an excellent track record in these races

Toss these Wesley Ward 2 yo horses at the spring Keeneland meet at your own peril. Remember, not every race is going to pay a great price. If you don’t like taking short prices it’s better to sit out the races than go against what Wesley Ward does best, win with 2yo’s at Keeneland.

Short Stretch Speed Horses/ Stalkers

All race tracks are not the same. And all races at a mile or a mile and 1/16th are not the same.

For example, a dirt mile run at Churchill Downs is a one turn mile and a dirt mile run at Keeneland is run around Keeneland’s oval with two turns.

Why does this matter? Well some horses run better going two turns and some prefer the longer straight always. These longer stretches allow some horses gather momentum and gobble up massive amounts of real estate late in races.

Well, what if you have a horse who prefers coming off the pace and needs time to gather that momentum in the lane to run down that tiring speed horse? Would this horse excel at a race track with a short stretch? Maybe, maybe not?

Keeneland has races at a mile 1/16 on dirt that has this “short stretch”. If you are a deep closer than you will have to start making your move around the final turn. Well, this shouldn’t bother talented horses, because they have agility and speed to win races. Some not so talented closers may go wider and and have to travel more than a speed horse that hugs the rail or a stalker that has saved all the ground.

But, this short stretch can, and has allowed equally talented speed horses get a jump on these come-from-behinders and win races benefiting from the first finish line.

Speed horses and stalkers do get an advantage in these races specially the races that have small fields. Remember, Keeneland has two finish lines, make sure you know where races start and finish before you place any wagers.

Sprinting From The 1 & 2 Posts In Big Fields

In horse racing the best horse doesn’t always win the race. Why? Well getting a good trip can be difficult. Sometimes your post position can be problematic from the beginning.

Keeneland is a prestigious race track and many of their races are full fields of 12 horses. When races fill up like they do in Lexington, well that can create some traffic trouble for some runners.

Usually in these full fields the inside runners take the brunt of these problems. If your horse breaking from the 1 or 2 posts don’t have speed expect to get shuffled back at some point.

Sprint racing on the rail is a tough spot to be in. Now obviously there can be exceptions to this handicapping tip. What if it’s a smaller field of 6 going 7 furlongs?

With less runners that opens up the race. Still problems can happen in any race but with the lower amount of runners signed on there is less opportunity for problems.

Turf Sprinting

Large fields can cause a problem for horses breaking from the inside. If your horse is a speed horse, the other speed horses will be on its outside. So if you break well and fend off the early speed then you need to save a little more to hold off the closers.

Tracks like Keeneland the competition is world class. Winning races there are a special accomplishment. Having a bad post is not what you want.

The horse on the rail can get squashed against the rail if an outside rival breaks bad.

Horses are known to not always break out of the gate straight. When a horse breaks inward it’s only a matter of time when the horses drawn to the inside will feel that interference.

Turf racing can be tricky, breaking from the inside just adds to that.

Some horses don’t like running in confined spaces. Inside with a bunch of rivals on the outside can take a horse out of its comfort level and that can hamper it’s performance.

If a horse towers over the field the horse can win despite its post position.

If you are looking for a long shot and it’s between an outside post or a rail draw, the outside post should in most cases get a clearer trip.

Keeneland Picks Today

Here at HorseRacingPlayersClub.com plan on bring you our top plays for the Keeneland meet. Be sure to check out our site and Twitter account for the latest picks and information along with some cool racing conversation.

New to the sport of kings?? Check out some quick tips to help you succeed at the windows. Please let us know if this helps.

5 Smartest Bets In Horse Racing For Beginners https://t.co/esUzkanxzB

— Horse Racing Players Club (@HRplayersclub) March 16, 2021