Oaklawn Park Picks: Alta's Award in good spot in Race 8

Oaklawn Park closes out another exceptional week of racing on Sunday with a nine-race program. As has been customary at the meet, our in-house handicapper has made picks for the entire card, along with select analysis of some of the races.

If you're looking for picks elsewhere around the country on Sunday, be sure to check out our Free Horse Racing Picks via the gold button below.

Most Likely Winner:  Strate Remark (Race 2) - There’s terribly little competition standing in the way of Strate Remark in Race 2. This horse is cutting back in distance after last contesting a starter allowance race at a mile over this track, and he’s earned Beyer Speed Figures in his past two starts that give him a decisive advantage over this field. It’s likely he moves forward off his last race as he’s historically been better sprinting, and someone else would really need to turn their form around to beat him.

Best Value:  Alta’s Award (Race 8) - The feature is a wide-open race, so I’m not too interested in horses like Jilted Bride and W W Fitzy, who can win but are going to be overbet. I much prefer Jilted Bride’s stablemate Alta’s Award. A 4-year-old daughter of Tonalist, Alta’s Award was the better prospect of the Asmussen pair at this meet last year, and although her career hasn’t panned out the way her connections might have hoped, I think her last race was a big step in the right direction. If she gets back to the races she was running at Oaklawn in 2020, which I believe is a distinct possibility, she’s going to have a big chance in this race that lacks a standout.

Other Races of Interest:  Race 4 - Glamour Girl (#5) is probably going to be a big favorite in this race, but I’m growing a little weary of her. She’s clearly one of the most talented runners in the field, however she’s not exactly the winning type and has largely been a career money-burner. Instead, I prefer Miss Moon Pie (#2). Her last race appears to be fraudulent and the product of a muddy track here, but I’m actually going to take it at face value since she set a fast pace and held reasonably well against a far better bunch. If she can replicate that kind of effort on a dry track, she can easily beat this field.

Race 5 - There are very few viable contenders in this race, which makes Englander (#4) a no-brainer top selection as he goes first off-the-claim for trainer Karl Broberg. This horse ran quite well in his first local start, dueling through honest splits and opening up a daylight lead in the stretch only to get run down late by Niles Channel. He meets no one that is remotely on the level of Niles Channel in this spot, which features mostly underwhelming 3-year-olds, and if he runs back to his last race he should win.

*If you're interested in seeing payouts for these races, you can find them on our Results page linked to below*