In his regular gambling blog, John Piassek presents his top picks for the upcoming weekend in horse racing, offering betting options at different budget levels. Piassek’s Plays is brought to you by Horseplayers.com, the official online qualifying site of the Breeders' Cup Betting Challenge (BCBC) and National Horseplayers Championship (NHC). Horseplayers.com offers low-cost feeders every day and BCBC and NHC qualifiers every weekend, and it’s the only site where you can qualify for the $1 million BCBC. It’s free to sign up – click here to get information about registering and how to enter contests.

Piassek has contributed to the horse racing sites The Racing Biz and Danonymous Racing and worked at Tioga Downs, Monmouth Park, and Saratoga Race Course. He joined America’s Best Racing in January 2021.

Saturday, Oct. 30

Mahoning Valley Race Course, Race 7, Best of Ohio Juvenile Stakes, post time 3:08 p.m. ET

#2 Rumble Strip Ron: A field of 11 Ohio-bred juveniles will travel 1 1/16 miles on the dirt. This is an interesting race, as most of these have never gone beyond six furlongs in their careers. One of the exceptions is Rumble Strip Ron for trainer Anthony Quartarolo and jockey Jose Bracho. He stretched out to a mile for the first time in the Kentucky Downs Juvenile Mile Stakes, where he was outclassed and showed little. He switched back to dirt next out and won a claiming race at Churchill Downs going a mile by three-quarters of a length. He set the pace and was hounded throughout, but dug in and won. While that race was not around two turns, it was still a longer distance than most of these have ever gone, and he passed the test. Bracho's off to a strong start at the meet, with a 4-for-9 mark through the first five days of the season. 

Only one horse in here has won around two turns, the #1A Silence. He's part of a three-horse coupled entry, which means that if you bet him, you'll also get #1 Tantrum and #1X Mutiny. While that seems like an interesting proposition, Silence wasn't really that impressive in his mile win. He ran an Equibase Speed Figure of 54 in that race, six points below the mark Rumble Strip Ron got in his race. On the Brisnet scale, the disparity is even larger. Silence earned a 59 in his race, while Rumble Strip Ron ran a 73. With Silence and his entrymates likely to go off favored, Rumble Strip Ron will be the best value in the field.

Strategy on a $10 Budget

$6 to win on 2

$4 exacta, 2 with 7

Strategy on a $25 Budget

$11 to win on 2

$7 exacta, 2 with 1, 7 ($14 total)

Strategy on a $50 Budget

$26 to win on 2

$12 exacta, 2 with 1, 7 ($24 total)

Mahoning Valley Race Course, Race 9, Best of Ohio Sprint Stakes, post time 4:14 p.m. ET

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#10 Diamond Dust: Fourteen of the best Ohio-bred sprinters in the land will do battle in this six-furlong dash. Jeff Radosevich is one of the top trainers in Ohio, having recently won the training crown at Thistledown. He's off to a great start at the Mahoning Valley meet with four winners from twelve starts. He claimed Diamond Dust out of his last start at Presque Isle Downs. The 5-year-old gelding ran a big race that day, battling on the lead and hanging on to win a second-level allowance optional claiming race by a head. He was sharp throughout the Presque Isle meet, and has also enjoyed success at Mahoning Valley, with a 3-for-7 record there lifetime. Jose Bracho gets in the saddle. As noted above, he's also started off strong at Mahoning Valley. Diamond Dust should get a great trip just off the leaders on the outside, and will be in a prime spot entering the stretch. 

Strategy on a $10 Budget

$5 to win on 10

$5 exacta, 10 with 12

Strategy on a $25 Budget

$9 to win on 10

$8 exacta, 10 with 7, 12 ($16 total)

Strategy on a $50 Budget

$14 to win on 10

$12 exacta, 10 with 7, 12 ($24 total)

$1 trifecta, 10 with 7, 12 with 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 9, 12 ($12 total)