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, Aug. 21

Louisiana Downs, Race 2, Louisiana Cup Juvenile Fillies Stakes, post time 4:11 p.m. ET

#2 Wholelottamo: A field of eight 2-year-old fillies will line up in the first of six Louisiana-bred stakes races on the Saturday card. The morning line favorite is #8 Charged Temp, who is shipping here from Monmouth Park. Bettors are likely to gravitate towards her, as she's been keeping supposedly better company than her Louisiana-based rivals. However, on some speed figure scales, Charged Temp did not run especially fast in her maiden-breaking score, and declined quite a bit when up the track in the Colleen Stakes last out. She hasn't had a workout since that race, while many of her rivals have had at least one drill since their last race. Because of that, I think she's worth taking a shot against. 

Wholelottamo, the 7-2 second choice, offers some decent value, assuming all the money gravitates towards Charged Temp. She took a big step forward in her second career start, winning a maiden special weight race at Lone Star Park by 1 1/2 lengths. She came from well behind in that race, which isn't easy to do in a five-furlong race, and gobbled up ground while racing wide for the victory. Since that June 20 race, she's been working very well, including two bullet workouts at Louisiana Downs, which means that her workout time was the fastest time at the distance that day. The extra furlong that she'll get here should help her cause. I'm looking for her to make another strong rally and run by them all for the victory.

Strategy on a $10 Budget

$5 to win on 2

$5 exacta, 2 with 1

Strategy on a $25 Budget

$11 to win on 2

$5 exacta, 2 with 1, 3 ($10 total)

$2 exacta, 1, 3 with 2 ($4 total)

Strategy on a $50 Budget

$21 to win on 2

$5 exacta key box, 2 with 1, 3 ($20 total)

$1 trifecta, 2 with 1, 3, 8 with 1, 3, 6, 8 ($9 total)

Louisiana Downs, Race 7, Louisiana Cup Filly and Mare Sprint Stakes, post time 6:21 p.m. ET

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#11 Southern Liaison: This race features a wide-open field of 11, so it's worth trying to find some value. Southern Liasion made her first start off a long layoff last out, racing in a fourth-level allowance optional claiming event at Evangeline Downs on July 2. She ran a strong race, closing from the middle of the pack to get second behind odds-on choice Misty Day. That filly went off at 1-5 in that race and is one of the top sprinters in Louisiana. There's no one in here as tough as that rival, making things a bit easier for Southern Liaison. She's lightly-raced, has a lot of room for improvement second off the layoff, and has good tactical speed. She should get a good trip rating just off the leaders on the outside, and will be primed to make a big move in the stretch. If she goes off near her 8-1 morning line, she would be an excellent play. 

Strategy on a $10 Budget

$4 to win on 11

$3 exacta box, 10, 11 ($6 total)

Strategy on a $25 Budget

$6 to win on 11

$5 exacta box, 10, 11 ($10 total)

$1.50 trifecta box, 7, 10, 11 ($9 total)

Strategy on a $50 Budget

$10 to win on 11

$8 exacta box, 10, 11 ($16 total)

$1 trifecta box, 6, 7, 10, 11 ($24 total)