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, March 6

Aqueduct, Race 6, Busher Invitational Stakes, post time 3:29 p.m. ET 

#3 Search Results (7-2 morning line odds): Two of the favorites in this race both competed at Aqueduct on Feb. 8. #1 Miss Brazil won the Ruthless Stakes in a romp, while #5 Mo Desserts crushed a maiden group one race later. Unsurprisingly, those two are the morning-line favorites for this race. However, both of those performances should be taken with a grain of salt. That day, the track was favoring horses on the lead and on the rail. Both Miss Brazil and Mo Desserts won their races on the front end while saving ground. The track has been playing towards speed somewhat over the past few days, so it’s possible these two get similar setups. Still, they’re going to be at a disadvantage if the track is playing fairly, and even if it is playing towards speed again there will be little value in playing them.

I’ll try a Gulfstream Park shipper instead. Search Results went off as the 9-5 favorite in her debut on Jan. 3, and recovered well from an awkward break to sit a good stalking trip. Turning for home, she was angled wide by Irad Ortiz Jr. and then was geared down late as she pulled away impressively. Javier Castellano, who is up here to ride Highly Motivated in the Gotham Stakes later on the card, has the mount. If the speed horses can’t last over a more neutral track, Search Results should sit right off their flank and take advantage on the final turn. From there, it could be an open-length win.

Strategy on a $10 Budget

$5 to win, $5 to place on 3 ($10 total)

Strategy on a $25 Budget

$15 to win on 3

$5 exacta, 3 with 2,4 ($10 total) 

Strategy on a $50 Budget

$30 to win on 3

$5 exacta key box, 3 with 2, 4 ($20 total)

Aqueduct, Race 7, Tom Fool Handicap, post time 4:02 p.m. ET

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#1 Pete’s Play Call (5-2 morning line odds): As noted above, Aqueduct’s track has been playing towards speed. That presents an interesting scenario in this race as it’s loaded with speed. Pete’s Play Call comes off a second-place in the Grade 3 Toboggan Stakes, where he had a very advantageous trip. He set a ridiculously slow pace early on, then battled in the stretch and lost to American Power, who was also near the early pace.

In a race with so many frontrunners, I’d ordinarily be a little bit wary of playing a horse like Pete’s Play Call. After all, he’d be liable to get burned up on the pace. However, he has two things playing in his favor. The first one is the inside post. If the track is playing towards horses on the inside, he’s going to have a wonderful spot, and even if not, it’s always better to save ground than lose it. Secondly, he’s not a need-the-lead type. More often than not, he rates tactically off the pace on the inside. If the speed horses burn themselves out, he can rate off them and make his move towards the rail.

Strategy on a $10 Budget

$4 to win on 1

$1 exacta box, 1, 2, 5 ($6 total) 

Strategy on a $25 Budget

$10 to win on 1

$2 exacta box, 1, 2, 5 ($12 total)

50-cent trifecta, 1 with 2, 5 with 2, 3, 5, 6 ($3 total)

Strategy on a $50 Budget

$21 to win on 1

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

$1.50 trifecta box, 1, 2, 5 ($9 total)