Churchill Downs’ November meet continues to hum along as the track’s Thanksgiving holiday weekend wind-down approaches, and Saturday’s card will showcase the often-overlooked day-to-day grinders of the sport in the 2025 Claiming Crown series. Aside from nine Claiming Crown starter allowance races, Churchill will also feature the $300,000, Grade 3 Chilukki Stakes Presented by Resolute Racing for fillies and mares ages 3 and older.

The Chilukki is held at one mile around one turn on dirt, and as such has attracted a field that includes both sprinters stretching out and two-turn runners cutting back in distance. This year’s race drew a seven-horse field highlighted by Godolphin homebred #7 Ragtime, a Grade 3 stakes winner on this track back in September, and speedy #2 Shred the Gnar, who will be making her first start since romping by seven lengths under the Twin Spires in a 1 1/6-mile allowance race on the May 2 Longines Kentucky Oaks undercard.

Ragtime has never run a poor race through seven starts, winning three times with one second and one third for Hall of Fame trainer Bill Mott. In her two starts held earlier this fall, she overcame a slow start to win the seven-furlong, Grade 3 Dogwood Stakes Presented by Resolute Racing by a widening 2 ¼ lengths and then could not overcome another troubled start but still rallied strongly to finish third, defeated by a half-length, in the Grade 2 Lexus Raven Run Stakes at Keeneland. The Raven Run was also held at seven furlongs – and for that matter, all of Ragtime’s starts to date have been held at that “tweener” distance. Ragtime, a daughter of Belmont Stakes winner Union Rags out of Grade 2-winning sprinter Burmilla, should have no problem handling an extra eighth of a mile on a track she’s already excelled over. The filly raced with blinkers in her first three races but had them removed for the Dogwood and Raven Run, where she had poor starts. She’ll get fitted with blinkers again for the Chilukki and looks set for a bounce-back effort.

Shred the Gnar looms as a formidable win threat in this race if she can regain her early-May form after a layoff of 6 ½ months. She controlled the pace and rolled to a visually impressive win on the Oaks undercard in what was only her third career start, following a very good runner-up debut and then a romping win going one mile at Gulfstream Park. The Into Mischief filly was withdrawn from the DK Horse Acorn stakes in June due to signs of lameness and was given ample time to get healthy, and she’s been working steady in recent weeks, however, it’s hard to look past trainer Brian Lynch’s 0-for-15 record over the past year with horses coming off of a break of over 180 days.

Shred the Gnar should attempt to win this race on the front end under excellent pace jockey Luis Saez, who’s been aboard her in all of her starts. The key filly in possibly complicating that strategy will be #6 One Magic Philly, who enters off of a pace-pressing, one-length win in a 6 ½-furlong allowance optional claiming race at Keeneland in her first start for red-hot trainer Brendan Walsh.

Limited to a $30 budget, I’ll bet Ragtime to win at odds of 2-1 or better and then use her as my key horse in an exacta bet and a trifecta bet. I’ll wager a straight exacta with Ragtime over Shred the Gnar, another straight exacta for a lesser amount with Ragtime over One Magic Philly, and then I’ll key Ragtime in a trifecta over those two horses in second plus closers #1 Impel and #3 Literate in third. (Use ABR’s gambling calculator to create your bets)

Betting strategy for a $30 budget:

$10 win on Ragtime

What to say at the betting window:

Churchill Downs, Race 3, $10 win on #7

$6 exacta, Ragtime with Shred the Gnar

What to say at the betting window:

Churchill Downs, Race 3, $6 exacta #7 with #2

$2 exacta, Ragtime with One Magic Philly

What to say at the betting window:

Churchill Downs, Race 3, #7 with #6

$2 trifecta, Ragtime with Shred the Gnar and One Magic Philly with Impel, Shred the Gnar, Literate, and One Magic Philly ($12)

What to say at the betting window:

Churchill Downs, Race 3, $2 trifecta #7 with #2, #6 with #1, #2, #3, #6