Happy Friday & National Black Forest Cake Day!
We are excited to be back playing the ponies from Oaklawn Racing in Hot Springs, Ak. As we get ready for the four big races this weekend that will set the stage for the Kentucky Oaks and Derby, we thought it would be good to get our feet wet at this amazing track. This is one of the first tracks we started cappin' when this whole thing kicked off so it holds a special for us.
Today's card is the perfect warm up for the weekend with 11 total races, two stakes, and plenty of runners. We have not been capping as many cards lately mostly due to wanting to focus on the bigger races as we are in the home stretch on the road to the Kentucky Derby. We made the decision to put our best foot forward on those tracks and races to lighten our load as we have gotten very busy in real life plus it's MLB season now so more content to create.
Speaking of the big races, last week we also had four big ones that shook up the leaderboards. Over at Fair Grounds, Good Cheer and her connections took the win in the Fair Grounds Oaks. That 100 points vaulted her to the top of the Oaks Leaderboard and guaranteed her spot in the starting gate the first Friday in May. Not to be outdone, Tiztastic ran past the other top contenders to secure the top of the leaderboard and his spot in the starting gate the first Saturday in May. Congratulations to him and his connections, as we did not see him taking the race like that.
However, we did have an overall good day from Fair Grounds as 6 of 12 top horses won their race, resulting in $14.40 of profit for an ROI of 60%. If you play our top two horses in each race to win, you had a good day, as well as 9 of the 12 hit the winner's circle for a profit of $49 or an ROI of 102%. We did not fare so well on the other card, we capped over at Turfway Park. We did not have Bless the Broken taking the win in the Bourbonette Oaks but we still want to congratulate her and her connections on moving near the top of the leaderboard and securing her spot in the starting gate for the Kentucky Oaks. Following up on that misread by us, we also had one of our best bets get beat as Final Gambit with Luan Machado aboard, took the win in the Jeff Ruby Steaks. This secured his spot in the Kentucky Derby starting gate taking home the 100 points handed out. Overall, we only hit 2 of the 13 winners for -$13.92 for a -53.5% ROI and our top two picks went 4 for 13 for -$24.88 or an ROI of -47.8%. We will be moving away from Turfway Park in the future, as we have not found success at this track; their meet also ends this weekend.
The weather today in Hot Springs is a bit unpredictable, as we will have highs in the mid 70s with cloudy skies and rain in the forecast before the day ends. This could lead to track changes as we go forward and will affect the surface for tomorrow. As of the writing of this post there has been not track condition update but it has been clear the last few days so it should start out fast. The featured race comes in the 10th The Temperance Hill Stake, a one and a half mile route. Let's take a closer look at the history of this race before we get to the top picks.
The Temperance Hill Stakes is a thoroughbred horse race named after *Temperance Hill*, the 1980 Belmont Stakes winner known for his stamina and resilience. The race has been run at various tracks, including Oaklawn Park and Belmont Park, typically catering to long-distance dirt runners. It is often contested at marathon distances, distinguishing it from more common middle-distance races. The event honors Temperance Hill’s legacy as a champion who excelled in staying races, and it continues to attract top-tier horses specializing in endurance.
Need help pickin' winners? We've got you covered! Our Lundin Line's - (Always Free) top picks and best bets are below in this post. We use them to help narrow the field while putting our tickets together. The first post will be here soon, so don't be late -
It's time to get #InTheMoney! 💰💰💰
Oaklawn Park 🏇🏾 // Fri., Mar. 28, 2025
First Post @ 12:30 CDT/ 10:30 (PDT)
R1: 7-8-3-2
R2: 7-1-4-9
R3: 5-9-7-3
R4: 7-4-5-6
R5: 6-2-1-5
R6: 10-3-8-11
R7: 9-12-7-8
R8Ⓢ: 3⭑-4-7-5
R9: 3-10-6-8
🏇R10Ⓢ: 11-8-10-6
R11: 3-6-4-10
⭑Best Bet(s)
R8: Miss Hebrides (#3)
(2 wins/1 place to start 2025, loves today's distance & McPeek's impressive ROI #s with today's conditions make this 4 Yr-Old daughter of Mendelssohn a strong contender)
Ⓢtakes Races
R8: 145K Lapatourel Overnight S
1 1/16 Miles on Dirt for Fillies & Mares 4 Yrs. Old & Up
🏇R10: 200K Temperance Hill S.
1 1/2 Miles on Dirt for 4 Yrs. Old & Up
🏇 = Featured Race(s)
Photo from our friends at National Day Calendar
Hit us up @_TurtleSports and let us know what you think!
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-TSL
/ As always, please forgive any typos and grammatical errors
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