Turf Classic Stakes Handicapping Picks
Horse racing gamblers are you looking for 2021 Turf Classic Stakes Free Pick & Handicapping Odds…plus some predictions? Need some advice on who to take? The 2021 Turf Classic Stakes is set for May 1 at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky. Here’s a preview of our top contenders.
Turf Classic Preview and Prediction
- Race: Turf Classic
- Purse: $1 million
- Track: Churchill Downs
- Date: May 1
- Post Time: 5:27 PM (ET)
- Live: Turf Classic Odds: Click Here
2021 Turf Classic Handicapping
One of seven graded-stakes races on a loaded Kentucky Derby Day card at Churchill Downs on Saturday, the (G1) Turf Classic has drawn an excellent field of nine, including some of the best turf racing horses in North America over the past couple of years.
The race offers excellent betting value with the favourite listed as a very juicy 7-2, and five others in the 5-1 to 7-1 range.
They’ll be racing 1 1/8 miles on the Churchill turf course.
Odds listed here are provided by Bovada’s racebook.
2021 Turf Classic Free Pick & Handicapping: Colonel Liam Race Odds: 7-2
Purchased for $1.2 million as a two-year-old in 2019, Colonel Liam comes in having won three of his last four and five overall in seven lifetime starts. Last out he was a 1 1/2 length winner of the (G2) Munoz Memorial going 1 1/8 miles over a turf course rated as good at Fair Grounds.
Prior to that he scored big in winning the (G1) Pegasus World Cup Turf Invitational going 1 3/16 of a mile over a firm turf at Gulfstream Park.
Trainer Todd Pletcher won the Turf Classic back in 2006, while Irad Ortiz Jr. was the winning jockey in the 2019 race.
2021 Turf Classic Stakes Free Pick & Handicapping: Domestic Spending Race Odds:
The UK-bred Domestic Spending has done all of his racing in the US and sports a record of four wins and one third-place finish in his five lifetime starts and was last seen winning the (G1) Hollywood Derby at Del Mar last November.
Prior to that he was the winner of the Saratoga Derby racing 1 3/16 miles, and in both of those efforts he got up just at the wire to claim victory by a head over runners that came back to win their next race.
Trainer Chad Brown is the back-to-back winner of the race in 2019 and 2020. Flavian Pratt gets the call to ride.
2021 Turf Classic Free Pick & Handicapping: Smooth Like Straight Race Odds: 5-1
California shipper Smooth Like Straight was the runner up to Domestic Spending in the Hollywood Derby and then came back from that effort to win the (G2) Mathis Brothers Mile at Santa Anita to close out 2020.
He opened 2021 with a runner-up finish in the Frank Kilroe Mile at SA, and does have a Churchill Downs win to his name having captured the War Chant Stakes under the Twin Spires last May.
He’s a Mike McCarthy trainee, jockey Umberto Rispoli gets the mount.
2021 Turf Classic Stakes Free Pick & Handicapping: Ride A Comet Race Odds: 6-1
The very versatile Ride A Comet has raced on six different tracks in his last eight and has won at distances from six furlongs to 1 1/8 miles. Two starts back he took a bump at the gate and finished seventh but beaten just over two lengths in the Kilroe Mile.
He followed that up by running second to the very good Raging Bull in the Maker’s Mark Mile at Keeneland.
Mark Casse trains, Tyler Gaffalione will be in the saddle.
Here’s My 2021 Turf Classic Stakes Free Pick.
This is a very tough handicapping race with a very good field, and we haven’t even mentioned Ivar, another 5-1 shot who could win it all, but is only left off because with rain forecast for Louisville on Friday, the Saturday turf may come up a bit soft, and he’s the only contender without a win on an off surface.
All that being said, I think Colonel Liam is the win play here at a very fair 7-2. I expect Smooth Like Straight will be up on the early pace, and Colonel Liam is best suited to track off that pace and get first jump as they turn for home, with the others closing late.
I have a hunch that Ride A Comet may be sitting on a big effort and will use him in the exacta.
Full Field: Turf Classic Stakes Betting Odds
- Colonel Liam 7-2
- Ivar 5-1
- Domestic Spending 5-1
- Smooth Like Straight 5-1
- Ride A Comet 6-1
- Digital Age 7-1
- Count Again 12-1
- Cross Boreder 14-1
- Masterofhounds 16-1
What do you think of our 2021 Turf Classic Stakes Race Odds & Predictions? Weigh in below with a comment. We welcome your feedback.
Register here for a FREE Sports Betting Account Now for Daily Free Picks & More Special Offers!