Smarty Jones Stakes Handicapping Picks
Horse racing gamblers are you looking for 2022 Smarty Jones Stakes Free Pick & Handicapping Odds…plus some predictions? Need some advice on who to take? The 2022 Smarty Jones Stakes is set for January 1 at Oaklawn Park in Hot Springs, Arkansas. Here’s a preview of our top contenders.
Smarty Jones Stakes Preview
- Race: Smarty Jones Stakes
- Purse: $250,000
- Track: Oaklawn Park
- Date: January 1
- Post Time: 5:13 PM (ET)
- Live: Smarty Jones Stakes Odds: Click Here
2022 Smarty Jones Stakes Handicapping
Named for the horse that came within one length of winning the 2004 Triple Crown, the Smarty Jones Stakes is run at one mile on the dirt track at Oaklawn Park. The race is qualifying event for the 2022 Kentucky Derby and will award the top four finishers with qualifying points on a 10-4-2-1 scale.
This year’s Smarty Jones has drawn a full field of 14 and looks on paper to be a very wide-open race with lots of betting value. Ten of the 14 entries have been assigned morning line odds of 10-1 or less.
Odds listed here are provided by the Oaklawn Park track handicapper.
2022 Smarty Jones Stakes Free Pick & Handicapping: Home Brew Race Odds: 3-1
The slight morning-line favourite, Home Brew comes into the race off a win over the track and distance, going wire-to-wire to take an allowance-level event over five rivals one month ago.
He broke his maiden at first asking in September, but probably ran the best of his three races two starts back when finishing second by 3/4 of a length going six furlongs at Churchill Downs. He got into some traffic trouble at the mid-point of the race but was able to rally for the Place money.
Brad Cox is the trainer, Florent Geroux gets the riding assignment.
2022 Smarty Jones Stakes Free Pick & Handicapping: Barber Road Race Odds: 4-1
After a somewhat poor showing in his career debut, Barber Road has taken big strides forward in his last three with two wins and a runner-up finish in those starts.
Last out he tried stakes-level racing for the first time and was beaten just a half-length by a horse that came back to run second last weekend in the Gun Runner stakes at Fair Grounds. Notably, he has improved his Equibase speed rating in each of those last three starts.
He’s trained by John Ortiz, up-and-coming jockey Reylu Gutierrez will be in the irons.
2022 Smarty Jones Stakes Free Pick & Handicapping: Kavod Race Odds: 5-1
Already with a somewhat remarkable nine starts to his name, Kavod comes in looking for his second consecutive stakes win.
Although he only has three wins to show for all that effort, he has been racing in pretty high company, with four of his starts coming at the graded-stakes level. He was a last out winner on the track when he took the Advent Stakes by one length sprinting six furlongs.
He’s trained by Chris Hartman, Francisco Arrieta is the jock.
2022 Smarty Jones Stakes Free Pick & Handicapping: Dash Attack Race Odds: 12-1
A bit of a long shot in the ML odds, Dash Attack only has one lifetime start but made the most of it with a win by 1 3/4 lengths on the Oaklawn dirt at the one-mile distance.
He’s stepping up to take on other winners here, but he draws a favourable inside post, and any improvement off his 83 speed figure last race would put him right in the battle with these.
Veteran Kenny McPeek trains, David Cohen is tapped to ride.
Here’s My 2022 Smarty Jones Stakes Free Pick.
As mentioned off the top, this is a very competitive field with no real standout but several very good horses vying for the win and Derby qualifying points.
While I’m tempted to look for one of the horses with recent success over the track, I also think Barber Road is one that is moving in the right direction and I’ll play him for the win. The good runner-up finish last out to a rival that was a next-out stakes-placed is a positive sign as well, showing that he’s competitive with top class horses.
Full Field: Smarty Jones Stakes Odds
(By post position)
- #1 – Dash Attack 12-1
- #2 – All In Sync 8-1
- #3 – Home Brew 3-1
- #4 – Kavod 5-1
- #5 – Ignitis 15-1
- #6 – Bureau 12-1
- #7 – Ruggs 10-1
- #8 – Vivar 8-1
- #9 – Don’tcrossthedevil 10-1
- #10 – Barber Road 4-1
- #11 – Cairama 8-1
- #12 – Cool Papa G 6-1
- #13 – Immoral 20-1
- #14 – Ben Diesel 5-1
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