Gun Runner Stakes Handicapping Picks
Horse racing gamblers are you looking for 2025 Gun Runner Stakes Free Pick & Handicapping Odds…plus some predictions? Need some advice on who to take? The 2025 Gun Runner is set for December 20 at Fair Grounds Race Course in New Orleans, LA. Here’s a preview of our top contenders.
Gun Runner Stakes Preview
- Race: Gun Runner Stakes
- Purse: $100,000
- Distance: 1 1/16 miles
- Track: Fair Grounds
- Date: December 20, 2025
- Post Time: 6:45 PM (ET)
- Live: Gun Runner Stakes Odds: Click Here
Past Gun Runner Stakes Winners
- 2024 – Built
- 2023 – Track Phantom
- 2022 – Jace’s Road
- 2021 – Epicenter
Before we can give you our expert 2025 Gun Runner Stakes free pick, we have to break down the entries! In fact, we’d love to hear from you after you’ve given this post a read to see if you see an angle that we don’t!
2025 Gun Runner Stakes Handicapping
Named for the 2017 Horse of the Year, the Gun Runner has a short history, but has already produced one significant winner in Epicenter, who went on to run second as the favourite in both the 2022 Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes.
The race awards Derby qualifying points on a 10-5-3-2-1 scale.
The Gun Runner is open to horses age two and is run at 1 1/16 miles on the Fair Grounds dirt course. Saturday’s race is expected to draw a field of eight and should provide good betting value with no clear stand out.
Odds listed here are provided by the Fair Grounds track oddsmaker.
2025 Gun Runner Stakes Free Pick & Handicapping: Liberty National Race Odds: 7-2
Liberty National comes in as the tepid morning-line favourite off a second-out win at Churchill Downs at this same 1 1/16 miles distance. Coming from off the pace, he raced inside early in that one before swing three-wide in the stretch and pulling away to win by more thn four lengths.
The race was a marked improvement from his first start where he ran sixth in a seven-furlong sprint, beaten by 11 lengths. A similar move forward could make him tough to beat here.
2025 Gun Runner Stakes Free Pick & Handicapping: Chip Honcho Odds: 9-2
One of the likely pacesetters in the race, Chip Honcho ran second to launch his career in the same race that Liberty National ran sixth, and then stretched out to win at one mile over a muddy Churchill track.
He won that race in wire-to-wire fashion, and it can again be expected that he’ll leave the gate running and try to steal it on the front end.
Crown The Buckeye Race Odds: 5-1
The wildcard in the field, Crown The Buckeye looks very impressive on paper having run second on debut and then winning his last two by a combined 16 1/4 lengths, with his last win coming at this distance.
The caveat is that he’s an Ohio bred and all his races have been restricted to fellow Ohio-bred horses. Now he has to prove he can get similar results when taking a big step up to open company.
Mister Punch Race Odds: 6-1
Mister Punch made his racing debut on the turf at Kentucky Downs and was an also-ran eighth in a race that featured very fast split times over seven furlongs.
He was a completely different horse next out on the dirt at Churchill Downs, tracking close to the lead early, fighting his way to the front as they entered the straight and then pulling away to win by 4 /12 lengths. In doing so he improved his Brisnet speed figure by a whopping 33 points.
Here’s My 2025 Gun Runner Stakes Free Pick
As reflected in the odds, this is a very wide-open race and with several of these making their third career start it will likely come down to who is ready to make the next move forward.
While technically a winner second time out, I can easily draw a line through Mister Punch’s first start at Kentucky Downs as a surface, track and distance that just did not suit him and focus on the fact he was an impressive winner on debut on dirt. I think he can get a nice stalking trip from the outside post and be in position to make the first move as they turn for home.
It’s not unwise to be wary of regression in horses that show a huge improvement in speed figures from one race to the next, but in this case I’m willing to bet his dirt figure is morea accurate than what he showed on turf.
I think he offers the best value in the ML odds and I’ll take him for the win, with Liberty National rounding out the exacta.
Full Field: 2025 Gun Runner Stakes Odds
By post position
- #1 – Mesquite 9-2
- #2 – Chip Honcho 9-2
- #3 – Liberty National 7-2
- #4 – Quality Mischief 10-1
- #5 – Crown The Buckeye 5-1
- #6 – Arabia Wild 8-1
- #7 – Very Connected 9-2
- #8 – Mister Punch 6-1
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