Best Horse Racing Bets for Friday, February 26, 2021

I included Turfway Park today, along with Aqueduct Racetrack and Gulfstream Park, to the tracks I review for predictions and picks. I had plenty of good reasons, but the most important is Turfway’s hosting Friday of the John Battaglia Memorial Stakes, one of the last of the “early prep” races along the 2021 Road to the Kentucky Derby before the schedule switches to the two legs of the “championship series” of KD qualifying races.

As you can imagine, we’ve got plenty to cover, so read on for the summary of my racing predictions and picks for Friday, February 26, 2021.

Good luck!

I agreed with the morning line on races 4 and 7 but found that I liked the second-favored entry (at 3/1) in race 5.

And then I spotted that 15/1 value show wager in race 7 that could easily slip across the finish line first. You be the judge: Simple show bet, or across-the-board gamble?

Learn the details behind my choices for Friday’s three richest races at Aqueduct Racetrack.

Gulfstream Park was all about the underdogs for us with the Friday races, including the third-favored entry in race 1 (at 4/1), the second-favored (at 3/1 in race 3, and the fourth-favored entry (at 8/1) in race 4.

With that 8/1 sleeper in race 7, I almost don’t feel bad about not finding any value show bets to tout for Gulfstream.

Explore the rationales behind my picks and predictions for the three richest races at Gulfstream Park for Friday.

Turfway Park in Florence, Kentucky, joins my growing list of favorite tracks with its Friday racing card that includes two stakes races: The John Battaglia Memorial Stakes (one of the last early prep races on the 2021 Road to the Kentucky Derby) and the Cincinnati Trophy Stakes.

Race 4 at Turfway was pretty straightforward: A simple agreement with the morning line. I also agreed with the morning line in race 5 (aka the John Battaglia Memorial Stakes), but additionally, I noticed a sweet 20/1 longshot in that race well worth a value show ticket.

And in race 7 (otherwise known as the Cincinnati Trophy Stakes), I saw that the second-favored entry was more likely to win. Even better, race 7 yielded up a 50/1 longshot with a viable chance to finish in the money.

Delve deeply into the statistics and backstories behind my predictions for Friday’s top three races at Turfway Park.