How to play the Pick 4

What follows is a look at the Pick Four that encompasses races four through seven at Laurel on Saturday, a sequence that begins with a maiden special weight, followed by three stakes.

Race 4

A promising group of maiden juveniles is lined up for this six-furlong dash, a race in which Going for Gold (6) is a must-use in the gimmicks following a runner-up finish in his lone start at Laurel Dec. 9. That day he broke running from the fence, opened up daylight in early stretch, and then was caught late in finishing well clear of the rest of the pack. In addition to him, Wendell Fong (5) also seems worth trying in the Pick Four, having worked a couple bullets at Belmont Park on the training track there in preparation for his debut. A $160,000 yearling purchase, he is by Flat Out and a half-brother to a minor stakes winner.

Race 5

Although Rockinn On Bye (3) is an obvious contender in this stake, The Jennings, following a pair of seconds in as many starts since being claimed by high-percentage trainer Claudio Gonzalez, this one’s deep closing style and penchant for minor awards has this horseplayer feeling that others also belong in the mix. Of his rivals, among the most attractive are Cordmaker (4), a developing 3-year-old who earned a couple equivalent 81 Beyers over this track in the leadup to this race, his third start off a layoff, and Sonny Inspired (7), an 11-time winner and four-time stakes winner. Both have positional speed, a benefit in a mile race that will likely unfold with a modest tempo.

Race 6

2-year-old fillies race next in the Gin Talking, a stake that’s tricky to decipher with horses converging upon Laurel from different tracks. Among those are Please Flatter Me (9) and Kaylasaurus (8), who both proved untouchable at Penn National, and Getting Warmer (3), a filly that went two-for-two at Parx. I advise using all three in the Pick Four, as well as Enjay’s Brass (7), who might be the best of those in the lineup with Maryland form. She’s perfect in two starts at Laurel, losing only to this point when she has shipped out of state.

Race 7

Sower (4) has yet to race the mile distance of the Thirty Eight Go Go, but having won as far as seven eighths, she may prove up to the challenge. Coming off a third in Aqueduct’s Garland of Roses behind La Verdad and Yorkiepoo Princess, she rates as the top selection, followed by Forever Liesl (6), a winner over the track and distance. The latter is another New York shipper, one that ran second in the 1 1/8-mile Turnback The Alarm at Aqueduct most recently on Nov. 3.