Well, if you played my Prince of Wales suggested wagers early last week (and they lost), I hope you gave me a chance to make amends which I did at the end of the week when my suggested horses in a pick-5 wheel at Woodbine costing $19.20 returned a healthy $1,918. (Although, as a reader pointed out, you would have had to read my comments on horses for each leg when producing your ticket rather than just accepting my ticket numbers, one of which I copied incorrectly.)

And look at this bonus pick-up. If you spent $4 on a $1 pick-3 wheel in the last three races of the suggested pick-5 (1 x 2 x 2) you would have collected $271!

Look at how well the rules worked:

  • In race 2, the winner, #8, had the highest Tomlinson turf breeding figure in the race (379)
  • In race 3, the winner, #6, had dropped in maiden class and had previously raced at the very tough Kentucky Downs
  • In race 4 the winner, #4, had by far the quickest closing fraction in a turf route race. That’s why it was singled on the pick-5 ticket.
  • In race 5, the $35 winner, #7, was the winner in a key race in which the three horses that finished second to fourth came back to win their next races. (Italicized horse names after the winning horse in its past performance line indicates those horses won their next start.)
  • And in race 6 the winner, #8, was one of the top two horses with the best record for in-the-money finishes (11 for 14).

Bang-bang-bang. The rules played out perfectly. It doesn’t get better than that.

Will tomorrow’s early pick-5 at Woodbine be as straightforward — for an outlay of $4? Wouldn’t it be nice to make this a habit?

  • Race 2, maiden optional claiming: The three horses with the lowest added up numbers (#3,5,6) are contenders as well as #8 with blinkers off. The filly showed early speed with blinkers and now will likely be trying to conserve that early energy for a late move. My superfecta play will be wheeling likely favourite #5 first and second with #8 third and fourth, hoping for an outlier in the “all” positions.
  • Race 3, maiden turf sprint: Lowest added up numbers are #2,4,6,7. Highest Tomlinson turf breeding figures are #2 (413), #4 (399) and #3 (393). Just a reminder on what “added-up numbers” are in maiden races: Adding where a horse finished last time with the horse’s position at the first call of his/her previous race.
  • Race 4, maiden optional claimer: Looks like a key in this race: #11, Our Lady Peace, because the filly is making the biggest class drop in racing — from a maiden special weight race to a claiming race.
  • Race 5, turf sprint claimer: Appears to have another key: #7 Veery because she produced a sizeable pace number (126) in her last race, way ahead of others in the race. She lost by only a few lengths. Without engaging in a similar duel, she should have a comfortable gate-to-wire trip.
  • Race 6, 5-furlong turf dash: Too many confusing elements, so this race emerges as an “all” leg in your horizontal wagers. #6 Ol’ Blondie is a specialist at the distance with 6 of 11 in-the-money finishes, but she’s only two-for-five on the turf and hasn’t raced since July 21, which is concerning. #1,2,8 have won at this distance on the turf with only a try or two.

Suggested pick-5 wheel then is: 3,5,6,8/2,3,4,6,7/11/7/ALL8 = 160 divided by 5 = $32. Don’t forget doubles or pick-3s if you wish to play those horses in a more limited way. If you believe in #6 in race 6, your pick-5 will cost $4 — and that will be the headline in next week’s Bettor’s Edge. LOL.

Just six weeks to the Breeders’ Cup, where rules nailed a pick-5 last year for $2.40!