There is an exact – err exacta – science to betting on Laurel Park’s races this Preakness weekend. If you register to play in Xpressbet’s Exacta-Thon promotion, you are eligible to win up to $10,000 in bonus money Friday and/or Saturday, May 15-16. The Preakness is on Saturday, but the picks below will focus on Friday’s 14-race Black-Eyed Susan card at Laurel Park. The rules are simple: If you wager the $2 base minimum on six winning exacta combinations, you will win or share $8,000 in prize money. The contestant(s) with the most winning exactas will win or share an additional $2,000. The exacta payout amounts have no bearing on the outcome. Bet on six winning exactas and you win, plain and simple.

We’ll try to get you started with four exactas on the Friday card listed below that will cost $60 to play:

Laurel Park 2nd Race (12:03 p.m. EST)
Like the way BIG TANKNESS looked in his first start on turf. He put away the pace setter in early stretch, repelled a strong challenge by Rye Diggity Dog (14/3-4-1, $89k on turf) in mid-stretch and widened the winning margin on the gallop out. He has enough speed to navigate post 11 and appears set for another big effort in his third start this year for a 24-percent ‘repeat’ barn. BUILT BY KHOZAN, WITHOUT BORDERS and PARKES all had trouble lines and were separated by 1-1/2 lengths behind the winner in a 5-1/2F turf sprint that timed faster than a 2X allowance on the same card. BUILT BY KHOZAN will be ridden by Laurel Park leader Yedsit Hazlewood, WITHOUT BORDERS by reigning Eclipse Award-winner Flavien Prat and PARKES by Kentucky Derby-winning jockey Jose Ortiz Jr. Include longshot BOASTFULLY IRISH on the ticket as he gets Lasix and is fired a bullet workout for his seasonal debut.

$2 Exacta-Thon Wagers: 11-1, 11-7, 11-8, 11-10 (Cost $8)

Laurel Park 5th Race (1:41 p.m. EST)
To be clear, the winning prices for Exacta-Thon purposes matter only if you assume bigger payouts translate to fewer winning tickets. That being said, shoot for some longshots in this 5-1/2F maiden claiming turf sprint. COUNTRY BUMPKIN is the top pick off an eye-catching middle move as the beaten favorite in his seasonal debut. But he has never raced on turf and he can ill-afford another slow start from the rail. His sire, Divining Rod, was multiple graded stakes placed at 7F and beyond and one of his top siblings, namely Previous Avary, earned $238k on turf. TYPHOON COON chased his speedy stablemate in a race won by the 2-to-5 class dropper. He posted a bullet workout since then and his dam, Weather Girl, was 6-28 with a $171k grass bankroll. GOLF CART RYDER is another longshot consideration. He took money but was well-beaten in a pair of turf-to-dirt sprints to start his career. He returns as a gelding and gets Lasix for trainer Michael Trombetta, who is 122-for-704 (17 percent) in turf sprints in the last 2-1/2 years with a $10 average win payout. RED SEA draws post 13 for his seasonal debut, but he improved each start as a 3-year-old and faced five eventual allowance winners in his three starts at Saratoga and Aqueduct.

$2 Exacta-Thon Wager: Box 1-11-12-13 (Cost: $24)

Laurel Park 8th Race (3:20 p.m. EST)
LIGHTS OUT LENI, a $300,000 sales buy, ran lights out in her debut at Aqueduct and might be good enough to take on three multiple stakes-winning sprinters in the Grade 3 Miss Preakness Stakes. She sped away to a clear lead into the turn and simply was never threatened in a visually impressive 6-1/2F Maiden Special Weight romp. LATE NIGHT TEXT arrives off a form-reversing, Maiden Special Weight win at 7F for new trainer Saffie Joseph Jr. She gets plenty of pace to rally into and is a viable longshot for Exacta-Thon price hunters. The path to the winners’ circle won’t be easy with the likes of LITTLE MISS CURLIN, who won all five starts on a fast track by a combined 21 lengths, and locally-based Peach Tree, who fell a head short of seven consecutive wins on conventional dirt, in the field.

$2 Exacta-Thon Wagers: 3-ALL and 6-1, 6-2, 6-3 (Cost: $20)

Laurel Park 9th Race (3:54 p.m. EST)
ULTIMATE LOVE, a ground-saving sixth on the backstretch as the favorite in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf, ranged up on the final turn but was out-kicked in the stretch. She returns to her home base for the $125,000 Hilltop Stakes and is clearly the one to beat if ready off a strong series of workouts for her 3-year-old debut.

$2 Exacta-Thon Wagers: 2-1, 2-3, 2-4, 2-7 (Cost: $8)