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There’s no stakes race on Ellis Park’s nine-race card this Friday, but bettors may see it differently. Every race in the Late Pick 4 sequence carries a $100,000-plus purse, attracting 38 entries and adding to the appeal of the 50-cent wager.

Ellis Park 6th Race (3:12 p.m. EST)

BREAKING HEARTS deserves a longshot look off her maiden win the last time she ran on turf. She got the jump on the troubled 5-2 second favorite with a wide bid midway on the final turn, but she finished the deal in style with a powerful late surge. DAGMARA can be excused after she retreated to the back of the pack and never threatened after a bumpy start last out, but she traveled “comfortably” in a post 10 win and got caught in a 1-3/16-mile marathon while on the lead in her first two starts with blinkers. MY STUBBORN LASSIE was last seen 10 months ago, rallying into a blanket finish and placing third against the boys in a turf allowance at this distance. The performance was validated when Storm’s Wake proceeded to win the Grade 2 Appalachian on the Keeneland lawn and place in a pair of Grade 3’s this year. Trainer Peter Eurton is 7/2-2-0 since 2025 with turf routers off similar layoffs. She is the top choice in here.

Ellis Park 7th Race (3:42 p.m. EST)

SASSY PRINCESS has tactical speed and more wins at today’s distance than the rest of the field combined. She starts fresh after winning three races in 27 days this Spring. CONSEQUENT will be an underlay in her seasonal debut for trainer Bob Baffert, yet hard to keep off the ticket. She “lost focus” in a first-out victory at Del Mar against multiple Grade 3-placed Bank Shot, but the rest of the field is a combined 15/0-1-2 since then. She caught her 2-to-5 stablemate in the Grade 2 Starlet Stakes to cap her 2-year-old campaign.

Ellis Park 8th Race (4:12 p.m. EST)

Save for 50-1 longshot DEWY’S DENALL, this 1-1/16-mile turf allowance for 3-year-olds appears anyone’s race, prompting an all-but-one Pick 4 punch. PATROL SQUAD SIX finished in the money on five turf courses in his last seven starts since September. Trainer Brad Cox sends out the uncoupled duo of SWIFT BLADE, who posted the top speed figure in the field in his maiden win, and WHITE TIGER, whose sire has produced 250 turf route winners at an average winning distance of one mile. SHARON’S PHAROAH survived a stretch-long battle to break his maiden at 1-1/8 miles at Santa Anita two starts ago. WHATCHADOIN is winless on the turf but he ran third in a four-horse field in his U.S. debut behind two, low-80 Beyer-type rivals who have combined for $813k in grass earnings. Trainer Kelsey Danner has two wins and a near miss from three turf route entrants at the current meet.

Ellis Park 9th Race (4:12 p.m. EST)

YO FANCY was bumped outward from post 11 at the break, trailed at the quarter pole, closed with a furious rush for second and galloped out past the winning favorite. If she stays in contact with the field early from post 12, she will be a handful to hold off with an extra half-furlong to travel. KAYKAY also delivered a promising debut run from post 11. She raced 3- and 4-wide until she ranged up boldly behind the lead pair on the turn, only to flatten out in mid-stretch. She draws the rail today.

Suggested 50-Cent Pick 4
ELP 6th Race: 2, 3, 6
ELP 7th Race: 3, 5
ELP 8th Race: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8
ELP 9th Race: 1, 12
Cost for a 50-Cent ticket: $48