Handicapper Jeremy Plonk tackles the 6 stakes races on Friday's Black-Eyed Susan Day card at Laurel Park as well as the entire, 14-race program for Preakness Saturday. Check out his selections, race notes and key play notations. Advance wagering opened Thursday for all races on both days. Download PDF here.

PREAKNESS STAKES1/ST Preakness Wager Guide | daily updates | free access Update: Video Analyses & Wagers from Millie Ball, Scott Shapiro, Jeremy Plonk | now postedUpdate: Friday Full-Stakes Picks | Saturday Full-Card Picks | coming todayEXTRA INCENTIVES$10,000 Exacta-Thon | Laurel Full-Card | Friday (Black-Eyed Susan Day)$10 Money-Back Special | Black-Eyed Susan Stakes | Laurel Race 13 Friday$10,000 Exacta-Thon | Laurel Full-Card | Saturday (Preakness Day)$10 Money-Back Special | Preakness Stakes | Laurel Race 13 SaturdaySCHEDULE NOTESChurchill Downs | twilight racing | first post 5:00 pm ETSPECIAL WAGERSLaurel Black-Eyed Susan Friday Advance Wagering | full-card opens todayLaurel Preakness Saturday Advance Wagering | full-card opens todayTOURNAMENT TIME$100 Laurel Feeder | detailsNOTABLE CARRYOVERSSuper Hi 5 | $7,738 | Horseshoe Indianapolis | Race 6 | 4:51 pm ETSuper Hi 5 | $10,040 | Churchill Downs | Race 1 | 5:00 pm ETJackpot Pick 6 | $57,998 | Charles Town | begins Race 4 | 8:25 pm ETLONGSHOT RACE ALERT FROM BETMIXLaurel | Race 5 | 1:56 pm ETChurchill Downs | Race 8 | 8:23 pm ETEvangeline Downs | Race 8 | 9:24 pm ETTRAINERS TO WATCHBill Mott | Aqueduct, Churchill Downs | 5 of 6 entrants 9-2 or less oddsDID YOU SEE?Yesterday | Horseshoe Indianapolis | favorites went 0-for-11 on the cardPUT US ON YOUR HANDICAPPING TEAMScott Shapiro: Laurel Preakness Week Kickoff Thursday Spot PlaysFrank Carulli & Brian W. Spencer best bets today in Xpressbet.com member’s section

  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)

The Lead:Saturday’s Preakness Day card at Laurel is loaded with stakes up and down the 14-race lineup. We’ve got you covered in the middle jewel of the Triple Crown via the 1/ST Preakness Stakes Wager Guide. The undercard headliner annually is the Grade 3 $250,000 Dinner Party Stakes at 1-1/8 miles on turf. It’s Race 10 on Saturday (4:11 pm ET post time) and makes its first appearance on the expansive Laurel Park turf course. The Dinner Party kicks off an all-stakes pick 4 ending in the Preakness.Players at 1/ST BET and Xpressbet be sure to play in the $20,000 Exacta-Thon promotion this weekend both Friday and Saturday for Laurel’s full-card. And also note up to a $10 money-back special if your win bet finishes second or third in either the Black-Eyed Susan Stakes (Friday) or Preakness Stakes (Saturday).​​Field Depth:Grade 1 winner FORT WASHINGTON is defending champ in his race and has the field’s other signature score. DRESDEN ROW is a Grade 3 winner and Grade 2-placed. Other graded stakes-placed entrants include HARROW and WHAT SAY THEE among the field of 7.​Pace:The pace picture is murky with CRUISE THE NILE capable of setting the tone if sent along but won the local prep from off the pace. THUNDERING and DRESDEN ROW project to be forward in a race should not clip along very fast. Deep closers could be at a disadvantage.​Our Eyes:Here are my horse-by-horse notes.1-WHAT SAY THEE: Added blinkers when winning an April 17 Laurel allowance fresh off the claim that day for Horacio DePaz. The 8-year-old was picked up for $25,000 at Turfway when oddly dropped in price off a $40,000 claiming win just prior. He’s earned just shy of $500K and is 3-for-7 at the distance.2-THUNDERING: Maryland-bred makes his first trip home after racing in Canada, New York and Florida through 14 starts. He’s well-drawn in post 2 to take advantage of a rather paceless race and putting speed-friendly jockey Paco Lopez aboard would indicate that intent – even if this gelding has never made the lead in any start so far. He’s 0-6 in stakes, however, so I prefer others even if he gets the trip.3-CRUISE THE NILE: The good news is that he’s won 4 in a row, including the local prep, the Henry S. Clark. The bad news is that trainer Graham Motion indicated immediately after the Clark that he’s more inclined not to stretch him out to 1-1/8 miles in the Dinner Party just yet and always thought he’s a miler. The field came up a bit light on numbers and here they are, but he feels like an underlay price for this distance and further class rise.4-FORT WASHINGTON: Last year’s Dinner Party winner was the record-padding sixth in this race for Hall of Fame trainer Shug McGaughey. The ‘title defense’ loses some of its handicapping relevance with the venue change from Pimlico to Laurel as we can’t necessarily check the box that he’ll run as well in his local debut. The pace scenario works against the late-running 7-year-old as does history. No horse has repeated in this race in exactly 100 years – sine Sarazen in 1925-’26.5-A BOURBON FOR TOBY: With all the clamor about running back on 14 days for the Preakness, nobody told trainer Tom Morley that his Dinner Party colt didn’t belong just 9 days after an Aqueduct allowance third. The son of 2006 Preakness winner Bernardini was a late bloomer, winning 2 of 3 since losing his first 10 starts. He’ll pick up Irad Ortiz Jr.6-DRESDEN ROW: Good-looking Keeneland allowance winner April 8 after 5 months away should be perfectly prepped for the re-rise in class. In the last dozen years, more winners of this race exited Keeneland (4) bids than any other venue. Trainer Todd Pletcher has only 1 starter Friday at Laurel and just this 1 on Saturday’s Preakness Day card. Plenty of reasons to skip if this wasn’t a perfect spot. Catches a soft pace set-up and should be anywhere Flavien Prat wants him to be. Highly effective over 9 furlongs on synthetic at Woodbine when with Lorne Richards, though this will be his longest race on turf. Horses adding distance have been very effective in the Dinner Party in recent history.7-HARROW: Late-runner failed to make a big dent in 2 Gulfstream allowance miles earlier this year and takes a step up in class after being left on the Churchill also-eligible list for an allowance race Thursday. The extra distance should help the Barbados Gold Cup winner for Saffie Joseph Jr., who also is stakes-placed stateside; but he won’t get any pace help here.Most Likely Exotics Contender:DRESDEN ROW is 16-for-16 in the trifecta lifetime and should get a comfortable trip near the front. Hard to see him giving that fully away and missing the board.Best Longshot Contender:None projected, though 12-1 ML offering WHAT SAY THEE has handled the course and responded to the equipment change last out.​Sending it in ($100 bankroll):Confident top tab, not so much for the underneath runners. Turn to a $100 daily double DRESDEN ROW to Race 11 Gallorette Stakes pick #2 RIBALTAGAI, one of my key plays on the Saturday card.

Preakness Stakes week kicks off on Thursday afternoon at Laurel Park where they have a 9-race card that gets started at 12PM eastern. The Preakness will be run at Laurel for the first time since 1908 due to construction at Pimlico, so it should be a great chance if you have not yet done so to get familiar with a racetrack that will have a quicker run into the first turn for the second level of the Triple Crown and a bit shorter stretch than we are accustomed to. Here are a few horses I am most interested in to kick off the 3-day Preakness weekend.Race 5:This open $20k claimer at one-mile over the grass kicks off the late Pick 5 where I like the chances of #8 Barnstorming. The son of Quality Road was claimed by trainer Bruce Brown at Saratoga last summer. Brown raised the 6YO gelding up in class once at Saratoga where he won at 22-1 before heading to the sidelines for over 6 months. Brown brought him back on the main track at Aqueduct, which did not go well, but he moved Barnstorming back to the grass in late April where he tried to win a race over this course during the middle stages with a 3-wide middle move. That run was turned away relatively easily by the eventual gate-to-wire winner, but is not the kind of trip that stands much of a chance in most turf routes. The speed looks far less underwhelming in this spot and the cutback from 9-furlongs should benefit his chances. Hopefully, jockey Mychel Sanchez gives Barnstorming a better chance in his second time aboard.Play: #8 Barnstorming (5-1 ML)Race 7:The pace should be fast and contentious in this allowance event at 6-furlongs over the main track given the presence of #2 Poor Peanut, #3 Laysen, and #6 Caseofthemondays. I am hopeful it is #1 Palacios that benefits. The son of Enticed makes his third start off the layoff after breaking slowly, making a 4-wide middle move, and understandably tiring over the final sixteenth of a mile. Trainer John Salzman Jr. should have the 3YO gelding set for his best third off the layoff in a race where he should get the right setup. If Joe Rocco Jr. can avoid losing too many lengths at the start he should be able to save ground early and have enough energy late to get by the tiring speeds and earn his third lifetime score.Play: #1 Palacios (9-2 ML)Race 9:The card concludes with this 5.5-furlong turf dash for MSW foes where I landed on #8 Clearly Sophia. The On Your Left Racing filly makes the second start of her 3YO campaign after a solid third to shake off the rust on April 10. In that similar spot over this course, the daughter of Caravaggio broke from well from the inside, but was forced to take back because she was not as fast to the front as the eventual gate-to-wire winner. In her second start off the layoff, Clearly Sophia draws more favorably to the far outside in this compact group of 8. This should give jockey Raul Mena the ability to play the break and base his tactics on the runners to his inside. The Michael Gorham trainee should get a stress free trip early, which should allow her to finish the deal late for the first time in her career at what appears to be a playable price based on the morning line.Play: #8 Clearly Sophia (5-1 ML)

PREAKNESS STAKES1/ST Preakness Wager Guide | daily updates | free access SCHEDULE NOTESDelaware Park | opening day | first post 12:20 pm ETNOTABLE CARRYOVERSJackpot Pick 6 | $32,090 | Thistledown | begins Race 3 | 1:50 pm ETKEY RACESHorseshoe Indianapolis | Race 7 | 5:16 pm ET | Onesmoothoperator HandicapHorseshoe Indianapolis | Race 8 | 5:47 pm ET | Cleopatra HandicapHorseshoe Indianapolis | Race 9 | 6:18 pm ET | Corningstone HandicapLONGSHOT RACE ALERT FROM BETMIXDelaware Park | Race 5 | 2:28 pm ETThistledown | Race 5 | 2:50 pm ETHorseshoe Indianapolis | Race 8 | 5:47 pm ETTRAINERS TO WATCHJamie Ness | Delaware Park | all 4 entrants 4-1 or less oddsDID YOU SEE?Yesterday | Thistledown | favorites went 1-for-8 on the cardPUT US ON YOUR HANDICAPPING TEAMFrank Carulli & Brian W. Spencer best bets today in Xpressbet.com member’s section

PREAKNESS STAKES1/ST Preakness Wager Guide | daily updates | free access NOTABLE CARRYOVERSJackpot Pick 5 | $144,686 | Parx | begins Race 1 | 12:40 pm ETLONGSHOT RACE ALERT FROM BETMIXParx | Race 6 | 2:56 pm ETThistledown | Race 6 | 3:20 pm ETHorseshoe Indianapolis | Race 5 | 4:14 pm ETTRAINERS TO WATCHRobert Gorham| Horseshoe Indianapolis | 3 of 4 entrants 9-2 or less oddsDID YOU SEE?Yesterday | Laurel | Preakness Day Saturday card drawn; 14 in main eventPUT US ON YOUR HANDICAPPING TEAMFrank Carulli & Brian W. Spencer best bets today in Xpressbet.com member’s section

A capacity Preakness field of 14 entered today for Satuday’s middle jewel of the Triple Crown, which will be run for the first time in its 151 years at Laurel Park. As historic Pimlico undergoes reconstruction, the Preakness field also will get a facelift compared to the runners who starred 2 weeks ago in the Kentucky Derby. Without Golden Tempo and Renegade, the 1-2 finishers from Louisville, Gotham Stakes winner #9 Iron Honor was bestowed with tepid 9-2 morning-line Preakness favoritism.Check out the 1/ST Preakness Wager Guide for all your handicapping needs leading up to a huge weekend in Maryland. Play with 1/ST BET and Xpressbet in our $20,000 Exacta-Thon on Friday and Saturday for your share of bonus cash. And take part in an up to $10 money-back special on win bets that finish second or third in the Preakness as well as Friday’s Black-Eyed Susan Stakes for the fillies.The 1-3/16 miles Preakness will start much closer to the first turn than at Pimlico, given Laurel’s nearly 1-1/8 miles circumference. That, and the large field size, make post positions more of a premium this year than most. The post-position draw winner was local star Taj Mahal from post 1, despite his trainer's reservations in the post-draw quotes. The early speed players from posts 10-14 could find their assignments tougher due to wide draws and a need to expend more early energy to avoid ground loss. Favorite Iron Honor in post #9 could have several runners trying to cross his face in the initial strides, making Flavien Prat’s handling a key early point in the action. Incredibolt, in post #12, is the lone closer / stalker among that wider-drawn group and likely will be patiently handled out of the gate to drop over and save whatever ground he can in the early stages.The early pace of Preakness 151 figures to be highly contested. The pacemaker could be Napoleon Solo who leaves from post #10 or Taj Mahal from post #1. Others expected to show early interest and capable of leading with some extra rider intent include Chip Honcho (post #6), Pretty Boy Miah (post #14), Corona de Oro (post #11), Great White (post #13) and Robusta (post #4). The last of those, Robusta, got the obvious best of the draw if he’s good enough to capitalize on it.Fields for all races Friday and Saturday at Laurel Park are now set. Advance wagering on the complete Preakness Day Saturday card at Laurel Park will be available Friday at 1/ST BET and Xpressbet.Preakness Stakes 151 | Laurel Park | Saturday Race 13 | 7:01 pm ET1-Taj Mahal (Brittany Russell / Sheldon Russell) 5-12-Ocelli (Whit Beckman / Tyler Gaffalione) 6-13-Crupper (Donnie Von Hemel / Junior Alvarado) 30-14-Robusta (Doug O’Neill / Rafael Bejarano) 30-15-Talkin (Danny Gargan / Irad Ortiz Jr.) 20-16-Chip Honcho (Steve Asmussen / Jose Ortiz) 5-17-The Hell We Did (Todd Fincher / Luis Saez) 15-18-Bull by the Horns (Saffie Joseph Jr. / Micah Husbands) 30-19-Iron Honor (Chad Brown / Flavien Prat) 9-210-Napoleon Solo (Chad Summers / Paco Lopez) 8-111-Corona de Oro (Dallas Stewart / John Velazquez) 30-112-Incredibolt (Riley Mott / Jaime Torres) 5-113-Great White (John Ennis / Alex Achard) 15-114-Pretty Boy Miah (Jeremiah Englehart / Ricardo Santana Jr.) 15-1Special WagersTwo-Day All-Dirt Pick 5 will be:Leg 1 | Friday, Race 10 | Allaire Dupont Distaff S.Leg 2 | Friday, Race 12 | Pimlico Special S.Leg 3 | Saturday, Race 7 | Chick Lang S.Leg 4 | Saturday, Race 8 | MD Sprint S.Leg 5 | Saturday, Race 13 | Preakness S.Two-Day All-Stakes Pick 5 will be:Leg 1 | Friday, Race 11 | The Very One S.Leg 2 | Friday, Race 13 | Black-Eyed Susan S.Leg 3 | Saturday, Race 11 | Gallorette S.Leg 4 | Saturday, Race 12 | Jim McKay Turf Sprint S.Leg 5 | Saturday, Race 13 | Preakness S.