Wet Paint To Brush Aside Kentucky Oaks Opposition

Kentucky Oaks lines have value odds available and it’s always a good wagering race.

Favorite Gunning for Fourth Straight Win

Wet Paint owns four wins from six starts, including her last three in stakes company.

The 3-year-old daughter of Blame kicked off her winning streak in the Martha Washington at Oaklawn Park before winning the Honeybee and Fantasy Stakes.

Her last three wins have come at Oaklawn Park, which is a concern. However, many runners don’t have experience at Churchill Downs, so it shouldn’t be a huge problem.

She also gets a favorable draw in post seven, which pleased champion trainer Brad Cox.

“It’s a good draw. I think there’s going to be some speed in there which should benefit her,” Cox said. “We’ll see but ultimately it comes down to the trip for her. She’s one that doesn’t have much speed and has to close into what we hope will be a hot pace and hopefully she can get there.”

Kentucky Oaks betting has her favoed to win at 5-2, so bettors get a nice price in an open betting field.

Southlawn Building Nicely

It was a slow start to the career of Southlawn, who had one win from her first five starts. However, she has turned her form around with two classy wins.

The Mark Casse-trained daughter of Pioneerof the Nile ran seventh in the 2022 Pocahontas, and her Kentucky Oaks campaign looked over, but she found life at Fair Grounds.

She won at allowance level before winning the Fair Grounds Oaks at Grade II level, so she has the form on the board.

Her three runs at Churchill Downs didn’t yield a result, but having experience on the track should be seen as a positive.

“We’ve been very fortunate. She just seems to be doing really well at the right time,” Casse said. “I feel like she’s doing better now than she was going into the Fair Grounds Oaks. It’s one of those things where everything just seems to be clicking at the right time.”

She had throat surgery, whuch could have explained her early form. We wouldn’t leave Southlawn out of selections at the 8-1 price with online gambling markets.

 

Botanical Set to Bloom

Cox lines up another quality filly by the name of Botanical, who has won her last four starts at TurfwayPark.

Form from Turfway Park might not be the best, but she won the Cincinnati Trophy and Bourbonette Stakes in fine style, so those wins are encouraging.

There is solid betting confidence at the racebook for Botanical, who is currently trading at 4-1, which means she’s a good winning hope.

We rate her stablemate slightly higher, but anything can happen in the Kentucky Oaks. If she makes a fast start, her live betting odds would firm considerably. She needs clear running room, so look for jockey Chris Landeros to give her a kick out of the barriers.

Gambling Girl at Odds

It’s worth including an outsider in your Kentucky Oaks picks, so we’re putting Gambling Girl in the mix.

She has only two wins from nine starts, but she has been right around the mark in some tough races, including a second placing behind Promiseher America in the Gazelle Stakes.

The Todd Pletcher-trained filly by Dialed In also owns a third placing behind Julia Shining and Affirmative Lady in the Grade II Demoiselle Stakes at Aqueduct, which is often a good form guide for the Oaks.

Bookmakers have Gambling Girl at 15-1, so she could sneak under the radar and boost payouts.

The odds and predictions in the article are based on the time of writing and publication. They may differ as to when the actual event takes place.