Fresno Fair horse racing | Best bets for Thursday, Oct. 5 | Fresno Bee

Bee editors and horse players Kenny Lewis and Dave Cooper are going head-to-head with a bankroll battle during The Big Fresno Fair, which starts its nine-day racing schedule Thursday. Each starts with a hypothetical $500.

Each day, Kenny and Dave will serve up their favorite bet with some lively banter.

Exacta Kenny says

Let’s kick off the meet the right way with a winner in Race 4, a 5 1/2 -furlong dash for low-level claimers. It’s a contentious race with four or five that have a legit shot to get their photo taken. No. 7 Ihearditallbefore offers juicy value at 9-2, as the 4-year-old has run several strong races since trying the dirt this summer. 4 of 9 at this distance, he should stalk and pounce from a nice outside post.

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The bet: $50 to win on No. 7. Let’s double down by keying the 7 on top of a $10 exacta, with the 1/6/8 underneath.

Note to Dave: Hope you have some water nearby because you’ll be choking on my dust right from the start. Or maybe something stronger if I hit the exacta, too.

Dimer Dave says

Today: Let’s go to Race 5, a $2,500 claimer for 3-year-olds and up. I land on the favorite, No. 6, Wise Tale at 2-1 on the morning line and under the stewardship of a top trainer in Jonathan Wong. Counting on an apprentice jockey in Edgar Velasco could be a mistake, but I like saving the 7 to 11 additional pounds every other horse will be lugging for 5 furlongs.

The bet: $10 across to win, place and/or show ($30) on No. 6. Spice it up, if you’re feeling a little frisky on opening day, with a variety of horses to finish second through fourth and complete the 10-cent superfecta (picking the top four finishers in a race). How can you not like Cinco de Mario, at 15-1, to get into the mix on Oct. 5? Throw in the 3, 4, 7 and 9, as well.

Note to Kenny: Like that purposely vague superfecta wager? If I win, I’ll show you how I constructed the ticket. If I lose, I didn’t make it to the window in time.

This story was originally published October 04, 2017 12:38 PM.