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Louisiana Downs Picks & Predictions — September 19, 2026
It's a scorcher at Louisiana Downs today — clear skies and 95°F on the thermometer, which means the dirt is going to be lightning-fast and the turf could play firm as a drumhead by the later races. Eight races are on the board, and this card punches well above its weight with five stakes races spread across the afternoon. Bring water. Bring your A-game.
The headliners are hard to ignore. Six String opens as a heavy 2/5 favorite in Race 3, but there's real intrigue deeper in the card — including a pair of back-to-back stakes at 5½ furlongs on the dirt and two turf routes that could deliver some serious price horses. Our TrackWiz ratings tell an interesting story across the card, and not every chalk deserves your money at face value.
Three races are free to all TrackWiz readers today. The premium card — five stakes races with full pace projections, exotic tickets, and multi-race wager strategies — is available to subscribers. Here's what we've got.
Best Bets
Race 1
Allowance · 5 fur · Turf
A short-field turf sprint where our ratings reveal a clear top-end standout above the morning-line favorite — expect the public to lean on the chalk, but the numbers tell a different story.
Wannawholelottaluv (6) tops our TrackWiz ratings at 88.83 — the highest mark in the field and a meaningful gap over anyone else. Trainer Jonathan Wong sends her out at 9/5 on the morning line, which actually feels light given how dominant her rating profile is at this 5-furlong turf distance. She's hit the board in nearly a quarter of her career starts, and on a short sprint where early position matters, her avg speed figure of 56 ties for best in the field. This is our best bet of the opener.
Lee Circle (1) is the most interesting horse in the race from a value standpoint — listed at 6/1 on the morning line but sporting a TrackWiz rating of 80.02 and a jaw-dropping 50% career win rate. Trainer Anthony Arey has this one sitting quietly on the rail, and at that price, she's a strong place candidate who could easily outrun her odds.
Windy Ice (5) rounds out our ticket at 8/1 with a solid 71.71 rating — third-best in the field — under Emanuel Nieves for trainer Danny Pish. She's a logical show play who gives you coverage against the top two, and at 8/1 she adds real value to exacta and trifecta combinations.
Race 2
Maiden Special Weight · 6 fur · Dirt
A maiden special weight dirt sprint with an unblemished field — nobody has won before, which makes trainer patterns and workout profiles the primary handicapping tools in a genuinely wide-open opener for these youngsters.
Star Heiress (4) earns our top rating in the field at 59.67 and is the morning-line favorite at 6/5, backed by trainer Shane Wilson who also saddles the #1 entry. Harry Hernandez gets the call, a strong jockey-trainer combo that inspires confidence. Her avg speed of 54 matches the top tier in this field, and in a maiden race where consistency and connections matter, she's the one to beat.
Pink Angel (3) comes in at 3/1 with a 56.67 TrackWiz rating — just a tick below Star Heiress but close enough to make her a genuine threat to steal the win. Trainer Joseph M. Foster also runs Quick Link in this field, suggesting confidence in the barn, and Emanuel Nieves is a capable pilot who can get her into position early in a 6-furlong dirt sprint.
Pound of Music (1) sits at 7/2 on the morning line with a 55.83 rating — nearly identical to the place pick — and Alexander Castillo is a solid choice in the irons. Shane Wilson trains both #1 and #4, so there's obvious stable depth here, and at 7/2 Pound of Music is a natural show play to round out trifecta tickets.
Race 3
Stakes · 6 fur · Dirt
A short-field stakes sprint on dirt that looks like a near-lock at the top but features a legitimate secondary battle for the place and show spots worth targeting in exotics.
Six String (1) is the clear class of this field with a 90.00 TrackWiz rating — the highest mark we've seen on today's card — and goes postward as a deserving 2/5 morning-line favorite. He's won 44% of his career starts, an exceptional clip in a stakes environment, and his avg speed of 56 matches the top tier. Timothy Thornton gets the mount for trainer Allen Landry, a sharp local combo. At short odds, the play here is to use him confidently in exotics rather than chasing a modest win-bet return.
Gangster Flash (2) is genuinely fascinating — a 66% career win rate is the highest in this field, and his TrackWiz rating of 75.57 makes him the clear second-best horse by our metrics. Jansen Melancon is one of the better riders in this circuit, and at 5/2 on the morning line, he offers real value as a place pick and an essential piece in exacta combinations underneath Six String.
Mo for Us (5) brings a 30% career win rate and a 66.17 rating to the table for trainer Steven M. Asmussen — one of the most accomplished conditioners in the country. Alexander Castillo handles the riding duties, and at 5/1, Mo for Us is a logical show play who gives your trifecta tickets solid bottom-end coverage.
The free portion of today's card opens on the turf and quickly shifts to the dirt, giving us a nice cross-surface sample. Wannawholelottaluv tops our ratings in Race 1 at an 88.83 — the best mark of the three free races — and draws our attention on a turf course that figures to be playing quick in this heat. Speed players, take note: pace scenarios on a firm turf tend to reward horses that can settle and close, and our analysis lines up well here.
Race 2 brings an open maiden field to six furlongs on the dirt, where Star Heiress is the 6/5 morning-line choice. Maiden races are inherently the most unpredictable events on any card, and her 59.67 TrackWiz rating reflects some legit uncertainty — bet accordingly. Then comes the marquee freebie: Race 3, where Six String posts a 90.00 rating and a 2/5 morning line that screams 'probable single in your multi-race wagers.' When a horse earns a 90 on our model, we don't fight it — we ask how to best use it.
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Bottom line: Louisiana Downs is putting on a real card today. Six String is the anchor of the free slate and a probable single for multi-race players. The premium races offer genuine betting opportunities, especially if Star of Bethlehem at 6/1 fits your pace scenario the way our model suggests she might. Full analysis, exotic tickets, and pace projections are waiting for subscribers — check out /pricing to get in on the complete picture before post time.