Ajax Downs Picks & Predictions — May 27, 2026
Happy Wednesday at Ajax Downs. Clear skies and a comfortable 71°F greet us today, which means a fast, consistent dirt surface and no weather excuses — these sprinters will have to earn it on pure ability. We've got a 7-race card packed with quarter-horse action, ranging from 110-yard blink-and-you-miss-it dashes all the way out to 300-yard tests of speed and class.
The mix of Speed Index races, Maidens, and Allowance spots gives us plenty of angles to work with. Speed Index races — for those newer to the format — use timed performances to group horses of similar ability, which tends to produce tight, competitive fields. That means value can hide in plain sight if you know where to look. Today's card has a little bit of everything, and our TrackWiz ratings are pointing to some sharp plays up and down the card.
Best Bets
Race 1
Speed Index Race · 250 yd · Dirt
A clear top selection towers over the field in this 250-yard opener, but the second and third choices are tightly bunched and could make for an interesting exacta battle.
Runawey Perry is the standout of this field and it's not particularly close — a TrackWiz rating of 89.12 is more than 32 points clear of the next-best horse. Trainer Bob Broadstock sends this one out with a 28% career win rate backing the horse, which is a strong foundation for a short-field sprint like this. At 8/5 on the morning line, the price reflects the form, but in a 250-yard dash where raw talent explodes quickly, that kind of rating edge is hard to bet against. This is your best bet in Race 1.
Run Away Sugarman (No. 1, 5/2) is the second-highest-rated horse in the field at 57.07, which is a comfortable step above Fire Hot Stuff. Trainer Corey Illman and jockey Corry Beland team up here with a horse sitting at a fair morning-line price. With only 4% career wins noted, this one profiles more as a place-and-show type than an outright winner — exactly the role we're asking it to fill.
Fire Hot Stuff (No. 3, 2/1) carries a 54.96 rating and is trained by Jason Pascoe with Cristian Benitez in the irons — a pairing worth noting at Ajax Downs. The morning line of 2/1 makes this one of the shorter prices in the field despite being the show pick, so it's not a value play, but it provides a solid safety net in trifecta coverage if Runawey Perry romps and the second and third slots get sorted out behind.
Race 2
Speed Index Race · 250 yd · Dirt
Relentless Betty brings the top rating and a jaw-dropping win percentage, but this six-horse field has enough rating spread to make the exacta and trifecta pools interesting.
Relentless Betty is the easy top selection here — a 87.08 TrackWiz rating combined with a 46% career win rate is a genuinely elite profile for this level. Trainer James Bogar already has a second runner in this race in Fishin for Coronas, which speaks to his confidence in the conditions. At 3/1 on the morning line, there's still a bit of juice here — a nearly 50% win rate doesn't come up against these conditions every day. Relentless Betty is our Race 2 best bet.
Ivory Queen (No. 4, 5/2) is second in the TrackWiz ratings at 79.04 and brings a 21% career win rate under trainer Jason Pascoe and jockey Cristian Benitez. That Pascoe-Benitez combo is active throughout tonight's card, and their familiarity with Ajax Downs conditions is a plus. The 5/2 morning line feels tight for a place pick, but the rating separation from the mid-field horses is clear enough to trust this one to hit the board.
Fishin for Coronas (No. 1, 15/1) is an interesting inclusion here — despite the long morning-line price, this horse carries a 69.58 rating and a 25% career win rate, both of which are respectable. Trainer James Bogar stables this one alongside the race's top pick, so there's house confidence in the form. In a six-horse field where the favorites could battle each other, Fishin for Coronas at a big price makes for a very attractive trifecta leg.
Race 3
Maiden · 300 yd · Dirt
A wide-open maiden field at 300 yards with all first-time winners — this is a form student's puzzle, and the TrackWiz ratings tell a story the morning line only partially agrees with.
Louie B Gone (No. 6, 7/2) tops the TrackWiz ratings in this maiden field with an 86.35, which is a significant gap over the second-rated Twice the Rush at 77.92. Trainer Bob Broadstock puts Ramiro Sanchez Castillo in the irons — the same rider-trainer combo aboard tonight's Race 1 top pick — so there's a recognizable pattern of confidence here. The morning line at 7/2 is fair value for the top-rated horse in an all-maiden sprint, and in a 300-yard race where raw ability is everything, that rating edge matters. Don't overthink this one.
Twice the Rush (No. 4, 3/1) carries a solid 77.92 rating under trainer Chantelle Bourgeois and jockey Cristian Benitez. Bourgeois has two runners in this field, which suggests she's confident in track conditions tonight. At 3/1 on the morning line, this horse is priced like a contender rather than a place play, which gives some exacta value if Louie B Gone leads the way.
Suit Up (No. 2, 5/1) rounds out the top three in the TrackWiz ratings at 72.24, giving trainer Scott Reid and jockey D I Benitez a legitimate contender at a price. The gap between Suit Up and the bottom two horses in this field — Stonecutter Form at 36.67 and Tragically Ripped at 31.88 — is large enough to feel confident in this one's board position. A 5/1 morning-line show horse is a nice trifecta anchor.
We're giving away full breakdowns on the first three races today, and they set the tone nicely. Runawey Perry opens the card as our top-rated horse of the day at 89.12 — the highest mark on the entire card — and goes postward at a juicy 8/5 morning line in Race 1's 250-yard Speed Index sprint. In Race 2, Relentless Betty (87.08 rating, 3/1 ML) gives us another strong number in what figures to be a closely-matched Speed Index field. Then Race 3 stretches to 300 yards for a Maiden event where Louie B Gone (86.35, 7/2 ML) stands out from a group of first-timers and lightly-raced runners.
The common thread across these three free races: our ratings favor horses with legitimate speed numbers on a day when the fast, dry Ajax dirt should reward front-runners. If you see early pace dominating in Races 1 and 2, file that away — it could matter in the longer 300-yard spots later on the card.
Full Card Analysis
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Today's best bets start with Runawey Perry in Race 1 — our highest-rated horse on the card — and Relentless Betty and Louie B Gone rounding out the free-race card. For the full picture on Races 4–7, including pace projections and exotic plays, subscribers have everything they need waiting in the premium breakdown. Good luck out there, and as always — bet smart, bet within your means, and enjoy the action.