Evangeline Picks & Predictions — June 27, 2026
It's a scorcher out at Evangeline Downs today — clear skies and 90°F on the thermometer, which means the dirt strip should be playing fast and firm all afternoon. Nine races are on the card, mixing claiming routes, maiden sprints, and an Allowance Optional Claiming turf dash that figures to draw some of the sharpest horses on the grounds.
The card leans heavily on turf with four grass races sprinkled across the afternoon, so keep an eye on any late surface changes — when temperatures spike like this in Louisiana, the turf can get firm in a hurry, and that can completely flip a pace scenario. TrackWiz analysis has flagged several horses today whose best figures came on firm going, so conditions are very much working in our favor.
Three races are open to all readers, and six carry our full premium breakdown. Whether you're playing a few exactas or building a multi-race sequence, there's plenty to dig into today.
Best Bets
Race 1
Claiming · 7 1/2 fur · Turf
A wide-open turf claimer at 7½ furlongs where the TrackWiz model finds a clear top rating but the morning line tells a very different story — value hunters, take note.
Same Play (No. 9) carries a dominant TrackWiz rating of 87.08, the highest in the field by a comfortable margin, and Jamison Mudd gets the call from the saddle. Trainer Jerry Delhomme sends this one out at a 3/1 morning line that looks like a gift given the model separation. At 7½ furlongs on the turf, pace scenarios tend to reward horses that travel kindly and finish — Same Play profiles as exactly that kind of runner.
Skenes Crews (No. 3) is an eye-catcher with a 50% career win rate — that's not a stat you see every day in a field like this. Jansen Melancon takes the mount for trainer Allen Landry, a solid local combo, and the 65.36 rating ranks second in the race. At 6/1 on the morning line, there's genuine place value here.
Single Shot (No. 6) presents one of the more intriguing contradictions on the card — a 64.58 TrackWiz rating that slots third in the field, yet the morning line sits all the way out at 12/1. Career win percentage of just 6% explains some of the public skepticism, but in exotic tickets the rating alone makes Single Shot worth including as a live show option.
Race 2
Claiming · 6 1/2 fur · Dirt
Three horses bunched near the top of the TrackWiz ratings make this 6½-furlong dirt claimer a genuine battle, with the pace likely to be honest and the outcome far from predetermined.
Little Bit O Storm (No. 3) posts the field's top rating at 86.35 and goes postward at a fair 7/2 morning line under Elio J. Barrera for trainer Joe O. Duhon. Duhon is an Evangeline barn worth watching, and Barrera is one of the more active and effective riders on the circuit. The average speed figure of 53 is competitive in this field, and the model likes this horse's overall profile at 6½ furlongs on the dirt.
R G Goldendream (No. 8) brings the best career win percentage in the race at 25% — a figure that screams consistent competitiveness. C.J. McMahon takes the mount for trainer Gary J. Husak, and the 84.96 rating is just a tick behind our top selection. The 54 average speed figure actually leads the field, making this horse a legitimate threat to grab the win and a near-lock for the place.
Ry Ry (No. 4) rates third at 82.29 and comes in as the public's 5/2 morning-line favorite, suggesting the crowd isn't far off from the model here. Trainer Brett A. Brinkman teams with Thomas L. Pompell, and the 12% career win rate shows this horse has broken its maiden before — always reassuring in a claiming field. A tight top three makes show tickets built around these three an attractive option.
Race 3
Maiden Claiming · 1 mi · Turf
Maidens going a mile on the turf are always a puzzle, but one horse stands well clear of the field on the TrackWiz ratings scale — the question is whether the price holds up.
Struck Out (No. 6) tops the field with an 87.81 rating and is the public's 5/2 morning-line choice — Jamison Mudd gets the assignment for trainer Emile Schwandt. In a maiden claiming field where every runner is looking for a first career win, the model separation here is meaningful. The 51 average speed figure is modest, but in a maiden turf route, running style and ground-saving trips often matter more than raw figures.
Smarty's Back (No. 3) rates second at 72.63 for trainer Edith A. Mojica, who saddles Thomas L. Pompell. The 5/1 morning line represents solid place value for a horse with a genuine shot to land second money in this field. At a mile on the turf, pace setup can create a wide-open scenario and Smarty's Back looks like a horse that could sit a comfortable mid-pack trip and close.
Don Pablo (No. 8) rates third overall at 66.74 under Elio J. Barrera for trainer Shelton J. Zenon, Sr., and the 7/2 morning line keeps this one near the top of the betting board. The 53 average speed figure is among the better in the field, and Barrera's ability to navigate a turf route of 10 horses is a real asset. A strong exotic play for show coverage in what figures to be a multi-horse finish.
Our free picks today cover the first three races on the card and they span both surfaces, giving you a nice early read on how the track is playing. In Race 1, Same Play (morning line 3/1) tops our ratings at 87.08 on the turf at 7½ furlongs — a distance that tends to sort out the field nicely and rewards horses that can rate off the pace. Race 2 shifts to dirt for a 6½-furlong claiming sprint where Little Bit O Storm (7/2 ML, 86.35 rating) profiles as the most versatile speed horse in a pace scenario that could get contentious early.
Race 3 is the one that has us most intrigued among the free plays — a maiden claiming mile on the turf where Struck Out lands at the top of our ratings (87.81) despite a fair morning line of 5/2. Maiden turf routes at a mile are prime hunting grounds for value, and Struck Out's profile fits the profile of a horse ready to graduate. These three races set up nicely as a sequence if you're building Pick 3 tickets early in the card.
Full Card Analysis
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Bottom line: Evangeline is putting on a full nine-race show today under clear Louisiana skies, and TrackWiz has you covered from the jump. Same Play, Little Bit O Storm, and Struck Out are your free best bets to start the afternoon, with Im Singled Up as our highest-rated horse on the card in the premium races. The full breakdown — pace projections, exotic tickets, and all nine races — is waiting for subscribers. Good luck out there, and let's cash some tickets.