Horseshoe Indianapolis Picks & Predictions — June 23, 2026
Clear skies and 76 degrees — about as good as it gets for a Tuesday afternoon at Horseshoe Indianapolis. Conditions are ideal across both the dirt and turf surfaces today, and with nine races on the card, there's plenty of action to dig into from the jump.
The card opens with a trio of dirt sprints before pivoting to some longer routes and a pair of turf maiden affairs in the middle stretch. That surface variety is what makes today interesting — pace scenarios shift dramatically when you move from 6-furlong dirt sprints to a mile on the grass, and our analysis is tracking those differences closely.
Three races are open to all TrackWiz readers today, with another six carrying full premium breakdowns for subscribers. Whether you're playing a few tickets or hunting multi-race sequences, there's a lot to work with here.
Best Bets
Race 1
Maiden Claiming · 6 fur · Dirt
A wide-open maiden claimer where zero horses have ever won — this field is full of question marks, but the TrackWiz ratings reveal a clear tier separation at the top.
Nancy's Kitten tops the TrackWiz ratings at 84.90 — a full 11 points clear of the next best in the field — and that gap matters in a maiden race where experience is limited and raw ability carries the day. Trainer Joseph D. Davis puts Fernando De La Cruz in the irons, a purposeful booking that suggests connections mean business here. She matches the field's best average speed figure at 53, and at 9/2 on the morning line, she offers real value relative to her rating dominance. In a field this green, the horse with the clearest edge in our model is exactly who you want underneath you.
Pernicious draws the rail and owns a 73.17 TrackWiz rating — second-best in the field — making her a logical safety net behind the top pick. Hannah Leahey gets the call for trainer Jose Cazares, and the 7/2 morning line price is actually tighter than her second-place ranking might suggest. At 6 furlongs on the dirt, a gate-to-wire trip from the inside post is absolutely in play.
Lo Machar rates out at 68.26 — third in the field — giving trainer Scott D. Mullins a realistic exotics piece at a 5/1 price. Irving Moncada takes the mount and the middle-of-the-gate post gives him options early. In a wide-open maiden, a horse with a top-three rating and a double-digit morning line is exactly the kind of show hedge that pays off.
Race 2
Claiming · 6 fur · Dirt
A short claiming field where the favorite has a commanding rating advantage but legitimate class threats lurk underneath — the pace scenario at 6 furlongs on the dirt will decide whether the top choice wires them or gets run down.
Dan's Candi Girl posts an 89.12 TrackWiz rating — easily the class of this field — and backs it up with a 54 average speed figure that ties three rivals but belongs to a horse with a 12% career win rate in what has historically been a competitive barn. Trainer Gennadi Dorochenko sends her out with Joseph M. Romero up, and the 8/5 morning line reflects the public's confidence. She's the chalk for a reason, and in a six-horse field at 6 furlongs, there's nowhere to hide — if she's best, she wins.
Keen Ice Sight owns a 21% career win rate — best in the field — and matches the top horses with a 54 average speed figure, suggesting she has the raw ability to press the pace and hold on for a piece. Trainer Raymond J. Paquette III has Joseph D. Ramos in the irons, and at 3/1 she represents a strong place play if the favorite shows any vulnerability. Her win percentage is a genuine differentiator in a field where most rivals check in under 17%.
Castle Magic brings a 24% career win rate to the gate — the highest in this field — and that sustained winning habit is hard to ignore even if her 72.52 rating slots her third in our model. Trainer Daniel Simpson puts Mitchell Murrill aboard, and at 7/2 she's close enough in price to the top selections that she rounds out a manageable exacta or trifecta. A horse that wins nearly a quarter of her starts rarely runs completely empty.
Race 3
Maiden Special Weight · 6 fur · Dirt
The morning line favorite is being overlooked by our model in this maiden special weight — a legitimate longshot with the top TrackWiz rating sets up an interesting clash against the public's chalk.
Pray for Victory owns the top TrackWiz rating in the field at 69.17 — yet the morning line has her at a generous 10/1, creating real overlay value. Trainer Kenia Hernandez puts Joseph M. Romero aboard, and the 53 average speed figure is competitive in a field where speed is bunched between 52 and 54. In maiden special weight company, our model's top-rated horse at double-digit odds is exactly the kind of bet that defines value hunting — the price doesn't match the rating.
Willy's in Charge draws the rail with a 57.50 TrackWiz rating and a 54 average speed figure — both solid marks in this field — and gets the gate advantage that can be decisive at 6 furlongs on the dirt. Trainer Randy L. Klopp sends Alberto Burgos to the gate, and at 5/2 she's likely to be well-bet. The inside post in a sprint is a real asset if she breaks cleanly.
Money Monday is the morning line favorite at 8/5, with Mitchell Murrill — one of the meet's top jockeys — in the saddle for trainer Jonathan Nance. Her 56.11 TrackWiz rating is actually third in the field despite being the crowd's choice, which is why she slots as a show pick rather than the top selection. She's absolutely capable of hitting the board, and Murrill's ability to save ground from any post makes her a reliable exotics anchor.
Today's three free races — the opener, Race 2, and Race 3 — all go six furlongs on the dirt, which means pace is everything. Our top pick in Race 1, Nancy's Kitten (9/2 morning line, TrackWiz rating 84.9), offers solid value in a field where the price should hold. In Race 2, Dan's Candi Girl comes in as the 8/5 chalk and backs up that favoritism with a 89.12 TrackWiz rating — the strongest number of the free trio.
The one to watch closely is Race 3, where Pray for Victory opens at a tempting 10/1 in a Maiden Special Weight sprint. MSW races (the top non-claiming tier for horses that haven't won yet) can be wide-open affairs, and a double-digit price on a horse with a legitimate rating is the kind of spot value players circle. Worth a longer look before you write it off as a longshot.
Full Card Analysis
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It's a well-rounded nine-race card at Horseshoe Indianapolis today with beautiful weather keeping conditions honest on both surfaces. Dan's Candi Girl is our strongest free-race selection, Pray for Victory is the value flier worth a ticket, and the premium card is loaded with angles from Race 4 all the way through the sprint finale. If you want the full breakdown — pace scenarios, exotic structures, and every pick — it's all waiting for you at TrackWiz Premium. Good luck out there.