Louisiana Downs Picks & Predictions — May 25, 2026
Happy Memorial Day Monday at Louisiana Downs, where a 7-race card is on tap under partly cloudy skies and a warm 85°F. Conditions are comfortable enough that heat shouldn't be a major factor, but keep an eye on the turf — three of today's seven races are run on the grass, and any lingering moisture from recent days can shift pace scenarios in a hurry.
It's a mixed bag of conditions today: Starter Optional Claiming, a pair of Maidens, Allowance Optional Claiming, a Ratings Handicap, and two straight Claiming races spread across dirt and turf. That variety is exactly what makes a card like this fun to attack — different class levels, different surfaces, different pace dynamics. Plenty of spots where sharp bettors can find an edge.
TrackWiz has full analysis on all seven races. Three races are free for everyone, with four more in our premium full-card breakdown for subscribers.
Best Bets
Race 1
Starter Optional Claiming · 7 fur · Dirt
Two Jet looks like the class of this Starter Optional Claiming field at 7 furlongs, but Pip Squeek and Clever Race have enough rating points to keep the exacta interesting.
Two Jet is the top-rated horse in this field at 89.27 and draws the morning line favorite nod at 3/2 for a reason — a 23% career win rate combined with an average speed figure of 55 puts him a cut above most of this group. Trainer Eric Ramaekers hands the reins to Javier Antonio Hernandez, and that combination will want to establish a pace advantage over 7 furlongs of Louisiana Downs dirt. At the morning line, the price isn't generous, but the TrackWiz rating separation here is real and hard to ignore.
Pip Squeek carries an 83.1 TrackWiz rating and a 19% career win percentage, which makes the 5/2 morning line feel about right for a horse that profiles as a strong place threat. Harry Hernandez gets the call, and his mount's average speed figure of 55 ties Two Jet at the top of the field — if the favorite hits any trouble in running, Pip Squeek is right there to pounce. He's the safest play underneath.
Clever Race at 6/1 is an intriguing show option — an 80.09 rating and a 21% career win percentage suggest a horse that can hold his own in this spot without being hyped by the morning line. Jose Nava-Marin has a feel for the Louisiana Downs circuit, and the value here makes Clever Race a legitimate exotic piece. If pace heats up early, this horse could be running into a soft spot late.
Race 2
Claiming · 1 mi 70 yd · Dirt
The morning line favorite and the TrackWiz top-rated horse don't match up in this Claiming mile-plus test, setting up a potential overlay situation with Blazing Saber sitting just above Path to Success in the ratings.
Blazing Saber heads our TrackWiz analysis as the top-rated horse in this field at 84.17, yet the morning line has him at 5/1 — that's a meaningful gap worth exploiting. His 23% career win rate is among the best in the field, and trainer Pedro Rodriguez-Torres with Jose Nava-Marin aboard is a combo that knows how to set horses up around a two-turn trip. At a mile and 70 yards on the dirt, a horse with consistent speed figures and a winning pedigree should be right in the thick of it.
Path to Success opens as the 7/5 morning line favorite, and while his 82.61 TrackWiz rating is strong, it does trail Blazing Saber's — making this a case where the public may be slightly overrating him. That said, a 13% career win percentage in a two-turn route suggests he's competitive enough to sit in the money, and trainer Jonathan Wong with Isaac Castillo is a sharp combination on this circuit. He's a safe place play but likely cap him underneath.
Mo Hope is the sneaky show option here at 9/2 — he carries the highest average speed figure in the field at 53 and a 55.02 TrackWiz rating that puts him third overall. Trainer Veronica Davis with Luis A. Huaman gives him a capable team, and for exotic players looking to round out trifectas, a horse with elite raw speed in a routing trip can show up big even at a modest price.
Race 3
Maiden Claiming · 7 1/2 fur · Turf
A wide-open maiden claiming field on the turf at 7.5 furlongs — every horse is winless, making the TrackWiz ratings the clearest separator in what could be an unpredictable affair.
Lookatthatgirlrun carries a perfect 90 TrackWiz rating — the ceiling score in this field — and opens as the even-money morning line favorite, which tells you the connections are confident. Trainer Ronnie E. Cravens III goes right back to the turf with Carlos Lozada, and with an average speed figure of 52 matching several rivals, the edge here is in the overall rating profile. In a field of winless maidens, the horse with the top number is usually a good place to start, and this one has the backing to match.
Jetties sits just off the top at a 71.02 rating and is the second choice on the morning line at 7/2 for trainer Jonathan Wong, who also saddles Well Received in this race — a dual-entry barn that knows its horses' form well. Isaac Castillo takes the mount, and the 7/2 price offers genuine value for a horse whose rating puts him comfortably ahead of the mid-field pack. He's a strong contender to hit the board.
Open Flame at 6/1 rounds out our top three with a 70.02 TrackWiz rating that's virtually identical to Jetties, making the morning line price on trainer J. Luis Garcia's runner look like a slight overlay. Juan P. Vargas gets the call, and at 7.5 furlongs on the turf, a closer-type who can find running room late is exactly what you want in the show spot. Include him in your exotics.
The first three races on today's card are open to all TrackWiz readers, and there's real meat here. Two Jet opens the card in a 7-furlong Starter Optional Claiming spot on dirt — rated 89.27, morning line 3/2, and the kind of number that commands respect at that price. Race 2 stretches out to a mile and 70 yards on dirt, where Blazing Saber lands as our top choice at a generous 5/1 morning line — a pace scenario we think sets up well for a closer once the early speed battles itself.
Race 3 moves us to the turf for a 7½-furlong Maiden Claiming, and Lookatthatgirlrun — yes, that's the name, and yes, she can back it up — comes in rated 90 at even money. On a warm, dry afternoon, the turf course should be playing fair and fast, which suits the pace profile we've mapped out for her. Three free races, three horses we genuinely like. That's a solid starting point for any bankroll today.
Full Card Analysis
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Bottom line: Two Jet, Blazing Saber, and Lookatthatgirlrun headline a strong free card, and there's plenty more to dig into on the premium side — including a juicy longshot angle in Race 5 and pace setups we like in the Ratings Handicap. Unlock the full card breakdown with a TrackWiz subscription at /pricing and make every race count today at Louisiana Downs. Good luck out there.