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Will Rogers Picks & Predictions — September 29, 2026
Will Rogers Downs serves up a full 10-race card on Tuesday, September 29, and the conditions are about as cooperative as you could ask for in late September — cloudy skies and a comfortable 80°F keeping things neutral on the dirt. No weather excuses today; it comes down to pure ability and execution.
This is a quintessential quarter horse program, with distances ranging from a blistering 250 yards all the way out to 870 yards, so pace scenarios shift dramatically from race to race. That variety is what makes a card like this fun — the strategy you apply in Race 1 at 300 yards looks nothing like what you're doing in Race 2 at 870 yards. Stay sharp and adjust.
We've got 10 races breaking down across allowances, claiming events, and maiden fields — a solid mix that gives both casual bettors and serious players plenty of angles to work with. Three races are open to all TrackWiz readers, with the full card available to subscribers.
Best Bets
Race 1
Allowance · 300 yd · Dirt
One horse stands well above the field on ratings in this 300-yard allowance opener, but the morning line suggests the public may push him below true value — making pace and connections the secondary story.
Inner G draws our top rating in the field at 89.12 and is the lone horse carrying a 20% career win rate — double what most rivals can claim in this five-horse field. The 8/5 morning line reflects public respect, but that rating gap over Favorite Turnpike (79.01) and River Flower (78.93) is meaningful over a short sprint like 300 yards where ability shows up fast. Trainer Randy Chavez sends him out with Erik N. Esqueda in the irons, a pairing worth noting in a sprint where gate speed and early decisions matter. Our TrackWiz analysis makes Inner G the clear top selection here.
Favorite Turnpike slots in at a 79.01 rating — virtually identical to River Flower — but trainer Matt Whitekiller and jockey Cody Rodger Smith give this runner a competitive connections edge in a short field. At 3/1 on the morning line, there's legitimate place value if Inner G has any trouble, and a five-horse field at 300 yards leaves little room for chaos. He's our place anchor in any exotics structure.
River Flower comes in with a 78.93 TrackWiz rating, essentially a dead heat with Favorite Turnpike on paper, and at 2/1 morning line she's the second choice despite our third-ranked projection. Trainer Luis Villafranco and jockey Randy Vega team up here, and a 12% career win rate is respectable in this company. She rounds out the show position as a capable exacta/trifecta wheel piece at a potentially short price.
Race 2
Allowance · 870 yd · Dirt
A dominant top-rated horse faces a spread-out field in this 870-yard allowance, but the longer distance and a pair of interesting underneath prices make the exotics worth constructing carefully.
Slamdunnk tops the TrackWiz ratings at 89.12 — a significant margin over second-rated Pete Be Rowdy at 67.05 — and the 8/5 morning line confirms public agreement. What's interesting is the 870-yard distance, which is long for a quarter-horse-style card and rewards horses with not just raw speed but stamina through the stretch. Trainer Stacey L. Capps has Ronnie Huckaby in the saddle, and a 12% career win rate in a field where several rivals are sitting at 4-7% makes Slamdunnk the clear selection. Back him confidently but shop the ticket for value.
Pete Be Rowdy is the clear second choice in our model at 67.05, which is a substantial drop from the top but a meaningful gap above the rest. The 6/1 morning line is interesting — the public may be underrating him relative to his position in the ratings hierarchy, giving place bettors some overlay potential. Trainer Gary K. Walker and jockey Cordarelton J. Benn have the horse pointed at a distance that could suit a runner with some staying power.
Bp Tres Cartel at 6/1 morning line is our show pick, carrying a 53.43 rating that positions him third in our model — ahead of Eye Am Corona despite that runner's eye-catching 16% career win rate. Trainer Robert L. Esqueda (who also has Jess a Bear in this race) clearly believes in sending horses who can handle distance, and Bp Tres Cartel's rating gives him a credible shot at the board. Use him underneath in trifectas at what could be a generous price.
Race 3
Maiden Claiming · 250 yd · Dirt
A wide-open maiden claiming sprint at 250 yards with all runners at zero career wins — our model splits the field with a clear top choice, but a pair of double-digit longshots rank surprisingly high and could deliver exotic value.
Candys Pursuit tops the TrackWiz ratings in this maiden field at 81.37, and trainer Stacy Charette-Hill has Cristian R. Esqueda aboard at 4/1 on the morning line — a price that makes her legitimate win value in a wide-open maiden field. At 250 yards, this is a pure explosion race where the gate break is everything, and our model projects her with a double-digit lead over the next cluster of horses. In a field of maiden claimers with zero career wins across the board, that top rating carries extra weight.
Hawk Yea Im Fast is our place pick at 15/1 morning line — this is the value angle of the race. A 69.58 TrackWiz rating puts him second in our model, but he's buried in the morning line, likely because bettors are gravitating toward program favorites like Reds Wagon (2/1) and Teller Shes Hott (3/1). Trainer Haley N. Hobbs also runs Dead Game Zoomie in this same race, splitting attention, but Hawk Yea Im Fast's rating says he belongs on the trifecta ticket at a generous price.
Dead Game Zoomie comes in at 68.97 on our ratings scale — just a tick below stablemate Hawk Yea Im Fast — and trainer Haley N. Hobbs has Fernando Fonseca-Soto in the irons at 10/1. Running two horses in a 10-horse maiden sprint is a bold move from Hobbs, and it suggests stable confidence in this pair. Dead Game Zoomie slots in as our show pick and a key piece in multi-horse exotic plays.
Our three free previews today cover Races 1, 2, and 3, and there's a common thread worth noting: all three land on the front half of the card, giving you a foundation to build multi-race wagers from. Inner G (Race 1, 8/5 morning line) leads the way with our highest free-race rating, and we like the allowance condition as a spot where class shows up quickly over a short 300-yard dash. In Race 2, Slamdunnk gets our nod in a longer 870-yard allowance — a completely different tactical race where early speed matters a lot less and sustained run matters a lot more.
Race 3 is the most intriguing of the free trio. Candys Pursuit opens at a tempting 4/1 in a 250-yard maiden claimer — that morning line suggests the market isn't fully sold, but our rating of 81.37 points to a horse with a real shot at breaking through. Maiden claimers at short distances can be chaotic, but value like this is worth a look, especially as a part of an early Pick 3.
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Bottom line: Will Rogers delivers a fast, punchy Tuesday card with legitimate plays scattered from top to bottom. Inner G and Slamdunnk headline the free side, while the premium card features several races where our ratings diverge meaningfully from the morning line — always the most actionable situation. Check out the full analysis at TrackWiz Premium, and good luck at the windows today.