Friday's Best Bet: No Word takes command in Bryan Station

Friday's 3rd race from Keeneland is the $150,000 Bryan Station Stakes for 3-year-olds traveling a mile and an eighth on the turf course (Post Time 12:40 p.m. ET).

Tough race with many contenders. #2 NO WORD (5-1) is slowly improving for Todd Pletcher and is a strong competitor between nine furlongs and a mile and a quarter. I like his tactical speed and his late pace ratings improved nicely in his last two stakes tries. He drew well and this is his winning distance.

#1 Enforceable (10-1) switches surfaces and he has the dirt class to win this. The LeComte (G3) winner placed in a couple of other graded dirt routes and his full brother Kingly won the La Jolla Handicap (G3) on turf at Del Mar last year.

#8 Vanzzy (15-1) does not like give in the ground so his last two losses can be forgiven. He was strong on firm turf in the Jersey Derby and is a tactical threat if he gets his preferred footing.

#13 Don Juan Kitten (6-1) is a quality turf miler trying to stretch his speed another furlong. Prat takes the call and there aren’t many better turf riders in this country.

#14 Bye Bye Melvin (8-1) finished 1st or 2nd in five of his last six turf starts, and he won three of those. He stalked wide and handled an outer post in a near-miss in the James Murphy Oct 3, and was up by a head in the Saranac (G3) Aug. 29. He wore blinkers in both of those races and handles any turf footing.  

Wagers:

#2 to win

Exacta 2/1-8-13-14

Exacta 1-8-13-14/2

Trifecta 2/ALL/1

Recent Best Bet Winners

Oct. 28 - MIRROR IMAGE ($5.60)
Nov. 1 - STEPHEN ($6.30)
Nov. 3 - POPIZAR ($19.00), Trifecta ($66.30)

Playing the horses can be a rewarding but tough game. Exacta, trifectas, superfectas, Pick 4s, Pick 5s -- there are so many wagers to play, it can get overly confusing. How do you know how much to play or which wagers to try? Unfortunately, part of the learning process can include losing money. But we would like to help you shortcut that process by learning some of the most common mistakes that horseplayers make on a daily basis. Take a look at Horse Racing Nation’s newest eBook -- “Top 10 Mistakes Horseplayers Make” -- and see if it helps you avoid some common mistakes and win more playing the races!