Saturday's Best Bet: Sharp Starr plays main role in Barbara Fritchie

Saturday's 7th race from Laurel Park is the Grade 3 Barbara Fritchie Stakes for fillies and mares traveling seven furlongs on the main track (Post Time 3:23 p.m. ET).

#1 SHARP STARR (3-1) can win this race if #3 Dontletsweetfoolya (7-2) and #8 Hello Beautiful (8-5) mix it up on the lead. My tactical top choice is a sharp New York-bred filly exiting a clear runner-up finish in a four-horse field in the mud at this distance. She won the Go for Wand (G3) before that and fits nicely at this level and distance.

Wagers:

#1 to win

Exacta 1/3-8

Exacta 3-8/1

Recent Best Bet Winners

Feb. 2 - PADDOCK PICK ($4.80), Trifecta ($149.40)
Feb. 5 - Earls Rock/Beer Can Man Exacta ($23.40)
Feb. 6 - HIT THE ROAD ($8.20), Exacta ($24.60), Trifecta ($111.00)
Feb. 9 - BIG BARREL ($4.60), Quinella ($16.00)
Feb. 10 - QUEEN OF THE GREEN ($10.60), Exacta ($51.00)

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.