Making Money Betting Lea in the Donn Handicap

Lea won the Donn Handicap (above) in 2014 and will try for a repeat victory on Saturday at Gulfstream Park. The race will be featured on The Jockey Club Tour on Fox Sports 1 telecast beginning at 5:30 p.m. ET. (Photo by Eclipse Sportswire)

The $500,000 Donn Handicap will be the feature race at Gulfstream Park on Saturday, and if you are not lucky enough to be in Florida to see this race in person, the Donn will also be showcased as part of the first The Jockey Club Tour on Fox Sports 1 broadcast of 2015.

Live coverage begins on Fox Sports 1 at 5:30 PM ET on Saturday.

Having won the 2014 edition of the Donn Handicap, Lea is the defending champion in this race. 

In 2014, Lea used the Hal’s Hope Handicap as a prep race (a race designed to prepare a horse for a more important race in the near future) directly before winning the Donn, and in 2015 Lea will be looking to replicate that successful move. Lea won the 2015 Hal’s Hope Handicap on Jan. 10 in his season debut.  It also doesn’t hurt that Lea is undefeated in three career races at Gulfstream Park, and he has a Hall of Fame trainer Bill Mott in his corner as well. 

After analyzing this race, I simply think there are too many advantages for Lea in the Donn, especially after reviewing the résumés of some of his competitors on Saturday. That being said, Lea will be your post-time favorite in the Donn Handicap, and I would like to dig a little deeper to try to create a larger wagering score in this year’s Donn, especially if we are planning on heading out to Miami Beach after the races … believe me, that place can get expensive!

Below are some of the other horses I believe will run well in the Donn Handicap, and hopefully we can pair one of these up with Lea to create a winning exacta:

#1 Constitution:  Just like Lea, Constitution also won a major race at Gulfstream last year, having captured the 2014 Florida Derby. Also similar to Lea, Constitution is undefeated in three career races at Gulfstream Park. It should also be noted that Constitution is handled by elite connections, including reigning Eclipse Award-winning trainer Todd Pletcher and Eclipse Award-winning jockey Javier Castellano. His early speed and inside post should make him a major player throughout the entire race on Saturday.

CONSTITUTION WINNING THE FLORIDA DERBY

Photo by Eclipse Sportswire

#3 East Hall: He really got it going in the second half of 2014, including victories in the Ohio Derby and Indiana Derby. He has finished in first or second in 5 of 9 races at Gulfstream Park, which is his “home track,” and has never been worse than second with jockey Luis Saez aboard. Saez will be riding East Hall again in the Donn Handicap.  If he continues to improve, East Hall could make a name for himself in the late stages of the Donn on Saturday.

#8 Protonico: This colt had a very successful season in 2014, where he captured three victories in six races. Two of those three victories in 2014 came in graded stakes races, which tells us that Protonico is capable of running well against some of the better Thoroughbreds in training. Like Constitution, Protonico comes from the barn of multiple Eclipse Award-winning trainer Todd Pletcher, and Protonico actually finished in front of Constitution when they raced against each other in the Clark Handicap at Churchill Downs on Nov. 28, 2014. Protonico has trained well since that second-place finish in the Clark Handicap and is another that I expect to make his presence felt in the late stages of the Donn Handicap.

Strategy on a $20 Budget:

$4 exacta: 4 with 1,3,8 = $12

$2 exacta: 1,3,8 with 4 = $6

WATCH THE JOCKEY CLUB TOUR ON FOX SPORTS 1