Bibiana the horse to beat at Gulfstream on Thursday

There is a nine-race card at Gulfstream Park on Thursday offering decent prize money with the lowest first prize over $10,000. The richest race is the Allowance for horses aged three and older over five furlongs at 16.36 EDT. Awsum Roar is the pick on Official Ratings and the horse to back. The Maiden Special Weight at 16.05 is a good opportunity for Envoutante. However, the banker is Bibiana in the Maiden Claiming race at 13.30.

Gulfstream is one of the most prestigious racetracks in the United States. The venue stages three Grade I races every year: the Florida Derby, Pegasus World Cup Turf and Pegasus World Cup. The latter race was the richest in the world in 2018 and 2019. Gulfstream also hosts 18 Grade II and 22 Grade III races. There is a dirt oval track over nine furlongs and a turf track over one mile. There is no discernible draw advantage, but racing prominently is a key tactic on this type of track.

The current meeting began at the end of November. The leading jockeys are:

• Irad Ortiz: 155 wins from 477 starts
• Luis Saez: 113 wins from 545 starts
• Paco Lopez: 94 wins from 510 starts

The leading trainers over the last four months are as follows:

• Todd Pletcher: 48 wins from 210 starts
• Michael Maker: 41 wins from 196 starts
• Saffie Joseph: 38 wins from 148 starts

Ortiz has won almost $6 million in purses and Pletcher has banked over $2 million in prize money. These totals indicate how lucrative the racing is at Gulfstream during the current meeting.

Bibiana is trained by Joseph and will be ridden by Tyler Gaffalione, who has had 67 winners from 409 rides to sit fourth in the jockey standings. The horse has not won a race in five starts but was a beaten favourite last time out. This race is a drop in class and the promise shown in the past can be confirmed with a first win. Bibiana has the highest Official Rating of the horses with experience and has nothing to fear from seven debutants so is the most likely winner at +100 with Bovada.

Awsum Roar is tipped to win the Allowance race at +400 with Bovada. There is a first prize on offer of over $28,000 in an event that is somewhere between a maiden and stakes race. The race is akin to a handicap because the weights are based on collateral form and there are penalties for winning a race. Awsum Roar was third behind Dixieincandyland when second 27 days ago at Gulfstream but has conditions to suit and can reverse the form.

Envoutante has something in hand on Official Ratings in the Maiden, which is the seventh race on the card. It’s a race for horses aged three and older over one mile and 110 yards on dirt. The selection has a mark of 104 and Never Forget is the second-highest rated horse at 93. Envoutante was third on his first start and was a beaten favourite in the only other run last time out. The horse can maintain that progression and break his maiden at +250 with Bovada.