OHIO — By Ed DeRosa

It’s officially summer, and that means it’s regional derby season!

The action starts with the Ohio Derby on Saturday at Jack Thistledown and continues on July 6 with such marquee Midwestern stakes races as the Iowa Derby at Prairie Meadows and the Indiana Derby at Horseshoe Indianapolis.

These races have value potential because known names from the Triple Crown series often get overbet. So it goes with the Ohio Derby, which attracted Louisiana Derby winner Catching Freedom–most recently fourth in the Kentucky Derby and third in the Preakness Stakes.

This Brad Cox trainee is certain to be the favorite in Ohio’s richest Thoroughbred race–and understandably so–but from a wagering perspective, Copper Tax is definitely the play.

Copper Tax ships to the Cleveland-area track from trainer Gary Capuano’s Laurel Park base in Maryland. A winner of two consecutive stakes races, Copper Tax has disappointed in his two previous graded stakes attempts: failing to hit the board while losing by a combined 33 lengths, but he has improved since receiving a 6-week break after the Tampa Bay Derby dud.

The son of Copper Bullet has already demonstrated an ability to handle this 1 ⅛-mile distance, and given the competition here, he should be closer to the pace with the inside draw and thus get the jump on Catching Freedom.

I see Copper Bullet as the second-most likely winner of this race, which makes him a bet because in addition to Catching Freedom, another Derby week runner–Batten Down–will take money.

From the barn of Racing Hall of Fame trainer Bill Mott, Batten Down won a 1 ¼-mile maiden races Derby week at Churchill Downs, and while that was impressive, I do not love the turn back to 1 ⅛ miles against stakes company. I definitely don’t love it at a short price.

The Bets:

Copper Tax is a win bet for me, and I will not even bother with the vertical exotics. All the value I need is in the win pool.

Those who are more exotic minded and keen to use a horse like Catching Freedom might be interested in hooking the Ohio Derby horses up with #1 Batucada in the preceding Lady Jacqueline Stakes for older females going 1 ⅛ miles.

An 8 ¼-length winner last out, Batucada has not done well in stakes races to date, but she certainly earned a return to added money events following that last race, and her win going two turns earlier in her career augurs for her ability here. At 12-to-1 morning line, she figures to be a good enough price that she can be used with both Catching Freedom and Copper Tax in the doubles.