Churchill Downs 🏇🏾// Sat., May 30, 2026
- Fink
- May 30
- 3 min read
Happy Saturday & National Mint Julep Day!
You know what Saturdays in May are for: cashing tickets while watching the ponies. We’re back on the track after a weekday break and headed to the home of mint juleps—Louisville, KY, and Churchill Downs.
If you didn’t follow our progress last weekend, we had only one top-pick winner, but thanks to one nice hit we were only down $1 and had a negative ROI of just 5.6%. If you dug a bit further, or if our top picks didn’t align with your handicap, you could have had four more second-pick winners for an ROI of 35.6%. And if you constructed your tickets correctly, you hit the late Pick 4 at Santa Anita on Sunday.
Today’s card has 11 total races, 7 stakes, 6 of which are graded, and the track will hand out nearly $2.5M in purse money. It’s also Stephen Foster Preview Day, so we’re in for some fierce competition. The featured portion of today’s action is actually the back half of the card, which consists entirely of graded stakes, as noted above.
One of my favorite horses is returning: Coal Battle moves to the turf for trainer Lonnie Briley after an impressive 2025, when he won the Rebel Stakes at Oaklawn and finished 11th in the Kentucky Derby. This will be his first race on turf since his two-year-old campaign, and he remains one of the best stories in horse racing. You can find plenty of features from last year about this great horse and his trainer.
Today’s weather will start the march toward summer, with highs in the mid-80s and mostly sunny skies, but the humidity should remain mild. The track will be fast and the turf will be firm for another great Saturday of racing.
Need help picking winners? We've got you covered! Our (Always Free) Lundin Line's top picks and best bets are below. We use them to help narrow the field while putting our tickets together. The first post will be here soon, so don't be late - It's time to get #InTheMoney! 💰💰💰
Churchill Downs 🏇🏾 // Sat., May 30th 2026
First Post @ 12:45 EDT/ 9:45 PDT
R1: 2-3-1
R2: 8-3-2-5
R3: 3-5-1-9
R4: 12-7-10-11
R5Ⓢ: 6-7-8-1
🏇R6Ⓢ: 5⭑-4-3-7
🏇R7:Ⓢ: 3⭑-1-6-2
R8Ⓢ: 3-6-1-2
R9Ⓢ: 1-9-8-3
R10Ⓢ: 3-7-1-6
R11Ⓢ: 3-7-9-10
🏇= Featured Race(s)
⭑Best Bet(s)
R6: Spendora (#5)
R7: Pin Up Betty (#3)
Ⓢtakes Race(s)
R5: 275K Audubon S.
1 1/8 Miles on Turf for 3 Yr. Olds
🏇R6: 300K Shawnee S. (G2)
1 /16 Miles on Dirt for Fillies/Mares, 4 Yrs. & Up
🏇R7: 276K Old Forester Mint Julep S. (G3T)
1 1/16 Miles On Turf for Fillies/Mares, 4 Yrs. & Up
R8: 275K Aristides S. (G3)
6 Furlongs on Dirt for 4 Yr. Olds & Up
R9: 275K Regret S. (G3T)
1 1/8 Miles on Turf for Fillies, 3 Yrs. Old
R10: 300K Blame S. (G3)
1 1/8 Miles on Dirt for 4 Yr. Olds & Up
R11: 275K Arlington S. (G3T)
1 1/16 Miles on Turf for 4 Yr. Olds & Up
May 30th - National Mint Julep Day
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/ As always, please forgive any typos and grammatical errors
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