When it comes to making money when handicapping races and betting on horse racing, it’s all about picking winners. Dan Tordjman, America’s Best Racing’s New York correspondent, is one of the brightest young minds in the game.

Each Week, Tordjman – DanonymousMan to those who follow him on Twitter – will provide readers with his two best bets of the weekend and strategies for how to bet them. Tordjman will keep track of his return on investment (ROI) throughout the year and, as a bonus, he will also provide picks for a selection of the key races on the Triple Crown trail and the road to the Breeders’ Cup. Dan was able to manage a positive ROI for his plays in 2016. Come back every week and be sure to follow Tordjman on Twitter.

Come back every week and be sure to follow Tordjman on Twitter.

Saturday, Feb. 11

Gulfstream Park, Race 7, 3:01 p.m. ET

#9 Conquest Sandman: Don’t be discouraged by that sixth-place finish last out — Conquest Sandman ran a huge race. Coming off of a two and a half month break, he rallied strongly to finish within a little more than a length of the winner, while posting his highest-ever Beyer (77) and Equibase Speed Figure (96). It was just his first try against winners and, if you watch the replay, you’ll notice that he was not only squeezed after the break and taken up, he found repeated trouble on the rail, couldn’t get out, and when he finally had some room to move up the rail, he took off but had to stop again late.

This horse has done his best running going longer (he broke his maiden two races back at a mile and sixteenth) and on the turf (he nearly broke his maiden on debut on the turf at Gulfstream at a mile and an eighth). Trainer Mike Maker boasts extremely solid numbers going sprint-to-route, second-off the layoff. Conquest Sandman should be able to track a fairly strong pace and make one run late. If he has clear running, he’ll make plenty of noise.

(Note that past performances may indicate that this is a dirt race but this is, in fact, a turf race.)

Strategy on $10 Budget

$2 win, place and show on #9 Conquest Sandman ($6)

$1 exacta 1,9 over 1,8,9 ($4)

Strategy on $25 Budget

$4 win, place and show on #9 Conquest Sandman ($12)

$1 exacta box 1,2,8,9 ($12)

Strategy on $50 Budget

$10 win, place and show on #9 Conquest Sandman ($30)

$1 exacta box 1,2,8,9 ($12)

$1 trifecta wheel 9 over 1,8 over 1,2,4,5,8 ($8)

Tampa Bay Downs, Race 10, $250,000 Sam F. Davis Stakes, 4:45 p.m. ET

#9 No Dozing: There’s a prime opportunity in this race to make some money if we can find a way to beat the highly-regarded McCraken. There’s been a lot of hype around that one since he won the Kentucky Jockey Club. But that was back in November, and we saw last week with Classic Empire showing up flat off of a similar break that it’s hard to predict how horses might perform in that period after a long break between the end of their 2-year-old season and the start of their 3-year-old campaign.

All of that said, I’m going to take a shot with another horse we haven’t seen since November — No Dozing. What I like about this one is a combination of his company lines and pedigree. The son of 2012 Belmont Stakes winner Union Rags won his first two races in the Mid-Atlantic (a circuit that produced two key 3-year-old stakes winners last week) with ease. In his second start, he was 2 3/4 lengths behind O Dionysus, who was neck and neck with Irish War Cry who rolled in last week’s Holy Bull Stakes. After finishing fourth to Classic Empire in the Breeders’ Futurity, he battled through a wide trip in the Remsen last out and still closed to within a few lengths of another highly regarded horse, Mo Town, despite covering more ground and running greenly in the stretch.

I see a lot of upside here, and you’re going to get a nice price too.

Strategy on $10 Budget

$2 win, place and show on #9 No Dozing ($6)

$1 exacta 8,9 over 1,8,9 ($4)

Strategy on $25 Budget

$4 win, place and show on #9 No Dozing ($12)

$.50 trifecta 8,9 with 8,9 with ALL ($7)

$1 exacta box 1,8,9 ($6)

Strategy on $50 Budget

$8 win, place and show on #9 No Dozing ($24)

$1 trifecta 8,9 with 8,9 with ALL ($14)

$1 exacta box 1,6,8,9 ($6)

Big 14-1 Top Selection Winner last week … let’s keep it going!

YTD Top Picks: 1/11

ROI for All Bets: -$118.05