There is a mandatory payout on the pick 5 on Wednesday at Parx Racing, and one of the most leaned-upon horses is sure to be The Boy’s Warrior in the Pennsylvania Nursery Stakes for 2-year-old Pennsylvania-breds. Carded as the eighth race, it is the third leg of the sequence.

The Nursery is the third of four stakes that begins the sequence on Thanksgiving eve in Bensalem, Pa. Undefeated The Boy’s Warrior is a worthy favorite off three consecutive victories to start his career, including an off-the-pace blitz going 5 1/2 furlongs on debut followed by a pair of six-furlong stakes wins by a combined 13 lengths.

Now the Warrior’s Reward gelding gets out to seven furlongs with Frankie Pennington returning to ride. He was aboard for The Boy’s Warrior’s lone race over the Parx dirt, a nine-length romp in the Whistle Pig Stakes two starts back. His other two races were over the Tapeta at Presque Isle Downs.

There is nothing to suggest that The Boy’s Warrior is not the most likely winner here other than the fact that he gives three to eight pounds to his rivals. But his speed plus the rail will make him tough to catch even with the impost. 

All that is to say, I would much rather hang my hat on this horse at a very short price and try to beat favorites in the other races.

A quick note about Byrde of War making his career debut here. The Horse Racing Nation First-Time Power Rating report assigned three of five stars to this Flatter gelding, suggesting that he’s not completely overmatched here. He could be worth a look underneath, but debut runners in stakes are 1-for-17 the past three years at Parx and 1-for-17 anywhere since Oct. 1, including 12: 0-0-0 for those with three stars or less.