LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Marsalis always plays it smooth. The Stonestreet Stables homebred tripped out perfectly in getting through his first allowance condition on Breeders’ Cup Friday, maintaining a pattern of excellence that has become a hallmark in his first season of racing. Now comes another opportunity for Marsalis to trumpet his wares. The 3-year-old colt with the right medley of speed and tractability is very much the horse to beat in the Wednesday feature at Churchill Downs, a $134,000 second-level allowance at seven furlongs. Marsalis has never been worse than second in all four of his starts, all for Hall of Fame trainer Steve Asmussen, and with a favorable outside draw in his first attempt at this condition, the son of Curlin and Hot Dixie Chick could once again please the crowd. His last-out victory at Keeneland came from the outside post, and Ricardo Santana Jr. once again could find himself in precisely the right spot after breaking from post 9 in a field of 10 3-year-olds and upward. :: DRF Bets members get FREE DRF Past Performances - Formulator or Classic. Join now! Marsalis has earned Beyer Speed Figures of 88 and 87 in two starts since Asmussen brought him back from a six-month layoff, and those numbers are sufficient to make him a solid favorite in the lone allowance of a 10-race card that kicks off closing week at the Churchill fall meet. The opposition is closely matched, with maybe Wayakin (post 1, Luis Saez) a deserving second choice off the Ten Strike Racing claim. Matt Shirer now trains Wayakin, who got an 89 Beyer while romping for $40,000 claiming earlier this month and now wheels back as one of four in here entered for an optional $80,000 tag. He’smyhoneybadger (post 3, Florent Geroux) and Coastal Defense (post 6, Joe Talamo) are two more who will draw strong tote play, even with the sporadic racing schedules they’ve maintained. The newly gelded He’smyhoneybadger is in for the optional $80,000 tag making just his second start within the last year or so for Brad Cox, while the 6-year-old Coastal Defense, another son of Curlin, returns from a 20-month-plus layoff with 12 workouts since late August for Dale Romans. The nominal feature goes as race 9 on a card that starts at 1 p.m. Eastern, meaning it likely will be run under the Churchill lights at 5:05. It’s part of a late pick four that also includes a $120,000 maiden-special sprint (race 7), an open $40,000 claiming mile (race 8), and a $92,000 maiden-auction (race 10). No turf races are carded. All Churchill purses include bonuses restricted to registered Kentucky-breds. Sunshine and a daytime high of 57 are in the Wednesday forecast. This is the last program without a stakes race at the 19-day meet. Nine stakes round out the week, including the Grade 3 Falls City and Grade 3 Cardinal on Thursday, the Grade 1 Clark on Friday, the Grade 2 Kentucky Jockey Club and Grade 2 Golden Rod on Saturday, and the Grade 3 Commonwealth Turf on Sunday. :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.