Sunday, August 16, 2026 MAURITIUS Edition Independent Journalism
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Expert Picks Point to Zaraki as Sunday's Top Contender at Deauville

Expert Picks Point to Zaraki as Sunday's Top Contender at Deauville

Expert consensus backs Zaraki as the day's strongest contender in Race 6.

Zaraki heads into Sunday’s card at Deauville-La Touques as the most heavily backed horse of the day, accumulating 95 points from expert consensus ahead of the Grade 1 The Aga Khan Studs Prix Jacques le Marois meeting on August 16.

Ten expert teams have analyzed all nine races on the program and published their selections to help bettors navigate the day. Zaraki features in Race 6, The Aga Khan Studs Prix Nureyev, scheduled for 5 p.m. Close behind in the overall rankings is Avec Toi, carrying 75 points in Race 2 (The Aga Khan Studs Prix Francois Boutin at 2:33 p.m.), with Dispatches third on 70 points in Race 1, The Aga Khan Studs Prix Lady O’Reilly, also known as the Prix Minerve, at 1:58 p.m.

Additional reference context is available at https://www.equidia.fr/articles/pour-preparer-vos-paris/les-pronostics-des-experts-pour-la-reunion-1-a-deauville-la-touques-ce-dimanche-16-aout.

The scoring system rewards both accuracy and bold calls. A team earns one point when their first-choice horse wins. That rises to two points if the first choice wins and the second choice places. If the second-choice horse wins and the first-choice finishes second, one point is still awarded. A non-starting first choice does not void the round entirely: if the second-choice wins, the team still collects one point.

Each team also designates a single “winning selection” per day. This is where the bigger swings happen. If that selection wins, the team earns bonus points equal to the official PMU (Pari Mutuel Urbain) simple win odds plus the simple place odds for that race. A placed finish without a win returns only the place odds as a bonus, a meaningful distinction when odds diverge sharply.

Meanwhile, the system builds in an incentive for contrarian thinking. Any team that stands alone in predicting a particular horse or combination, and proves correct, sees those points doubled under what the format calls an “exploit bonus.” It is a mechanism designed to surface overlooked contenders rather than reward consensus picks.

The expert standings reflect cumulative performance through Saturday, August 15, 2026, meaning Sunday’s nine races carry real weight in reshuffling the competitive order among the ten teams. Bettors can review the full breakdown of individual selections and race-by-race analysis on pmu.fr before placing any wagers.

Whether Zaraki’s commanding consensus score translates into a win at 5 p.m. will determine not just one race result but a significant portion of the day’s expert standings.

Q&A

How many expert teams analyzed the Sunday card at Deauville-La Touques?

Ten expert teams analyzed all nine races on the program and published their selections.

What is Zaraki's consensus point total and which race does it compete in?

Zaraki accumulated 95 points from expert consensus and features in Race 6, The Aga Khan Studs Prix Nureyev, scheduled for 5 p.m.

How does the scoring system reward contrarian thinking?

Any team that stands alone in predicting a particular horse or combination and proves correct sees those points doubled under the exploit bonus mechanism.

Where can bettors review the full breakdown of expert selections before placing wagers?

Bettors can review the full breakdown of individual selections and race-by-race analysis on pmu.fr before placing any wagers.