Today’s card of thirteen races begins earlier than normal in Saratoga Springs. Race 1 kicks off at 11:35 EST. Race 4 is a Grade 2 and races 5, 8, 9, 10, and 11 are Grade 1s. Let’s get right to it!
Race 1 Competitive racing from the first bell today! These debut runners have a lot going for them. Going back to the well here and looking at the colt out of Gun Runner, the 7 Standard of Proof.
Picks: 7-4-3-6
Race 2 Two first time starters in this field and the other four entries all have a race under their belts, albeit none hit the board. I was all set to go with the trainer/jockey combo of Danny Gargan/Irad Ortiz, Jr. that’s 5-for-15 on the 7 America’s Guest until this race came off the turf. Trainer Todd Pletcher’s 5 Triple Start has more dirt pedigree and stays in the field after the change.
Picks: 5-7-10-6
Race 3 I like Irad again here. The 9 Great Workout is a closer and will need to get a ground-saving trip, but if anyone can make it happen, Irad can. Nice bullet work on the 18th, and the 7 furlongs is this horse’s preferred distance.
Picks: 9-1-2-4
Race 4 I’ll advise the same as I did in a similar race setup last week. Bet the Chad with the highest post time odds.
Picks: 4-5-1-2
Race 5 Set yourself a reminder for 1:55 EST so you can watch the 3 Jackie’s Warrior. All this horse does is win at Saratoga, having gone 5-for-5 lifetime at this track.
Picks: 3-4-5-2
Race 6 The 10 Misbehaved is coming off a win last time out at Churchill Downs for trainer Todd Pletcher.
Picks: 10-2-7-8
On the wagering menu for race 7 is a Mandatory Payout Pick 5.
Race 7 I’m going to be using at least six horses on my Pick 5 ticket. I guess I like the 5 Ranger Fox the best here, but 6 Charmed and 7 Cazadero are new geldings. A competitive race because it’s difficult to toss any.
Picks: 5-6-4-7
Race 8 You’re going to have a tough time convincing me that this is not 6 Jack Christopher’s race to lose. He’s cutting back to his preferred distance, having run a career-best 107 Beyer two back going 7 furlongs. The rest of the field is running for second as far as I’m concerned. The 8 Gunite is nice, 3-2-1-0 going 7 furlongs on the dirt, but Jack Christopher does exactly what he does and does it better. The 1 Conagher looks nice until you dig a little deeper and uncover his record off Lasix. No Lasix today.
Picks: 6-1-8-9
Race 9 Is anyone going to press the 1 Letruska on the front end? I don’t think Flavien Prat is going to make the same mistake Irad Ortiz, Jr. made back in June at Belmont on the 2 Search Results when these two got clear of the field before getting run down at the end.
Picks: 2-3-1-5
Race 10 The 4 Cold Hard Cash is 1-for-1 going 12 furlongs on the grass. I’m just going to leave that there. The morning line for this 5-year-old gelding is 30-1 on the morning line but did win last time out. Hall of Fame jockey John Velazquez stays in the irons for trainer Linda Rice. This is the toughest field he’ll have faced, though, so I’ll use strictly underneath.
Picks: 1-7-4-6
Race 11 I want to believe that this is the spot where the 6 Epicenter cements his claim as the top 3-year-old of 2022. But the pace scenario is difficult to predict here, and we have another three Chad Brown entries to attempt to figure out. I will let 2 Rich Strike beat me all day long. This horse has never won outside of Churchill Downs and benefited from the fastest early fractions in the history of the Derby on the first Saturday this past May. The 1 Cyberknife and the 8 Zandon are interesting here (Zandon more so), but I’m having a tough time putting anyone but the Asmussen trainee on top. Lightly raced 5 Artorius is a mystery wrapped inside of an enigma and will certainly end up an underlay.
Picks: 6-8-1-5
Race 12 The trainer/jockey combo of Keri Brion and Irad Ortiz, Jr. is 0-for-4, but the 7 Heymackit'sjack is placed correctly here today and has faced tougher. Just missed on his last two. The other horse I’ll use as an ‘A’ here is the 5 Ripe for Mischief for H. James Bond. You know jockey Luis Saez is going to do all he can to get him into position to make his run. The 1 Kreesa is the lone first time starter in the field for David Donk’s barn.
Picks: 7-5-1-9
Race 13 Two more Chads here, 3rd and 5th choices on the morning line. Practically daring me to play a Pick 4 in race 10: 1,5,7/7,8/ALL/2,6. $45 for your entertainment.
Picks: 2-6-1-8
Best of luck!