Thursday Disabled Jockey’s Fund Charity Contest: RT and Garrity pick races at Belmont Park
Bettors Insider's two horse racing handicapping experts – Chris Garrity (@belmostickey) and RT and SmartCap (@RTsSpot) – have agreed to take part in a weekly handicapping contest throughout June.
For the contest, each handicapper will designate one of his race picks per weekday and two on Saturday and Sunday. Win, place, show betting only. $20 per bet. Weeks run Monday through Sunday.
The 'capper with the most money at the end of each week will have a donation made in his name to the Permanently Disabled Jockeys Fund. You can donate to the fund here.
Play along and in future months you may have a chance to beat the pros.
Yesterday
RT had another winner in the 7th at Lone Star Park, betting $7 win, $13 place on 6-Hunka Burning Love. Garrity's horse, 2-Lasting Legacy, in the same race, finished second. Again. RT's winner returned $20.30 and $18.20, $38.50 on his $20 wager. He's now +$43.10. Garrity is -$60.
RT's Picks
The Pick: Belmont Park, Race 5, $7 to win, $13 to place on 2 Master Of Hope, post time 3:27 pm EDT
Why: #2 Master Of Hope (8/1) and #1 Saratoga Affair (5/1) are both second time starters who won their first and Master Of Hope, being trained by Chad Brown, will take more money than the latter. I’m going to take Master Of Hope in this race for our contest ($7/w $13/p) because looking at the pp’s, she clocked an 86 Equibase number and Spice Is Nice has hit, at her best, a 93. Given most horses propensity to improve their second time out, she should exceed the 93 figure which would force Spice Is Nice to run her best number.
Garrity's Picks
The Picks: Belmont Park, Race 8, $20 to win on 1 - Tankerville, post time 5:04 pm EDT
Why: For our play today, we are headed to Belmont Park, and the 8th race, a classy turf allowance race on the grass. We expect firm turf, so let’s go. This first-level allowance race for older horses drew a big field of eleven. It’s on the turf, at a mile and a quarter, and we think that is key: a bunch of the runners are stretching out, and look to have issues with the 10 furlong distance.
We like a horse who will thrive at the distance: 1-Tankerville. He’s a Juddmonte Farms homebred, by top turf sire Kitten’s Joy, who makes his North American debut here after three well-spaced races in Ireland in 2018 and 2019. His breeding and running style suggest that he will thrive at this distance, and while he’s coming off a layoff, Hall of Fame trainer Bill Mott is good with horses coming off the bench and making their U.S. debuts. And if the grass comes up a bit soft -- there’s a chance of rain in New York on Thursday -- then so much the better, as he did well on yielding turf in Ireland. At 8-1, we like his chances, and will put our $20 contest play on him to win.