Readers of Bettors Insider are getting a one-race preview of my day’s selections. To sign up for daily emails with the day’s FULL selections and weekly Saturday videos, click here
Saturday’s Race Recap from Saratoga:
(All odds US)
Saratoga:
Race 1: 6th@ 15.30/1
Race 6: 9th@ 37.50/1
Race 7: 3rd@ 18.60/1
Race 9: 4th@ 4.30/1
Race 10: 2nd@ 2.20/1
Race 11: 2nd@ 2.45/1
Race 12: 3rd@ 13.50/1
In Race 1, First Trumpet pressed the early pace and faded in the drive. In Race 6, Willowy never really contended. After some heavy rain they harrowed and sealed the track giving the advantage in dirt races to the inside/ speed runners. In Race 7, High Oak raced off the pace, but the pace was slower than expected as Gunite was allowed to set a 23 second opening quarter and that spelled G’nite for his competition as he won off. In Race 9, Fort Bragg never really contended after racing behind a fast, early pace. New York Thunder looked to have the race in hand but broke down in the stretch in a scene eerily similar to Maple Leaf Mel’s breakdown just a few weeks ago. In Race 10, Goodnight Olive rolled early with Echo Zulu but couldn’t get by that one after trying and trying again. In Race 11, Soldier Rising was rated early and was rolling late but couldn’t get to Bolshoi Ballet as we had to settle for our second consecutive second place finish. In the Travers - Race 12, Tapit Trice was back early, moved up early and contested fourth before making his move on the far turn. Arcangelo drew away to an emphatic win with Disarm second and Tapit Trice checked in third.
Let’s close out Travers week with another day of racing from Saratoga. Today is New York bred day so all runners are bred in New York. I’m handicapping for fast and firm conditions. Let’s get to work!
Saratoga:
Race 10: Jackson Heights - 1 pt win (US Morning Line Odds: 12/1)
The Albany at a mile and an eighth for three-year-olds is our “feature” race on a stakes-laden card and the first thing I noticed about this race was that it’s full of runners with speed who are untested at today’s distance. The second thing that stood out was that only one runner actually has experience on dirt at today’s distance. That runner is 12/1 outsider Jackson Heights who did well to finish second in that start finishing with a final 1/8th of a mile in a sharp 12 and change seconds. My logic here is that if the untested runners are going fast early and the one with experience has already proven he can run fast late then 12/1 on Jackson Heights makes a lot of sense.
Best of luck to all our members playing Sunday’s races from Saratoga!