SARATOGA SATURDAY 9/3
13 BIG RACES!
BELMONT BETH’S SATURDAY
SARATOGA SELECTIONS
Always use my TOP 3 Picks
Race 1 $105,000 Maiden Special Weight 1 1/16 Miles (8.5F) Turf 12:05 PM ET
There have been (61) 8F races, 57 of those races on turf, and 28 of those were maiden. None of the owners in this race have a win. Trainer Todd Pletcher has four wins at 8F turf and one of those wins was with Irad. Irad himself has eight 8F turf wins. Trainer Barclay Tagg has two 8F turf wins and one was with Dylan. Trainer Claude McGoughey has two 8F turf wins. Jockey Saez has four 8F turf wins. I’m going with the #3 Ari Gold 2-1, the #10 Scramble 10-1, the #8 General Jim 3-1, and the #9 Impeccability 10-1.
TAKE: 3-10-8-9
Race 2 $105,000 Maiden Special Weight 7F Dirt 12:37 PM ET
There have been (43) 7F races, all of them on dirt, and 13 of those were maiden. 65% of the wins for 7F come from the top two ML FAV. However, if we are strictly talking about maiden races, all the wins come from the top four ML FAV! David Aragano does a pretty dang good job with those ML odds. I’m going with the #7 Powerful 2-1, the #3 Fightertown 10-1, the #8 Upgrade 4-1, and the #6 Parkway 8-1.
TAKE: 7-3-8-6
Race 3 $115,000 Allowance 1 Mile (8F) Dirt 1:12 PM ET
There have been (25) 8F dirt races. The #7 Perceived 8-1 and the #8 No Burn 4-1 have raced together in two different Starter Allowance races, both of them were 8F dirt. They seem to like to battle it out between them. I’m taking the #8 No Burn 4-1, the #7 Perceived 8-1, the #6 Up to the Mark 2-1, and the #5 Strong Quality 6-1.
Race 4 $200,000 Saranac Stakes 1 1/16 Miles (8.5F) Turf 1:43 PM ET
We all know that I usually try to beat the favorite but I also know when to not fight it! LOL. There are only five horses in this race. I’m going with the #3 Annapolis 2-5, #2 Piqua 12-1, #1 Celestial City 3-1.
TAKE: 3-1-4
Race 5 $70,000 Starter Allowance 5.5F Turf 2:16 PM ET
This was an easy race to handicap. I can’t fight what I see in my database and what I see with one specific horse. I’m going with #11 Mister Chairman 7-2 with Rosario and Clement who have five wins together at 5.5F turf. The #1 Drink the Wind 6-1 just won his maiden race on Aug. 10th. Now, it was on dirt, however, it was 7F and he won by 22 ¼ lengths! Behind that I’m taking the #5 King Moonracer 8-1 and the #7 Custom Bobby’s 6-1.
TAKE: 11-1-5-7
Race 6 $105,000 Maiden Special Weight 7F Dirt 2:51 PM ET
Going the same information as in Race 2. I’m taking the #2 Mindtap 7-2, the #8 Heart N Soul 8-1, #9 Champions Dream 5-2, #7 Desert Wolf 10-1.
TAKE: 2-8-9-7
Race 7 $120,000 Allowance Optional Claiming 6F Dirt 3:22 PM ET
This was a confusing race for me. It took me some time to dig into this one. I’m just going to tell you which horses I’m taking in this race. I’m going with the #9 Meraas 6-1, the #5 Elite Power 5-2, #2 Higher Standard 5-1, and the #1A Amundson 3-1.
TAKE: 9-5-2-1A
Race 8 $105,000 Maiden Special Weight 7F Dirt 3:58 PM ET
Another 7F dirt maiden race…feels like Deja Vu. I’m going with the #10 Crupi 5-2, the #1 Instant Coffee, The #3 Arthur’s Ride 7-2, and the #8 Juan Valdez 5-1.
TAKE: 10-1-3-8
Race 9 $120,000 Allowance Optional Claiming 1 1/16 Miles (8.5F) Turf 4:35 PM ET
The #10 Eyes On Target 7-2 has raced three Allowance races since May and has come ITM all three times. On top of that is has the winning trio of Jose Ortiz/Michael Maker/Michael Dubb. Michael Maker six wins at 8.5F turf. #5 Graded On a Curve 8-1 has Chad Brown as trainer with (9) wins, (4) of those with Klaravich Stables, and (1) with Franco. Behind that I’m taking the #2 Analyze It 5-2 and the the #11 Never Explain 12-1.
TAKE: 10-5-2-11
Race 10 $600,000 Flower Bowl Stakes 1 3/8 Miles (11F) Turf 5:09 PM ET
Again, another one that seems too straightforward to not really fight it. I am mixing it up a tad but not totally out in left field. I’m taking the #1 Capital Structure 15-1, the #4 War Like Goddess 2-5, the #3 Virginia Joy 7-2, and the #7 Marvelous Maude 20-1.
TAKE: 4-3-7-6
Race 11 $1,000,000 Jockey Club Gold Cup Stakes 1 1/4 Miles (10F) Dirt 5:45 PM ET
I am not going to fight this one either. Three of these horses raced a G2 Stakes at Belmont (same distance) on July 9th and all finished ITM. I’m taking the #8 Dynamic One 7-2, the #3 Untreated 12-1, the #6 First Captain 4-1 and the #4 Americanrevolution 3-1.
TAKE: 8-3-6-4
Race 12 $45,000 Claiming ($25K) 1 Mile (8F) Dirt 6:17 PM ET
I’m not quite understanding why the #1 Seanan is at 15-1. In his last race on July 29th was a Maiden Claiming 8F dirt and he finished 1st by 7 ½ lengths. If you couldn’t tell I’m putting #1 Seanan 15-1 on top. I’m also taking the #6 Patient Capital 5-1 due to the fact that I follow the money most of the time and it’s a Franco/Brown/Klaravich trio. Behind that I’m taking the #10 Midnight Worker 7-2 and the #3 Mr Breadwinner 9-2.
TAKE: 1-6-10-3
Race 13 $50,000 Maiden Claiming ($40K) 5.5F Turf 6:49 PM ET
I’m going with how the last rast normally plays out and the jockeys do at 5.5F turf on this one.
It’s actually about 50/50 in regards to the top ML odds winning. The one thing I can say is that out of the 37 last races we have had, the 3rd ML FAV has only finished 1st once! I’m going with the #11 Quick Power Nap 5-2, the #5 My Cara Mia Mine 8-1, the #8 Izeamalibumoon 7-2, and #2 Bunty Windermere 12-1.
TAKE: 11-5-8-2