It's Penn Mile Day at Penn National, but while the early pick four is where the stakes action is, it may not be where the value is. Rather than try to beat some logical favorites in the black-types races, I'll take a shot at some prices in a midcard pick three.
Saturday’s card at Santa Anita is highlighted by two Grade 1 events, the Shoemaker Mile on turf and the Vanity Mile on the main track. Each race brings plenty of intrigue to the table. The Shoemaker Mile is a small but select field, and the Vanity is a showdown between Beholder and Stellar Wind (and possibly Taris, as she’s yet to be officially scratched at the time of this writing). Here are a couple of wagers I’ll look to play Saturday.
The Grade 3, $200,000 Pennine Ridge Stakes headlines Saturday afternoon’s card at Belmont.
BreezeFigs Quick-Pix for Saturday, June 4th, 2016 by Bob Fierro and Jay Kilgore
Alsvid could be vulnerable as one of the favorites in the featured Aristides Stakes if it is run on a sloppy track Saturday at Churchill Downs.
It was a relatively quiet morning on the Belmont Stakes watch here Thursday, with the favorite, Exaggerator, getting a day off from training, Lani doing little more than walking after having breezed the previous day, and a trio of recent arrivals – Preakness runner-up Cherry Wine, his stablemate Brody's Cause, and Creator – all getting themselves acclimated to their new surroundings.
I like Hammers Vision in the Pennine Ridge Stakes. Hammers Vision is back with straight 3-year-olds after facing six older allowance horses in his recent return from a seven-month layoff. And his second-place finish, a career-best effort for him, was even better than it looks on paper.
Gierkink: Woodbine horses to watch for week of May 30
Trip Notes by Michael Hammersly for races run on May 28-29.
DRF handicapper Brad Free outlines his strategy for playing Monday's program at Santa Anita.
