The Whitney at Saratoga looks like the Breeders’ Cup Classic without American Pharoah. This is the strongest field assembled for any race this year. It is going to take somewhere between a 108 and 110 to win. Six of the 10 horses have done that kind of number.
FROSTY MARGARITA (8) is the one to fear most in the sixth race, a 5 1/2-furlong maiden special weight dash for New York-bred juvenile fillies. She looked the part of a winner in midstretch after closing from fourth when debuting at Belmont on July 9 before being overtaken late by Wonderment, who subsequently romped in the $125,000 Lynbrook Stakes with a 74 Beyer Speed Figure.
I’ll start the day by using a favorite wagering angle: keying a contender in the third and fourth spots in superfectas.
If Tonalist is anything close to his 4-1 morning-line price, he would be a strong play in Saturday’s Whitney Stakes at Saratoga.
Trainer Joe Sharp saddles Frontier Scout (#8, ML 10-1) in Thursday's third race at Saratoga, a 6 1/2-furlong maiden claiming race. Since Jan., 1, 2014, Sharp is winning at a 31 percent clip in maiden claimers, for a return on investment of $3.62. Check out the Positive ROI report as part of DRF Plus. Sign up for DRF Plus here.
Indecise (#2, ML 8-5) returns in Thursday's seventh race at Del Mar, a one-mile optional claimer on turf. It will be her first start since finishing fourth by a head in the Grade 3 Wilshire Stakes on April 26 at Santa Anita. The third- and fifth-place finishers from that race came back to win stakes races in their next starts. Get the Key Race report as part of DRF Plus. Sign up for DRF Plus here.
DRF handicapper Lonnie Goldfeder provides his best plays on Thursday's card at Del Mar.
Thursday's Saratoga card is 10 races deep, highlighted by a pair of stakes at either end of the card, the A. P. Smithwick Memorial, a Grade 1 hurdle, and the Quick Call, a 5 1/2-furlong listed stakes on the grass for 3-year-olds. I'll be playing both of those races and a few of the offerings in between.
Trainer Brad Cox saddles Cash Control (#2, ML 15-1) in Wednesday's eighth race at Saratoga, a 1 1/16-mile optional claimer on turf. Since Jan., 1, 2014, Cox is winning at a 25 percent clip when saddling a horse switching from dirt to turf, for a return on investment of $3.56. Check out the Positive ROI report as part of DRF Plus. Sign up for DRF Plus here.
Two Wonders (#3, ML 6-1) returns in Wednesday's second race at Presque Isle Downs, a 1 1/16-mile optional claimer. It will be her first start since finishing first by six lengths in a claiming race May 25 at Presque Isle Downs. The second-, third-, and eighth-place finishers from that race came back to win their next starts. Get the Key Race report as part of DRF Plus. Sign up for DRF Plus here.
