Hersh: How I'd play Belmont Park for Thursday, June 4
Hersh: How I'd play Belmont Park for Friday, June 4
Marcus HershJun 04, 2015
Hersh: How I'd play Belmont Park for Friday, June 4
AMERICAN PHAROAH took blinkers off after his debut and has since won six races in a row – five of them Grade 1 stakes – at distances ranging from seven to 10 furlongs. Along the way, he has beaten everyone in this field at least once by margins of three to 12 lengths.
FROSTED is positioned for an “upset” as the likely second choice in the Belmont Stakes. He has been freshened five weeks since a solid fourth-place finish in the Kentucky Derby, a race dominated by frontrunners. Frosted was one of the only late runners to make an impact. He was shuffled early, uncorked a wide move on the far turn, kept to his task late, and missed by only 3 1/4 lengths. He skipped the Preakness, enters the Belmont fresh, and has looked good in morning workouts, according to clocker reports.
Five weeks ago, MATERIALITY was my value-based choice to win the Kentucky Derby, and I disappointedly watched him lose all chance when he broke slowly and was shuffled back shortly thereafter while along the inside. Unaccustomed to racing from well off the pace and taking dirt behind horses, he struggled passing the stands for the first time, with his feet going up and down as if running uphill – known as “climbing” in racing terminology.
Download DRF Plus handicapping reports for Thursday's races, including DRF Bets GamePlan, the Positive ROI Report, and Key Race Report.
McGee: Belmont Park pick four play for Friday, June 5
Trainer Kieron Magee saddles Chief of Command (#1, ML 5-1) in Wednesday’s sixth race at Penn National, a six-furlong allowance. Since Jan. 1, 2014, Magee is winning at a 27 percent clip in dirt races, for a return on investment of $2.15.
Ray Knows (#5, ML 2-1) returns in Wednesday’s seventh race at Delaware Park, a six-furlong maiden special weight race. It will be his first start since finishing third by a head in a maiden special weight race March 29 at Fair Grounds. The fourth- and fifth-place finishers from that race came back to win their next starts.
Two big days of racing at Belmont offer large fields and quality horses. First, let’s look at Friday’s card, where there are a lot of betting opportunities, and we’ll use DRF Formulator to find a couple to play as well as a couple to avoid.