Illman: How I'd play Belmont on Sunday, Oct. 26
Let’s make the most of closing day at Belmont as the upcoming Aqueduct meeting brings with it the impending arrival of curmudgeonly Old Man Winter.
Dan IllmanOct 26, 2014
Let’s make the most of closing day at Belmont as the upcoming Aqueduct meeting brings with it the impending arrival of curmudgeonly Old Man Winter.
While every betting syndicate and his brother will be chasing the $50,000 pick six carryover with mandatory payout on Sunday’s closing-day card at Belmont, I take the path of lesser resistance and go after the pick five, starting in the first race.
In what has become a fall tradition, Churchill Downs opens its meet with a Stars of Tomorrow card of races strictly for 2-year-olds Sunday, led by a couple overnight stakes that partially fill the void of the Iroquois and Pocahontas stakes that were moved to Churchill’s September meet starting in 2013.
River Seven (8-5) ran the race of his life in last year’s Labeeb, scoring by 10 lengths over the yielding ground that he prefers. The turf should be firm on Sunday, just like it was on Friday and Saturday, which will not be ideal for River Seven.
What was essentially a three-furlong blow-out turned into work of the day honors for Stonetastic, not so much for her swift final clocking but more so for the manner in which she galloped out upon completion of the drill and the overall impression she made in the process.
It’s the 38th and final day of Belmont’s fall meet, with a 10-race card that includes six turf races on courses that are likely to be in the good-to-yielding range.
The goods news is, the weather has finally cleared, and with the exception of the fourth race, turf racing will go as scheduled at Belmont Park on Saturday, the penultimate card of the meet. And the better news is, Saturday’s card is a playable one.
Closing day of the Keeneland fall meet is upon us Saturday, highlighted by the running of the Grade 3 Fayette. And ontrack and offtrack fans could not ask for better conditions, with mild temperatures and partly cloudy skies.
A dropper in the first leg of the day’s last pick three may give you a nice starting point.