King: Belmont pick four for Saturday, July 7th

Unlike Saturday’s late pick five at Belmont, which is restricted to bettors in New York and those wagering through NYRA’s ADW platform, the late pick four there, covering all the stakes but the Dwyer, is open to all. Below is my analysis of the sequence, which begins on race 7, and a suggested ticket.

Race 7: Belmont Sprint Championship

Millionaires Whitmore (2) and Limousine Liberal (1) are the classiest runners in the Belmont Sprint Championship. Though both have done their best work on the whole outside New York, they acquitted themselves well with quality losing performances over the Belmont strip last month. Whitmore rallied to be second in the True North, losing by a neck to Imperial Hint, while Limousine Liberal finished third in the Met Mile behind Bee Jersey and Mind Your Biscuits.

Race 8: Belmont Oaks

With horses converging on Belmont for this race from Europe and out west, and uncertainty regarding which horses will handle the 1 1/4-mile distance, spreading seems the way to go in the Belmont Oaks.

Capla Temptress (4) is the most promising of the raiders from overseas, while the preferred ones from the U.S. are Toinette (5), La Signare (7), and Mighty Scarlett (10).

Race 9: The Suburban

The one-two finishers from the Brooklyn – Hoppertunity (8) and War Story (2) – rate as the choices based on proven Belmont form. They are also both legitimate 1 1/4-mile stayers, which might not be true of some of the others in the lineup.

War Story (2) is the top selection, though Hoppertunity squarely beat him in the Brooklyn on the Belmont undercard. War Story did not seem to produce his ‘A’ race that afternoon, and can win if able to replicate his effort from the Breeders’ Cup Classic last fall, in which he was beaten only four lengths.

Race 10: Belmont Derby

Like the Belmont Oaks, the Belmont Derby presents a puzzle for handicappers trying to weigh the merits of European shippers vs. runners from America.

Of the U.S. runners, the steady development from Hawkish (8) has me excited about his chances, particularly since he figures to benefit from added ground. Analyze It (3) deserves play, having won by commanding margins in three of four starts. I will try those two, plus Hunting Horn (4), seemingly the top prospect from across the pond.

The Tickets

A 50-cent pick four using the horses outlined above, listed in numerical order, of 1,2 with 4,5,7,10 with 2,8 with 3,4,8 costs $24.