King: How I'd play Saratoga for Thursday, Aug. 20

Four horses stick out to me as overlaid contenders on Thursday’s card at Saratoga, and provided they stick close to their morning lines, all look worthy of wagers.

The first one is Hillbilly Style (#3, 5-1) in race 3. Making his first start off the claim for trainer Patrick Reynolds, he is returning to his preferred surface on dirt. His lone victory came on dirt at Oaklawn and he was second over the dirt early in the Saratoga meet.

Moneycharger is the probable favorite for trainer Todd Pletcher. He also is returning to dirt after being outrun twice on grass. It's hard to fault his dirt sprint form and therefore I advise using him in an exacta box with Hillbilly Style.

Tex Deduction (#4, 5-1) in race 4 is appealing in this grass race based on his turf form. After showing speed and fading to fourth in a turf route, he rallied after a troubled start to be third in a turf sprint against maiden $40,000 claimers last out.

Although Willet is the most likely winner of the featured Union Avenue, the ninth race, she has been off since January, which makes her a play-against for me.

Likely to slip through the cracks is Atlantic’s Smile (#6, 6-1), who isn’t likely to be respected off a recent comeback score at Finger Lakes. But this is a mare who also ran quickly at Aqueduct over the winter, and if Willet returns a little rusty, Atlantic's Smile has an upset chance.

The card closes out with what is my best bet of the day, Northern Screamer (#1, 5-1), who ran a much-improved second last out. With many of her principal contenders unraced since last year or early spring, she may have a fitness edge, even though she hasn’t raced since June 20 at Churchill.