Litfin's Saratoga plays for Thursday, August 3

THURSDAY, AUGUST 3

Wednesday's plays, along with the rest of the card, were cancelled due to the extreme heat wave that gripped the Northeast. We broke even!

Fortunately, things were supposed to get a bit better on Thursday, when the high temperature was expected to be only in the mid-80s.

RACE 4

Summer Palace, a $300,000 New York-bred filly, had only one chance to sprint six furlongs on a fast track as a 2-year-old, and the result was a front-running maiden triumph by more than six lengths. She makes her first start as a 3-year-old for Todd Pletcher, an extremely dangerous layoff trainer, and has been training at Saratoga since late May.

The fillies Summer Palace has to beat are Holy Kryptonite, who has never finished out of the money in six lifetime starts; and Mama Theresa, an eight-length debut winner at Saratoga last summer, who is making her third start back from a layoff.

The bet: $15 exacta, Summer Palace over Holy Kryptonite; $10 exacta, Summer Palace over Mama Theresa ($25 total)

RACE 5

Summer Service ran in three six-furlong turf sprints on Belmont's inner course from early May through mid-June, and each time he finished third behind a winner who set a new course record. He has been freshened up with nearly seven weeks of rest since making up a lot of ground behind Weigelia's 1:07.04 clocking, and won a turf sprint at Saratoga last year off a similar short layoff.

The bet: $25 to win on Summer Service

Total wagers for meet: $300
Total return for meet: $111
Total win/loss for meet: minus $189