NEW YORK – Memorial Day weekend kicks off Saturday with a graded stakes tripleheader at Santa Anita and a graded stakes doubleheader at Monmouth. The Charles Whittingham and the Triple Bend – two Grade 2, $200,000 races – are the main events at Santa Anita, supported by the Grade 3, $100,000 Daytona. The Grade 2, $200,000 Monmouth Stakes and the Grade 3, $150,000 Salvator Mile are the headliners at the Jersey Shore. Saturday’s one other graded stakes is the Grade 3, $100,000 Winning Colors at Churchill Downs. Classy Act in Winning Colors Let It Ride Mom is arguably the most accomplished horse in this race, with a steady string of stakes appearances, many of them competitive efforts. And the fact that she enters off a six-month layoff should not be an issue since she did win the Grade 3 Whimsical in her first start last year off an identical break. However, a couple of things do concern me about Let It Ride Mom, especially since she figures to attract a fair amount of parimutuel support. For one, she found the winner’s circle only once in 2017 and again in 2018. More importantly, Let It Ride Mom tends to lag early in her races, and that’s problematic in this 12-horse sprint stakes, which surprisingly doesn’t have many committed front-runners. Classy Act finished a badly beaten seventh in her last two starts of 2018 and now reappears off a nine-month absence with a new trainer in Joe Sharp. Yet she is the one I want. Classy Act has a few back races that are plenty good enough to win this. One was her second in the Rachel Alexandra early last year behind champion 3-year-old filly Monomoy Girl and ahead of 2018 Canadian Horse of the Year Wonder Gadot. Another was a smashing allowance win over the Churchill main track last June. But it was Classy Act’s narrowly beaten second in the Victory Ride last July that I find compelling in the context of this spot. Classy Act dueled Mia Mischief (who recently won the Grade 1 Humana Distaff) back to fifth in the Victory Ride and yet still almost prevailed while also finishing ahead of Separationofpowers, who came back to win the Grade 1 Test in her next start. I expect Classy Act to be involved from the outset, and with a steady recent workout line and Sharp’s excellent numbers with layoff horses, Classy Act’s recent inactivity doesn’t bother me. :: MEMORIAL DAY SALE: Save 50% on Formulator PPs, DRF Plus access, and handicapping reports The Hardest Way in Triple Bend It’s probably foolish going against American Anthem here. Although he was the beaten favorite in his recent return from a nine-month hiatus at Churchill, he was sharp in finishing second and has a license to improve on that outing. He now cuts back to a seven-furlong distance at which four of his five career wins have come, and he has some strong back performances. But I’m going against American Anthem because I feel he might be in for a tough trip. He drew the rail, and Cistron, who romped in the Kona Gold most recently while going from turf to dirt and is this race’s other main speed, breaks right next to him. I’m thinking they might compromise each other and set it up for The Hardest Way. The Hardest Way’s overall form falls short of American Anthem’s. However, he was freakish in romping at Keeneland last time out off a 13-month absence and in his first start for trainer Ron Ellis. If The Hardest Way has indeed developed into the triple-digit Beyer Speed Figure horse he was in his comeback, he can capitalize here as he projects to sit a sweet stalking trip. Mucho in Paradise Creek Fog of War makes his 3-year-old debut in this feature at Belmont after winning both of his starts last year at 2, including the Summer Stakes over Preakness winner War of Will. But as formidable as he promises to be, I want to see where he is as a 3-year-old. Strike Silver, who is also in this race and had good 2-year-old turf form last year, was not good in his 3-year-old debut. Although switching Mucho to turf for the first time after a poor performance most recently in the Bay Shore might appear like a desperate move, he’s my pick. Mucho is out of a dam who has thrown two turf winners, he was good enough to finish second in last year’s Hopeful, and he is trained by Bill Mott, who knows a turf horse when he sees one, like Paradise Creek, for example.