SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – The photo-finish camera could barely separate Test Score and New Century at the end of the Grade 1 American Turf, and handicappers will find themselves in a similar position trying to select a winner when the pair meets again Friday at Saratoga in the Grade 1, $750,000 Belmont Derby Invitational.
Tracey Wisner, who trains the 9-year-old gelding Charcoal, was told during a Wednesday morning telephone interview that the Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint winner Nobals, heavily favored, would be racing Friday at Presque Isle Downs rather than at Horseshoe Indianapolis in the $100,000 William Garrett Handicap.
“That’s not breaking my heart at all,” Wisner said.
Considering his stable’s current form, trainer Steve Knapp’s two starters at Los Alamitos on Friday deserve scrutiny on a program that includes a carryover of $14,547 in the $2 pick six.
Through Sunday, Knapp led all trainers at the Los Alamitos summer meeting with five wins, two more than Doug O’Neill and Tim Yakteen. Knapp won three races at Los Alamitos on Sunday, the second time this year he has won three races on a program.
“I’ve never won four,” he said. “That’s hard to do.
Trainer Victor Barboza Jr. hedged his bets entering three horses in the $75,000 Carry Back Stakes on Friday at Gulfstream Park, but bettors will likely agree that he only needs one.
Here Comes Francis, an undefeated 3-year-old colt, will make his stakes debut off a two-month layoff and seems more than ready to tackle the seven-furlong dirt sprint. He has never trailed in two career starts and will break from the rail as the likely favorite in the field of seven 3-year-olds.
Virginia had a terrific month of sports betting in May, with the latest Virginia Lottery revenue report reflecting significant year-over-year growth.
Legal sportsbooks in the Old Dominion increased their betting handle by 17.7% and adjusted gross revenue by 25.9% year-over-year. The 12.2% hold was also the highest in nearly three months.
All of that came despite handle at Virginia sportsbooks falling below $600 million for just the second month in 2025.
SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – For decades, the Schuylerville Stakes for 2-year-old fillies has been the traditional opening-day feature of the Saratoga meet. This summer, with the New York Racing Association adding a week of racing at the upstate New York track, the Schuylerville has been rescheduled as one of five stakes on the second day of what is billed as the July Fourth Racing Festival at the Spa.
SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – After scratching out of more lucrative spots last weekend, Zulu Kingdom and Reagan’s Wit become the protagonists in Friday’s Grade 3, $200,000 Manila Stakes for 3-year-olds scheduled for one mile over Saratoga’s inner turf course.
SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – A nostril separated Felix and Works for Me when they met in a second-level allowance race at Aqueduct two months ago.
While Works for Me came back to win an allowance here last month, Felix has been freshened for the rematch in Friday’s $150,000 Harvey Pack Stakes scheduled for 5 1/2 furlongs over Saratoga’s Mellon turf course.
Nobals’s signature win came on the turf, and the 6-year-old gelding is coming off a record-setting win on the lawn. But trainer Larry Rivelli has said Nobals is just as good on a synthetic surface, and he will run on one Friday in the $100,000 Karl Boyes Stakes at Presque Isle Downs.
Nobals was cross-entered in the $100,000 William Garrett Handicap on turf Friday in Indiana, but Rivelli said Wednesday the gelding will run in Pennsylvania.
Trainer Brad Cox questioned the strength of the competition that Verifire beat in his first two starts, a Colonial Downs maiden race in March and a Pimlico first-level allowance in May. The field that Verifire comfortably handled Sunday at Churchill in the $250,000 Maxfield clearly had more heft.
“Probably not a killer group but a well-balanced group, and he ran good,” Cox said.
