Saturday’s Belmont Park card, anchored by the Metropolitan Handicap and the Manhattan, has come up stronger than Belmont Stakes Day, and we’ll keep this space centered on Long Island.

EDITOR'S NOTE: The following is a free preview of Daily Racing Form's new Betting Strategies product. Betting Strategies will be available for Saturday and Sunday cards ($14.95 each) during the upcoming Del Mar and Saratoga meets.  

Daily Racing Form New York handicapper Mike Beer and TimeformUS handicapper David Aragona provide their selections, analysis, and suggested wagers for the Runhappy Metropolitan Handicap card on July 4, 2020, at Belmont Park.

Belmont | Race 6 | Post Time 3:59 p.m. (ET) | Go to the TimeformUS PPs | Not already a TimeformUS member? Sign up

With most other North American sports being shut down due to the coronavirus pandemic, we hope the sport of horse racing can entertain you during these trying times. Daily Racing Form has served as the most trusted source of news and information about the sport since 1894, and moving forward we have decided to provide a free daily playbook – something that both hardcore horseplayers and casual observers can reference to get informed of each day’s action.

1:15 BEL 1st LA KARA MIA (#2, 3-1) is a DRF Best Bet (Mike Beer).

Each week in this space, the top Beyer performances by maiden winners will be featured and analyzed. Click here for a complete archive.

Vertical Threat

LEG A (LRL 7th): JUDI BLUE EYES (4) gets back on the turf today, and this may well be her preferred surface. GENNIE HIGHWAY (5) is the one to beat, as turf sprinting is clearly her game and she has some of the best grass sprint Beyers in this field. TOMA (9) is worth using in some capacity – perhaps as a "B" on split tickets, but in equal strength for the purposes of this ticket – as she has some upside in her grass debut, given trainer Mark Reid's success with turf sprinters.

With most other North American sports being shut down due to the coronavirus pandemic, we hope the sport of horse racing can entertain you during these trying times. Daily Racing Form has served as the most trusted source of news and information about the sport since 1894, and moving forward we have decided to provide a free daily playbook – something that both hardcore horseplayers and casual observers can reference to get informed of each day’s action.

RACE 1: CALIDAD (#6)

Grade 3, $500,000 Ohio Derby; 1 1/8 miles; Thistledown; June 27, 2020

(20 Derby qualifying points for a win, 8 for second, 4 for third, 2 for fourth)

 Winner: Dean Martini, by Cairo Prince

Trainer: Tom Amoss

Jockey: Ricardo Mejias

Owners: Raise the BAR Racing LLC

Beyer Speed Figure: 95

Tuesday marks the last day of the elongated 2019-20 Tampa Bay Downs racing season. This meet was an invaluable diversion and source of entertainment for horseplayers during the pandemic, and this final card – fittingly – will be a focus on what is otherwise a typically nondescript Tuesday on the summer racing landscape. That’s thanks to a pick six forceout that features a $61,218 carryover, and with a 20-cent base wager, it’s affordable to all. Here’s one way to play it: