Monday is a travel day for me so this is my final pick four of the meet. Let's see if we can go out on a high note.

Race 8

A nice horse that may be turning into a top grass horse may prove your linchpin for a late pick three (races 7-9) that includes a couple competitive legs in which you may find a price.

Race 7

I like AUDRA (4) in the first race. The 3-year-old filly took a lot of support when she debuted Aug. 5, but she got off to a poor start. After moving into contention on her own, she hung. She came back with a couple sharp works, and she comes out of a barn that has solid numbers with second-time starters. She could be tough to handle with a race behind her.

The final Saturday of the Saratoga meeting includes four consecutive graded stakes starting with race 8 of 12, the Grade 3 Saranac for 3-year-old turfers, the Grade 1 Spinaway for 2-year-old fillies, the Grade 1 Woodward for older males, and the Grade 3 Glens Falls for older long-distance turf fillies and mares. The shortest price among the quartet is likely to be Liam’s Map in a Woodward where two trainers account for three-quarters of the field: Todd Pletcher sends out four of them, including Liam’s Map, while Jimmy Jerkens will saddle both Effinex and Wicked Strong.

Trainer Jimmy Jerkens saddles Wicked Strong (#1, ML 5-1) and Effinex (#7, ML 4-1) in Saturday's 10th race at Saratoga, the Grade 1 Woodward Stakes.  Since Jan., 1, 2014, Jerkens is winning at a 25 percent clip in graded stakes races, for a return on investment of $3.82.

Download DRF Plus handicapping reports for Saturday's races, including DRF Bets GamePlan, the Positive ROI Report, and Key Race Report.

DRF Bets GamePlan

We’ll take a $140 crack at Saturday’s $750,000-guaranteed late pick four on races 9-12, which covers the Spinaway, Woodward, and Glens Falls and ends with a competitive optional-claiming turf route.

Race 9: Spinaway

All the talk is about RACHEL’S VALENTINA and CONSTELLATION, but TAP TO IT, TONASAH, and BANREE figure pretty close based on their races over the Saratoga track.

A – 2
B – 1, 3, 5, 6

DEL MAR, Calif. – The early portion of the Saturday card at Del Mar will receive less attention than the late part, but a potential standout in the first race is reason to jump in early.

A pick three on races 1-3 is the recommended wager. It is $20 play (two tickets, $15 and $5) with a single in the first leg.

:: See Brad Free’s pick three play in DRF TicketMaker and bet it with DRF Bets

Race 1

How in the name of all that is good is it already September? The good news is that the last Saturday card of the Saratoga meet is excellent, with an impressive slate of 12 races. I happen to like a few strong favorites, which isn't ideal for the purposes of making money, but this late in the meet I don't mind trying to go out with a few winners: better a short price than a long face.

At first it looked as if there would be a smorgasbord of options for Saturday’s 11-race card, but upon closer examination the first six races seem fairly inscrutable. So I'll try to make a splash later in the card.

The day’s plays hinge on two Richard Baltas trainees: ROCKPORT KAT (race 7) and TIZ A KISS (race 8).