Some of the top distaff runners in the country are at center stage on opening weekend at Saratoga Race Course.
Saturday at Saratoga features the (G1) Diana Stakes for fillies and mares racing 1 1/8 miles on the turf. Second choice in the ML is the French-bred Wekeela (7-2) one of four in the race for trainer Chad Brown. She has a pair of runner up finishes in to Grade 1 starts in the US and shoud take to the Saratoga turf. Brown also has Dacita (5-1) who comes in off a Grade 2 score at Belmont last out and gets a cut back in distance here. Miss Temple City (3-1) is the morning line favorite off a win over males two back in the (G1) Maker's Mark Mile. Breaking from the far outside, Isabella Sings (8-1) will try to get to the front early and hang on as far as she can.
OTB NY Picks
1) #4 Wekeela
2) #6 Dacita
3) #2 Miss Temple City
4) #10 Isabella Sings
The Diana Stakes goes Saturday, July 23. Post time is 6:18 Eastern.
Undefeated super filly Songbird makes her East coast debut in her ninth career start, where she'll face four others. She was last seen at Santa Anita winning the (G2) Summertime Oaks by an easy six lengths, and she's won all four of her 2016 starts by a combined 20 lengths. She should be a lock to win here at very low odds. If you want to try and beat her, the late running Carina Mia comes into the race off two consecutive graded-stakes wins, and could make things interesting if there is any pace to run at up front, not something that is expected in this field of mostly off-the-pace runners. Although lacking in wins, Mo d'Amour has been knocking heads at the top level and could get a piece here.
OTB NY Picks
1) #1 Songbird
2) #2 Carina Mia
3) #5 Mo d'Amour
The CC American Oaks, goes Sunday, July 24. Post time is 6:18 Eastern.
Royal Ascot is one of the greatest race meets in the world, and there is no race as historic or exciting during the meet than the Gold Cup (G1)! First run in 1807, it is one of the premier races for stayers in the world. The two-and-a-half-mile turf race offers a rich £500,000 purse, and it drew ten of the world’s best long-distance horses.
The Prince of Wales’s Stakes is one of the most important races of the Royal Ascot meeting! With a £1 million purse, the race is one of the richest of the entire week, and it also offers its winner a guaranteed berth in the Breeders’ Cup Turf.
The 2022 Belmont Stakes, which will be run on Saturday, June 11, drew an exciting field of eight to compete for $1.5 million and a place in horse racing immortality. Several familiar New York horses will line up for the race, including Wood Memorial (G2) winner Mo Donegal and Peter Pan (G3) winner We the People.
The best horses in the older dirt male division line up for the $3 million Pegasus World Cup on Saturday, January 29 at Gulfstream Park! The race is at a mile and an eighth on the main track, an intermediate distance that draws both Classic runners and milers alike. Nine horses have passed the entry box, and are ready for a thrilling renewal of the winter’s biggest race!
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