It’s summer in Southern California, and for horseplayers that can only mean one thing: Del Mar is here! The annual Del Mar summer Thoroughbred meet opens on Friday, July 21 and will usher in California’s most looked-forward-to season of horse racing. The 2023 Del Mar summer meet will be conducted mostly on a four-days-a-week basis, Thursdays through Sundays plus Labor Day for eight weeks ending on Sunday, Sept. 10.
Tag: Gambling
Using Recent History as a Guide to Betting the 2023 Haskell Stakes
The $1 million, Grade 1 TVG.com Haskell Stakes at Monmouth Park isn’t part of the Triple Crown, but it often seems like a summer extension of the spring classics.
Spot Plays at the Spa: Saturday, July 15
TDN's Senior Racing Editor Steve Sherack reveals a pair of selections for the first Saturday of the Saratoga meeting.
Race 1, Msw, $136k, 2yo, 5 1/2f, post time: 1:10 p.m. ET
There's every chance that National Treasure (Quality Road)'s half-brother and rail-drawn 4-5 morning-line favorite Pirate (Omaha Beach) turns out to be a complete monster, but I'll be taking a shot against him with fellow firster Special Element (Copper Bullet).
There's plenty of precocity in Special Element's pedigree. His freshman sire Copper Bullet, winner of the 2017 GII Saratoga Special S., is off and running with three winners and his dam It's High Time (Gone Astray) was a runaway 2-year-old spring winner at Gulfstream (and subsequent stakes winner) and her first foal Fourteeneightyfour (Straight Fire) also romped at first asking at two at Delaware.
Special Element brought $260,000 from Pin Oak Stud after a powerful-looking :10 breeze at OBS April. Hall of Famer Bill Mott's debuting 2-year-olds have come out firing so far at this meet with the very impressive debut winner Sugar Hi (Twirling Candy) on opening day and runner-up Book of Wisdom (Solomini) on Friday. Selection: #4 Special Element (7-2).
Race 3, Msw, $136k, 3yo/up, f/m, 1 1/16mT, 2:16 p.m. ET
Vanished (Speightstown) has run well enough to win in both of her prior efforts as the beaten favorite, including a debut second over the Churchill lawn May 13, and will be awfully tough to catch as the controlling speed in this big field beneath Luis Saez over the inner turf course. Her multiple stakes winning dam Elusive Pearl (Medaglia d'Oro) won the Riskaverse S. over the Saratoga lawn in 2011. Selection: #5 Vanished (3-1).
The post Spot Plays at the Spa: Saturday, July 15 appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.
Noel’s Weekend Winners: Best Bets for Saratoga’s Opening Saturday
Welcome to Noel Michaels’ Weekend Winners, the place to go for weekend best bets and spot plays from veteran handicapper and tournament-play pioneer Noel Michaels. Check back every week for a couple of highlighted selections designed to help you cash a few bets and make some money.
