Top Horse Racing Betting Picks at Saratoga for Saturday, July 22

Top Horse Racing Betting Picks at Saratoga for Saturday, July 21

Written by on July 20, 2018

Saratoga racetrack opened on Friday, July 21. Check out the top Saratoga races on Saturday that are sure to garner plenty of horse betting action.

Top Horse Racing Betting Picks at Saratoga for Saturday, July 21

There’s a 63% chance of rain at Saratoga on Saturday. If the rains do hit, some races will be taken off the turf. One race that most likely will stay on the turf is Race 10, the Diana Stakes.

Race 3 – $80,000 Allowance Optional Claimer

$80,000 optional claimers amount to low-level, open, stakes races. This field is loaded with second tier stakes horses like Awesome Slew, Rally Cry, and Behavioral Bias. The winner is the Albert Stall trained Behavioral Bias. The 4-year-old has an edge over his competition in the sense that he broke his maiden over the Saratoga dirt at this distance last August. Like at Del Mar, horses that have shown an affinity over the Saratoga main track often have the edge. Rally Cry, trained by Todd Pletcher and ridden by Luis Saez, should get plenty of attention. It’s hard to see the Pletcher trainee not finishing in the exacta. He’s got a win and a second place finish from 2 races at Saratoga. It’s going to be hard to keep 9/5 chalk Awesome Slew from finishing in the money. He’s got 4 second place finishes from 6 races at 7 furlongs. That makes him a decent exacta play as well. First: Behavioral Bias Second: Rally Cry Third: Awesome Slew

Race 9 – Grade 3 Sanford

The Sanford is only a Grade 3. That doesn’t mean much. Most of these horses will come back and contest the Grade 1 Champagne. The inside part of Saratoga’s racetrack usually favors speed. That’s not always the case, but it’s often the case. That means Calumet Farm owned and Todd Pletcher trained Lexitonian could win this race. Johnny V. gets the call, always a plus, while Lexitonian rallied from off the pace at Belmont Park to break his maiden. His professionalism could carry him past stablemate Sombeyay on the rail. Another Todd Pletcher trained 2-year-old, Sombeyay broke his maiden impressively before finishing second in a $150,000 stakes race at Belmont Park. His work over the Saratoga dirt on July 14 is why he shows up as the 2/1 morning line favorite in this. Winchell Thoroughbreds LLC and Willis Ho purchased Bano Solo for $400,000. The Goldencents sired 2-year-old is strained by Steve Asmussen. He’s produced some impressive works at Saratoga like Sombeyay. First: Lexitonian Second: Sombeyay Third: Bano Solo

Race 10 – Grade 1 Diana

Trainer Chad Brown’s got 3 in here, which is what you’d expect. Brown has the top two choices, 9/5 on the morning line Sistercharlie, and 2/1 on the morning line Raving Beauty. It’s almost never a good idea to go chalky in any race at The Graveyard of Favorites, but in this case, it’s impossible not to go chalky. The reason? Sistercharlie looks like a stand out. She won the Grade 1 Jenny Wiley at Keenland in fine fashion before losing by ¾ of a length in the Grade 2 New York. Look what happened in that race, though.  Sistercharlie was behind 28 lengths at the first call. At the second call, she was behind 10 lengths. The fact that she rallied to pick up second is amazing. Ultrabrat won the Grade 3 Gallorette by 10 lengths. This race is much tougher. But, the Graham Motion trainee won the Gallorette over soft turf, which is what she could see on Saturday. Not only that, but the win might be a sign she’s finally put things together. Chad Brown trained New Money Honey hasn’t shown her best in a while. She did win her tightener, an $80,000 optional claimer at Belmont, in June. If she’s ready, she can win this at 8/1. First: Sistercharlie Second: Ultrabrat Third: New Money Honey Make sure you get in on the MyBookie Racebook action. Not only can you wager on all the major tracks, you can also score with an 8% rebate!