Because the Breeders’ Cup is on Friday, Nov. 6 and Saturday, Nov. 7, top stakes racing action will be light the next couple of weeks. No worries! Horse racing never takes off a weekend. So, there will be stakes action this Saturday on Halloween, it just won’t be what we’re used to. Check out top plays and Horse Racing Odds for the Top Stakes Races of the Week for Saturday, Oct. 31st. You can also visit our Online Racebook to place your bets on active racetracks.
Horse Racing Odds & Picks for Top Stakes Races of the Week
- When: Saturday, Oct. 31
Woodbine Racecourse
- Overskate Stakes – 7 ½ furlongs turf – $100,000
Don’t be surprised if the last three finishers from the 2019 Overskate Stakes ends up in the starting gate for the 2020 version. Dixie’s Gamble won the race. Because last year’s winner hasn’t raced since November 2019, we shouldn’t expect him to go off the chalk, though.
Del Mar Racetrack
- Kathryn Crosby Stakes – 1 mile turf – $75,000
Del Mar, where the turf meets the surf, starts their late fall meet this week. The top race on Saturday is the $75,000 Kathryn Crosby Stakes going a mile over the turf. Last year’s winner, Wicked Old Fashion, finished third in the Golden Poppy in June. She’ll attract action if trainer Victor Trujillo enters her in the Kathryn Crosby.
Golden Gate Fields
- Pike Place Dancer Stakes – 1 mile turf – $75,000
Golden Gate didn’t run the Pike Place Dancer Stakes in 2019. It’s difficult to know what horses will show up to run at GG Fields on Saturday. One thing we do know? The stakes action is light this weekend, which means some tough SoCal horses could make the trip up the I-5 to the NorCal racetrack.
Belmont Park
- Zagora Stakes – 1 ½ miles turf – $80,000
- Awad Stakes – 1 1/16 miles turf – $80,000
- Grade 3 Bold Ruler – 7 furlongs dirt – $100,000
2019 Zagora winner Empressof the Nile hasn’t raced since February. This is the type of event trainer Graham Motion loves for his 6-year-old mare, though. She’s not good enough to contend with graded stakes runners. She is good enough to win lower-level stakes like the Zagora. Expect Empressof the Nile to enter the starting gate on Nov. 1
The Awad Stakes is for 2-year-old colts. The top juvenile turf runners will contend on Friday, Nov. 6 in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf. That could be a good thing from a betting point-of-view. No matter which youngsters show up for the Awad, it should be a competitive race with no clear-cut favorite.
The weekend’s top event is the Grade 3 Bold Ruler. Maximum Security won the 2019 Bold Ruler. This year, horses like Stan the Man, Funny Guy, Diamond King, and Yorkton figure to contest for the win money because they’re not good enough to run at the Breeders’ Cup.
That’s a good thing for us. Just like the Awad Stakes, and the Zagora, when top class horses don’t enter into lower level stakes, there’s a better chance of making money on the race.
Don’t settle for short prices in any stakes race this weekend. The big name runners are taking the next two weeks off, which means longshot equines could get it done at overlay odds.
