Buy TicketsBy Matt Shifman and Bob Ehalt
Hot List Key:
A: A preferred horse to watch B: Secondary horse to watch
*C: Went down 2 or more betting notches and finished 1st through 3rd
*D: Went down 2 or more betting notches and finished 4th or worst
* - 4 or more betting notches if 11-1 or more.
1st race – [Md Sp Wt, 6F TURF] - (9) Love to Shop moved to the turf for her first start of the year and the second of her career at Belmont Park and finished second for Todd Pletcher. (5) Accept the Outcome made two starts for Chad Brown and improved to be second in April. (12) Advance Attack will make her debut for Pletcher. She sold for $450,000 as a 2-year-old last year. The son of excellent young sire Bolt d’Oro is out of a veteran dam that produced 6 winners from 10 including Bolo who was a multiple Grade 1 winner on turf and dirt. (7) Spun Special has early speed and is projected to be on the lead as she moves back to the turf in her second start of the year.
2nd race – [NY, Alw 80000 N1X, 7F TURF] - (3) Sikum (A) got squeezed between horses, checked at the break putting her at the back of a full field, and she rallied to fourth beaten by less than three lengths. (2) Solib was the winner of a starter allowance in her first start of the year after changing to the Mike Maker barn. (4) Weekend Rags broke her maiden in her first start on the grass which came after a three-month layoff. She is expected to on the lead in this field. (7) Royal Dancer used early speed to break her maiden in September.
3rd race – [True North (G2), 6 ½ F] – (4) Elite Power is the Champion Sprinter of 2022 based on his Grade 1 victories in the Breeders’ Cup and the Vosburgh. He now has won six races in a row and returns after travelling to Saudi Arabia to win a rich Group 3 stakes race. (5) Strobe won a pair of allowances at Fair Grounds with early speed but rallied to finish second in the Count Fleet (G2) at Oaklawn. He won four of his six starts with seconds in the other two. (1) Today’s Flavor won five out of his last six races at Aqueduct in NY-bred and open company. He is projected to be on the lead. (2) Synthesis had a speedy allowance victory in his second start after a layoff.
4th race – [ALW 95000 N1X, 7F] – (1) American Law finished in the top three in his last six starts including a second and a third in allowance company since breaking his maiden in January at Aqueduct. (6) Bouncer is a Fla.-bred that won his 2023 debut with a big speed figure for Mark Casse at Gulfstream Park. (7) Life Changer had top three finishes in his last nine races with a pair of wins. (8) Asmodeus broke his maiden at Aqueduct in March going a one-turn mile and then was overmatched in the Peter Pan (G3). The cutback to seven-furlongs should work well.
5th race – [Poker (G3), 1 mi TURF] – (1) Chez Pierre won his first five starts with three coming in France and then the others in an allowance and his first stakes race. In April he won the Makers Mile (G1) at Keeneland on the front-end earning a big speed figure. (2) Emaraaty will make his first start of this year after pair of wins at Saratoga for Chad Brown including the Bernard Baruch (G3). (7) Filo Di Arianna won his last three races of 2022 at Woodbine in an allowance and then a pair of Grade 2s. (5) Anaconda won the Elusive Quality last month at Belmont rallying from off the pace.
6th race – [Brooklyn (G2), 1 ½ mi] – (5) Next romped in two long-distance stakes while racing on the lead at the end of 2022 and then debuted this year with a third-place finish going twelve furlongs at Churchill. (7) Warrant won the race in which Next debuted. He was second last year in the Brooklyn and also prefers to be part of the pace. (9) Calibrate won the Temperence Hill at Oaklawn Park going today’s distance with a stalking trip which fits well in this field. (8) Lone Rock dominated this kind of race in 2021 and 2022. The now eight-year-old backed out of his last start in the race at Churchill.
7th race – [Ogden Phipps (G1), 1 1/16 mi] – (6) Clairiere and (4) Secret Oath traded first and second-place finishes in their last two meetings which came at Oaklawn with Clairiere winning the Apple Blossom (G1) in April and Secret Oath taking the Azeri (G2) in March. Secret Oath also ran in May and was again second in the LaTroienne (G1) at Churchill losing to (5) Played Hard who was making her first start of the year. She ended 2022 with a win in the Fall City (G3) which was also in Kentucky. (2) Search Results was third in the Phipps last year and only once missed the top three in 13 career races.
8th race – [Woody Stephens (G1), 7F] - (4) General Jim ran two big races going one-turn this year winning the Swale (G3) in February and then the Pat Day Mile (G2) last month with a 100 BSF. A fast pace is expected in the Woody Stephens which should suit him well. (3) Arabian Lion got a stakes victory against a small field in the Sir Barton at Pimlico three weeks ago when he got loose on the lead. He will face plenty of pressure up front in this field of 13. (13) Drew’s Gold is unbeaten in four starts and last time showed courage to pull away to an almost five-length win in the Gold Fever at Belmont last month and will stalk the pace after breaking from the far outside. (7) Federal Judge won both of his starts in a maiden at Oaklawn and then an allowance at Churchill. Pace projector puts him on the lead at the start which is an indicator of the fast pace that will happen.
9th race – [Jaipur (G1), 6F TURF] – (11) Casa Creed will try and win the Jaipur for third year in a row and will benefit from an expected very fast pace. His late runs produced big speed figures in this race the last two years. Last seen he missed winning the rich Turf Sprint by a nose in Saudi Arabia in February. (12) Caravel won her last four starts with two of them against the boys and all of them were at 5.5 furlongs. She is very fast but will have to go fast from 11 post and face plenty of pressure from there. (9) Nothing Better finished in the top three in his last 12 starts with five wins. (10) Big Invasion won six races in a row last year with five in stakes races. He came back running in 2023 with another stakes win from off the pace.
10th race – [Met Mile (G1), 1 mi] – (9) White Abarrio was third, beaten by less than a length in the Cigar Mile (G1) in December, was poorly placed running in the Pegasus World Cup. He came back to run a big figure in an allowance win going one-turn for seven furlongs. He was moved to the barn of Rick Dutrow to ensure that he could run in this race. Dutrow can improve horses new to his barn and is 10-1 on the morning line. (1) Cody’s Wish is currently the best older horse in the country with five wins in a row with the last three in Grade 1s. The one-turn mile is probably his best distance. He is extremely likely to win but may be the shortest priced favorite of the day. (5) Charge It is an ‘in and outer’, hard to know how he will run in any race. He can run poorly or like in the Dwyer (G3) in 2022 going a mile at Belmont he won by 23 lengths with a 111 BSF. (6) Zandon has not won since the Blue Grass (G1) last year but since then he was third in the Kentucky Derby and the Travers (G1) and second in the Pa. Derby (G1) and the Jim Dandy (G2).
11th race – [Manhattan(G1), 1 ¼ mi TURF] – (4) Ottoman Fleet was a three-time winner in England and came to America to win the Fort Marcy (G2) at Belmont for Charlie Appleby. (8) Up to the Mark had a breakthrough victory in the Turf Classic (G1) at Churchill last month for Pletcher as his speed figures improved in his last three starts going to an 103 BSF. (5) Soldier Rising was second in the Man O’ War (G1) at Belmont in May in his first start of the year. (6) Red Knight was the winner of the Man O’ War in his second start of the year as a 9-year-old with now 12 career wins.
12th race – [Belmont Stakes (G1), 1 1/2 mi] - (2) Tapit Trice won four races in a row with two wins on the Kentucky Derby trail which led to a seventh-place finish in the Derby. The son of Tapit should appreciate the added distance and he tries to give Pletcher his fifth victory in the Belmont. (6) Forte is the other Pletcher runner and the morning line favorite based on his five wins in a row. He has not run since April when he won the Florida Derby. (8) Angel of Empire was third in the Derby following a pair of Derby trail wins. Blinkers go on as the leader of the Brad Cox trio in this race. (3) Arcangelo is a late developing 3-year-old with two wins in a maiden and the Peter Pan (G3) showing a big improvement in speed figures.
13th race – [NY, Alw 80000 N1X, 1 1/16 mi TURF] – (1) Spirit of St. Louis won his debut and was second in the first-level allowance at Aqueduct and now moves to the turf for Chad Brown. (2) Let’s Bo Big Blue also won his debut which was on the turf at Saratoga and then he made three starts in turf stakes. He will make his first start of the year as he drops into an allowance for the first time with Lasix and the blinkers come off. (9) Curly Larry and Mo ran in the Breeders’ Cup and a couple of others stakes and now returns to NY-bred company with a chance to set the pace. (10) Shpilkes was a turf allowance winner at Parx and will make his initial start against state-breds.
Saturday Pick 3 Special
The $1 Saturday Special Pick 3 covers races 2 to 4 and includes the True North (G2) à 2,3 with 4, 5 with 1, 6, 7, 8 = $16.
| No. | Name | Letter last race | Today's Race | Comments |
| (3) | Sikum | A on 5/14 | 2 | She got squeezed between horses and checked at the break. |