Saturday’s card at Aqueduct is a good one. Not only is it Cigar Mile Day, but the Road to the Kentucky Derby also continues with a strong edition of the $250,000 Remsen Stakes (G2). The two races are both included in an All-Stakes Pick 4 sequence that gets started in Race 8 at approximately 2:39 eastern time. As usual, 1/ST BET and Xpressbet have a promotion to make the day much more enjoyable. This time it is a 1 Million 1/ST Rewards Points Hit & Split over the final four races. Be sure to register on the promotional landing page before playing!
Grade Descriptions: Grade A=Highest degree of confidence; Grade B=Solid Play. Grade C=Least preferred or pass; Grade X=probable winner but likely at odds too short to play.
Race 8: New York Stallion Series: Fifth Avenue Division
Grade: C+
Main Ticket: 8 Braverthanubelieve; 10 Hot Currency; 1 Oh
Backups: None
Forecast: The first of two New York-bred stakes at 7-furlongs kicks things off. This one is for the fillies where I am not creative overall, but landed on #8 Braverthanubelieve on top. The daughter of Honest Mischief showed speed and some grit winning on debut over the off track on November 22. Trainer Johnny Ortiz wheels her back quickly and when this barn is on a roll, they are one I like to back. Ortiz had a tough spring and summer, but has been heating up of late evidenced by his 5 for 19-record and $2.39 ROI over the last 30 days. This gal should be a decent price in this full field affair. #10 Hot Currency and #1 Oh are obvious contenders that make a lot of sense. Hot Currency broke well with the addition of blinkers last out and finished strong. She should get a similar trip under Flavien Prat. Oh has to overcome the rail draw, but comes in a perfect 2 for 2. With a good break, she could be very tough to catch.
Race 9: Remsen (G2)
Grade: B-
Main Ticket: 9 Renegade
Backups: 2 Paladin
Forecast: It is always intriguing to see how late season 2YOs of quality handle their first 1 1/8-mile test in the Remsen (G2) where this year there are some super high-priced colts hoping to earn some black type. #2 Paladin went for $1.9M at the FTS August 2024 sale, while #6 Courting sold for an astronomical $5M in September at Keeneland. Both have had quality starts to their careers, especially Paladin who ran huge on debut and was placed first via DQ. It was #9 Renegade he ran to the wire with in mid-October and despite him leaning on and bumping Paladin in the lane, I like his chances to win this graded stakes as a maiden. The son of Into Mischief is also bred to be a good one being out of the Curlin mare, Spice Is Nice and finished extremely strong stretching out from 6.5-furlongs to a mile. A move forward should be expected from the Todd Pletcher trainee. Paladin is also hard to toss though given the speed and determination he showed in that first start. He too should relish the added ground as Chad Brown’s early Derby hope.
Race 10: Cigar Mile (G2)
Grade: B
Main Ticket: 4 Crazy Mason
Backups: None
Forecast: This year’s Cigar Mile came up a bit light, but hopefully we can make the most of it by beating the two ML favorites. #6 Phileas Fogg is the deserving 9-5-ML favorite off of a strong 2025 campaign for Gustavo Rodriguez, but I am not in love with the cutback to a one-turn mile. This makes him tough to endorse as the likely public choice. #7 Bishops Bay is likely to take a lot of money too, but is not for me on top. The son of Uncle Mo has earned over $700k, but has done so by beating up on second and third tier fields for the most part. I expect there to be at least one better than the Brad Cox trainee. Hopefully, it is late running #4 Crazy Mason. The Coal Front colt lacks early speed, but consistently comes with a strong run late. He is unlikely to get a big setup as he tries to stretch out to eight-furlongs, but is a horse still improving and should get enough pace for Irad Ortiz Jr. to run them down as the third choice on the tote.
Race 11: New York Stallion Series: Great White Way Division
Grade: X
Main Ticket: 2 Parker Boone
Backups: None
Forecast: The finale is the male division of the NYSS at 7-furlongs where I have no interest in trying to beat 8-5-ML favorite #2 Parker Boone. The $100,000 son of Solomini crushed a field of open company maidens at Parx by twelve lengths and likely has pointed to this spot against fellow New York-breds since. Trainer Butch Reid has had plenty of success shipping into Aqueduct for stakes races over the year and this colt looks too fast for the competition. Jockey Mychel Sanchez was aboard him in Bensalem on debut and will make the voyage up the Jersey Turnpike to ride him in the Big Apple on Saturday. A likely short priced winner to close the afternoon!
.svg){kind=logo}
