The racing week in Saratoga Springs kicks off in style on Thursday afternoon. Not only is there a $99k carryover in the $1 Pick 6 to attack, but also a new promotion for the week at 1/ST BET and Xpressbet. It is called “Trifecta-Thon”, $10,000 is on the line over the course of the four-day racing week, and the goal is hitting six or more $1 trifectas over the course of those four days. Those customers that strike for at least six will share $7500, while those who connect on the most $1 trifectas split the other $2500. Remember to register on the promotional landing page. Here are a few horses I like most on the Thursday agenda.
Race 4:
The Pick 6 kicks off with this $130k allowance over the Inner Turf where trainer Chad Brown holds a strong 1-2 punch with 2-1-ML favorite #2 Spirit of St Louis and 5-2-second choice #5 Salamis. Spirit of St Louis is hard for me to endorse at that offering. The New York-bred has not been the same horse since the fall of ’25 after a huge first half of his campaign. He is a toss for me given his price. Salamis is not much easier for me to endorse. I definitely prefer his “upside” second off the bench to his stablemate, but his lack of speed from the gate is likely to put him in a tough spot in this 9-furlong affair that is unlikely to see a hot pace in the early stages. For that reason. I like #7 Sand Pipes. The son of Summer Front is winless in five starts this year, but that includes four stakes races. A few of those stakes events are far from overly superior to this condition at the Spa, but this race shapes up well for the Lindsay Schultz trainee. Jockey Kendrick Carmouche is likely to send aggressively from the gate and take them a long way on the engine. Hopefully, it is all the way to the wire.
Play: #7 Sand Pipes (4-1 ML)
Picks: 7-5-1
Race 7: Suzie O Cain
The Thursday feature is this 1 1/16-mile state-bred event over the Inner Turf where it is likely to be bet like a two-filly race between #3 All of It and #5 Celtic Dawn. Celtic Dawn has fired off the faster races thus far, but those have come in sprints, including her turf debut last out in one of the NY Stallion Stakes at Aqueduct on June 13. She gets Irad Ortiz Jr and is likely to get the jump on All of It, but I will single the latter. The daughter of Mendelssohn took advantage of a perfect trip in her easy maiden debut win in April and then took a step forward versus winners coming from further off the pace to prance home to another open length victory. She has enough tactical speed to not leave herself with too much to do and should be extremely tough to hold off late.
Play: #3 All of It (8-5 ML)
Picks: 3-6-5
Race 8:
A strong 7-furlong allowance over the main track is up next and has a big shot to be won on the front end by #1 Munnings Express. The Linda Rice trainee goes turf-to-dirt after a speed and fade run over the Aqueduct sod in late June. Rice has been extremely reliable when switching from grass to the main track evidenced by her 25 for 110 record over the last three years with an amazing $2.50 ROI. Jose Lezcano should have her on the lead with the inside draw. The final furlong could be a challenge, but I think she has the stamina to seal the deal.
Play: #1 Munnings Express (7-2 ML)
Picks: 1-4-8
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