3 Best Bets for Saratoga Opening Weekend

The summer racing season at Saratoga Race Course is one of the highlights of the year, and it all got underway on opening day, Thursday, July 11. You can bet the entire summer meet right here at FanDuel Racing, and we will be right here with you to provide best bets for every weekend at the Spa.

With live racing scheduled Wednesday through Sunday (plus closing day on Labor Day: Monday, September 2) and stakes races every single day, the best horses in the country come out to play. Whether you will be betting this premier summer meet from Saratoga Springs or from home, keep these horses in mind as keys to your weekend wagering.

Saturday, July 13

Race 6: Maiden special weight - Munson (6-1 ML)

The seventh race on Saturday at Saratoga is a 5 ½-furlong maiden special weight sprint for two-year-olds on the main track. Juvenile maiden races at Saratoga are one of the classiest traditions in horse racing, and paying attention to these races now can reveal Triple Crown contenders for next year. Of course, it can also lead to nice scores right now.

Only three of the nine horses in the field have raced before, including the most interesting of the field, Munson. On debut at Churchill Downs on June 6, he broke a little slowly. However, he was able to settle near the rear, pass horses well in the lane, and miss by just ½ length behind Conquering Cat, who had a better and more tactical trip. He gets a rider upgrade to Tyler Gaffalione, and trainer Tom Amoss is strong both in maiden special weights and with horses he ships from one track to another, coming first off the ship.

Six of the nine runners are making their debuts. Among them, Tenacious Leader is the 5-2 morning-line favorite for Saratoga Race Course mainstay Todd Pletcher. His sire Not This Time is a solid first-out sire, but everything about Tenacious Leader’s dam-side pedigree suggests more time and distance, since he is out of an unraced Curlin half-sister to War Story and Land Over Sea, class horses who did their best work at ages three and up.

For anyone looking to put a first-time starter in exotic wagers, consider instead Tough Catch (8-1 ML). The rail draw is suboptimal for a first-time starter, but jockey Luis Saez is aggressive enough to get him out of the gate well for Dallas Stewart, who does well with first-timers at a price. Tough Catch has an excellent pedigree for this, too: no first-crop sire has been hotter than Complexity, and his dam has produced two debut winners, including one who did so as a juvenile, as well as another runner who won second-out at two.

Race 11: Sanford Stakes (G3) - Studlydoright (7-2 ML)

The 2-year-old male set gets its first graded-stakes opportunity Saturday in the Sanford, a six-furlong sprint on the dirt. The 6-5 morning-line favorite is Mentee, drawn on the rail for perennial Saratoga leader Todd Pletcher. His maiden win at the Belmont Park at Aqueduct meet on June 15 was a sharp frontrunning effort, but he drew outside that day. This time, he is buried down on the fence with plenty of speed outside of him: Baby Dukes, War Tax, Mo Plex, and even Three Echoes and Mr. Squeaky Wheels have the speed to be up close and make sure the pace is lively.

This sets up excellently for a horse who can come in from off the pace. There are two of those in this field: Studlydoright and Soontobeking. Between the two, Studlydoright is the better horse, at least at this point in time. He has won both of his starts, including the Tremont at Saratoga race track during the Belmont Stakes festival, and he has shown stronger late pace than Soontobeking has so far.

From a price perspective, Studlydoright’s connections help as well. He is trained by John Robb, a solid mid-Atlantic trainer but not a big-name guy like Todd Pletcher or Steve Asmussen. He also keeps regular rider Xavier Perez, his regular local rider who already shipped to Saratoga Race Course, to win the Tremont with him at a price. He isn’t going to attract bettors’ eyes like an Irad Ortiz or John Velazquez. In short, despite being the only stakes winner in the field and having a pace advantage, Studlydoright still stands to be overlaid on the tote board.

Sunday, July 14

Race 7: Allowance optional claiming - Battle of Normandy (7-2 ML)

Despite the large field for this second-level allowance at 1 ⅜ miles on the grass, the one thing this race lacks is speed. Most of the horses prefer to come from midfield or further back, giving an advantage to runners who have tactical pace. The only horses with much in the way of speed are Battle of Normandy, Mondego, and Relampago Verde.

Battle of Normandy is the best of that group. He won a 1 ⅛-mile allowance at Aqueduct on June 16, a sign of his good form. And, his form at Saratoga Race Track has been even better. He broke his maiden over the course as a juvenile and then missed by a neck in the With Anticipation. And, Battle of Normandy ran the fastest race of his life so far in defeat at Saratoga last year, finishing a credible fourth behind Program Trading in the Saratoga Derby (G1) last year. Given that he did so against Grade 1 horses without even having cleared his first-level allowance condition yet, that serves as another testament to the Saratoga turf being where he comes into himself.

It is also a positive that this Shug McGaughey trainee gets Flavien Prat back in the irons. Prat rode Battle of Normandy for the first time last time and he showed more speed than ever, setting a pace that was contested early before he cleared off. The biggest question is how much he wants 1 ⅜ miles, as he has yet to stretch out that far. But, there is enough stamina in his pedigree as well as enough ability to mature with age to make the stretch out worth trying. And, if one of the other pace horses—more likely long shot Relampago Verde, who did wire a maiden turf mile at Keeneland two back—is able to beat Battle of Normandy to the front? Battle of Normandy has won from a stalking shape as well, and can take advantage of that gear as a backup plan.

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