Saratoga Race Course Picks: Best Bets on Sword Dancer Stakes Day, 8/9/2025

Key Takeaways:

• Race 4: Walley World (6-1) is in strong form and versatile enough to benefit from a hot pace; Common Defense (6-1) tries turf for the first time with strong pedigree and upside off a solid comeback.
• Race 9: Go Go Boots (7-2) brings proven European stamina and tactical speed; Laurelin (9-5) is undefeated and stretches out with a pedigree built for longer.
• Race 11: Next On Stage (9-2) excels at 7 furlongs and draws a good outside post for a stalk-and-pounce trip; Alyeska (7-2) showed promise off a long layoff and should improve with added fitness.

Saturday, August 9, is a day of top-class horse racing at Saratoga. A bid to the Breeders’ Cup Turf is up for grabs in the Grade 1 Sword Dancer Stakes, a 1 1 /2-mile turf route for older horses. However, that is just one of 12 races on the card, and great betting opportunities abound all day long.

In addition to the Sword Dancer Stakes, there is one other graded-stakes race on Saturday’s card: the Saratoga Oaks Invitational (G2) for sophomore fillies on the lawn. In addition to those two stakes races, there are exciting races all day long in many divisions. So, whether you love routes or sprints, turf racing or dirt racing, there’s something to watch and bet at Saratoga!

Saturday’s card in Saratoga Springs features a total of 12 races. First post time is at 12:35 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time. You can watch and wager all day long through FanDuel, and get up-to-the-minute analysis of Saratoga, Colonial Downs, Del Mar, and racing all over the country on FanDuel TV.

Don’t forget to check the weather and scratches before making your bets. Saturday is supposed to be warm, sunny, and dry, but weather can change, and scratches can happen for any reason, even when the conditions come up fast and firm. They can affect the pace setup and the class balance in the race, meaning it is good to make sure that the race you are betting is actually the one you handicapped.

These are three best picks for Sword Dancer day undercard races at Saratoga Race Course on Saturday, August 9:

Saratoga Race Course Best Bets

Race 4 - N1X allowance, fillies and mares, one mile on the turf - Walley World, Common Defense

FanDuel odds: 6-1 and 6-1

Bet now at FanDuel

This turf mile allowance drew a lot of pace, meaning it sets up well for an in-form horse who can stay out of the fray and make a rally. Walley World (6-1) has a bit of class to prove, as he has been running recently in high-priced claiming and starter company, but he has run well in all three starts since moving to the Saffie Joseph, Jr. barn and won two of his last three. He can run well from a tracking spot or from far off the pace, giving jockey Manny Franco options for where to keep him, depending on if there’s just a big pace battle, or if Be of Courage tries once again to steal the race, Presious Passion-style. He’s a cozy condition book fit, his best races are fast enough to win this, and he can get the trip.

Mystik Dan may be trying grass for the first time in Saturday’s Arlington Million at Colonial Downs, but he’s not the only horse from the Kenny McPeek barn who is trying the lawn for the first time Saturday. Common Defense (6-1) does, too. He’s by Breeders’ Cup Mile winner Karakontie out of a Street Cry mare whose only other winner scored on the turf, so there’s every reason he can take to it. He comes second off a layoff, a positive spot for McPeek’s runners, and he ran second behind a runaway, frontrunning winner in a washed-off race at this level last month, a perfectly credible return after over a year on the shelf. Common Defense should be able to work a clean outside tracking trip under Kendrick Carmouche, he’ll get a faster pace to run at this time and has the upside to make an impact at a price in this spot.

Race 9 - Saratoga Oaks Invitational (G2), 1 3/16 miles on the turf - Go Go Boots, Laurelin

FanDuel odds: 7-2 and 9-5

Bet now at FanDuel

This race should feature value in the win pool—though it’s a field of six and Opulent Restraint should be able to have their way up front, she had her way up front over shorter trips in her last two and got caught, meaning that even though she may be able to nab another underneath share again, she is going to be a win-pool underlay with all that Chad Brown money on her.

Go Go Boots (7-2) makes her first stateside start for Miguel Clement after five races in Great Britain for John and Thady Gosden. Though her only wins have come on all-weather at Lingfield in her first two starts, she showed in her second-out win that she can stay this sort of distance, winning by three lengths at 1 ¼-miles. In her next three starts, she faced impressive European company—she won’t be bumping heads with the likes of Minnie Hauk or Whirl in this spot. She also turns back in distance after three races that were longer than this, something else that should move her forward. And, in terms of pace, the fact that there isn’t a lot of speed bodes well for her. She usually finds a prominent spot, and there are enough late-running types in this field that European tactical speed should still be enough for her to get a good spot under Jose Ortiz.

Graham Motion trainee Laurelin (9-5) is undefeated in four starts, and faces graded-stakes company for the first time in this race. She has a clean outside draw, and in a six-horse race, that shouldn’t be a recipe for ground loss. She also stretches out past 1 1/16 miles for the first time, but her pedigree is replete with European stamina, suggesting she will love the extra distance. And, even though she is not a pacesetting type, she has been able to win from a few lengths off the pace, whether closing into sharp fractions or slower ones—and been able to do both under rider Kendrick Carmouche, who returns to the saddle for this outing. In short, she keeps showing up and should find this a good spot for the next step up in class.

Race 11 - N1X allowance, fillies and mares, seven furlongs on the dirt - Next On Stage, Alyeska

FanDuel odds: 9-2 and 7-2

Bet now at FanDuel

The form is muddled for Next On Stage (9-2) because she keeps moving from turf to dirt and keeps changing distances, but she is always a contender going seven furlongs on dirt: in three starts, she has two wins and a runner-up finish. That runner-up finish came last out over this course and distance, where she set the pace and was overhauled by the winner, but she has been able to win from a stalking spot as well. That dimension should serve her well from this outside gate in a field of eight, especially with a few who can show speed drawn inside of her—almost certainly Chatter on the stretch out, and Artemis Sound and Practical Lov shouldn’t be too far away, either. This should set up for a good stalk-and-pounce trip for Next On Stage over her favorite distance.

Alyeska (7-2) comes out of a third-place finish in the same race as Next One Stage—she has tables to turn, but has significant upside in this spot. That last-out race was only her second career start, and her first since a debut maiden win as a juvenile the previous September. Though she flattened out late, she should be fitter this time, and her maiden win at 6 ½ furlongs is a positive sign to handle seven. She also has a good chance to get sharper fractions in this spot than the slow pace she got last time out, something that suits what we’ve seen of her running style so far. Chad Brown keeps her at the same level, Flavien Prat keeps the faith, and her future looks bright.

New to FanDuel Racing? Place your first bet up to $500 and get it back in Racing Bonus if it doesn’t win! Valid in participating states. See here for full terms and conditions. Head over to FanDuel Racing to see all of today’s horse racing odds.

Looking for more horse racing betting opportunities? Head over to FanDuel Racing to see all of today’s horse racing odds.