TDN's Steve Sherack and Brian DiDonato will give their best bet of the day for every Friday, Saturday and Sunday card of the Saratoga meet, and bet $50 Win/Place on their selection. In the case of a scratch, an alternate pick will be posted on twitter. The handicapper who has accrued the biggest bankroll through Sept. 4 wins.
SS: Last Sunday's Result – Absolutely brutal beat with C d'Cat, who sat the exact trip I was looking for and just got tagged on the line to lose by a nose in a painful bobber at 7-1… Another great job by DiDonato, who seems to do nothing but tout live firsters at overlays in this contest as well as out of town on Twitter… Only three races left to go–time to go bomb hunting. Total: $1,117.50.
Friday, Race 10, Md40k – Was very tempted to go with Luckystrikedelcoco a bit earlier on the card, but will take a big swing for the fences with another Joe Sharp trainee fresh off the heels of C d'Cat's big effort last weekend. It hasn't really happened yet this meet, but the inner turf course at the Spa can produce some pretty hefty payouts on longshot front runners in races going at or around this distance. The speedy Bermuda Triangle returns to grass and adds blinkers in his first start off the claim after setting a hot pace in a six-furlong dirt sprint here back in late July. His lone attempt at this level going seven furlongs on grass at Belmont was pretty solid. He finished up sneaky good and was awfully rank in the early stages while racing under cover. Seeing out this distance is an obvious concern, but here's hoping he gets brave on a clear lead at a big price. Selection: #8 Bermuda Triangle (20-1).
BD: Last Sunday's Result – Sky Gesture took a little tote support, went off at 5.7-1 and led box to wire to keep our success with the 2-year-olds going. Meanwhile, that was just a gross beat for Steve. Contest or no contest, was rooting hard for that one to go the other way. Three more races to dodge a big one from him–this thing's certainly not over yet. Total: $2070.
Friday, Race 6, MSW – I knew I wanted to pick someone in this race, but I probably scrolled through pedigree reports, watched sales breezes and looked at trainer stats for a good hour before just deciding to throw a dart and move on. There are strong cases to be made for and against a number of runners in this race, and in the end I went with the pure pedigree play: Happy Motoring. She's a half to GII Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint and GI Nearctic S. winner Regally Ready, and hails from an old but very productive family of French sprinter/milers. Trainer Gary Contessa and owner Lee Pokoik have already connected with winning debutante at the meet, and she seems to have shown some speed in two grass blowouts across the street. Selection: #1 Happy Motoring (12-1).
Tune in each race day from 4 – 6:30 p.m. for Saratoga Live, available on Fox Sports 2 (channel finder), MSG+ (channel finder) and Altitude (channel finder) and presented by Claiborne Farm.
For the complete broadcast schedule, visit NYRA.com
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