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. 3 wins.
SS: Friday's Result – Takrees ($10.80) turned in a serious stretch rally to get this meet started on a winning note. Come and catch me DiDonato! Total: $410.
Saturday Race 10, GI Diana S. – The waters get much deeper here, but the free-running Isabella Sings shouldn't be taken lightly off a pair of smart wins over inferior company at Monmouth Park. The speedy chestnut opened a double-digit lead earlier this term going this distance at Tampa and held on for a huge second-place finish behind the mighty Tepin–with a gaudy 105 Beyer–and has rebounded in career form on the Jersey Shore since posting a disappointing performance on the Kentucky Derby undercard. Paco Lopez seems to know this filly best–he's ridden her to three victories and a close second from four attempts and makes the trip to Upstate New York to ride. The price will certainly be right to see if she can run this classy bunch off their feet. Selection: #10 Isabella Sings (8-1).
BD: Friday's Result – Well that was quick–it's all over after one day. . . Just kidding, but nice pick by Steve. Things didn't go quite as well for Diamond Fields–her saddle slipped turning for home, and that was it. Too bad, as she was sitting a perfect trip and seemed to have some run before that. Total: $0.
Saturday Race 2, MSW – This feels like a race where the betting public will largely focus in on second timers stretching out, but for the most part, those runners seem a bit short on pedigree for going long. Two firsters–Oscar Performance and Keynesian–seem best bred for this to me, and I'll be betting the former, and keying them both in exotics. Oscar Performance is a full-brother to this year's GIII Spiral S. winner Oscar Nominated (Kitten's Joy), and his dam Devine Actress (Theatrical {Ire}) was a close second in her down-the-hill debut at Santa Anita before breaking through when stretched out next time. She would later take a stakes race on the Santa Anita synthetic going this distance. Conditioner Brian Lynch's long-term stats with firsters routing on the grass aren't necessarily anything to write home about, but he's done very well from a limited sample size this year. Lynch is two-for-three in 2016 with his lone runner-up having been beaten a half-length at 34-1. One of his two first-out winners came just this past Monday at Parx at 6-1. Selection: #5 Oscar Performance (6-1)
Tune in each race day from 4:00 p.m. – 6:30 p.m. for Saratoga Live, available on Fox Sports 2 (channel finder), MSG+ (channel finder) and Altitude (channel finder).
For the complete broadcast schedule, visit NYRA.com
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