TDN's Steve Sherack and Brian DiDonato will make $50 Win/Place bets on each Kentucky Derby prep and Triple Crown race. The handicapper with the highest bankroll after the Belmont Stakes wins. Scratches will result in the post time favorite.
GIII Robert B. Lewis S. – The lightly raced I Will Score (Roman Ruler) has certainly lived up to his name thus far and will put his unblemished two-for-two record on the line while making his route debut here. The Hans Poetsch homebred looked like he could be any kind when airing by 6 1/2 lengths after powering clear through fractions of :21.73 and :44.57 as the 6-5 chalk in his Los Alamitos unveiling going 5 1/2 furlongs Sept. 11. The dark bay didn't return until early January at Santa Anita, but had no fewer than a dozen workouts to prepare for a second straight impressive tally. Pressed through scorching early fractions of :21.01 and :43.23, I Will Score battled back gamely from along the inside after getting headed in the stretch to win by a head in a blanket photo going 6 1/2 furlongs, good for a very promising 88 Beyer Speed Figure. Perhaps even more noteworthy that day, he never let any of his rivals go by on the gallop-out. His Belong to Me dam Grassy Nellie won two times at this same 1 1/16-mile distance on the lawn and, if allowed to dictate on his terms in this small field, the added real estate shouldn't pose a problem. A pair of recent six-furlong bullets for Hall of Famer Jerry Hollendorfer in Arcadia add to the son of Roman Ruler's appeal. Selection: #2 I Will Score (5-2).
GIII Robert B. Lewis S. – First off, we just want to thank Xpressbet for sponsoring this year's contest. This seems to be a wide-open 3-year-old division at this point, so hopefully we'll have plenty of chances to find value and keep things interesting. Based on post-race twitter chatter, I know I wasn't the only one, but I was extremely impressed with the late run that Let's Meet in Rio (Flatter) put in at the end of the GIII Sham S. last time. Last early and seemingly a bit green, the Juddmonte homebred started to inch closer turning for home, but required tons of encouragement from Kent Desormeaux as he left himself with too much to do at the top of the lane. Brushing with a rival as he tipped out, he finally seemed to figure it out past the sixteenth pole, and was going very well when he hit the wire 1 1/4 lengths behind stablemate Collected. Additional experience and distance can only help this late runner, and the pace should be hot enough to set up his late run. The stretching out pair of I Will Score (Roman Ruler) and Uncle Lino (Uncle Mo) are both extremely quick, and should ensure swift splits. Let's Meet In Rio's stablemate Mor Spirit (Eskendereya) will take a little beating, but he certainly wasn't flattered by fellow Bob Baffert trainee Toews On Ice's performance in the Smarty Jones last time. Selection: #1 Let's Meet in Rio (6-1).
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