Today's Best Bets

Saratoga Race Course Saturday, August 3, 2013 Meet Total ... 36-133

Stop by the equidaily.com HOME PAGE for all the day's racing headlines from across the country and around the globe. Bookmark it and stop by regularly!

Don't forget to check out the Challenge page where we started the month with a mythical $1200 bankroll and attempt to increase that amount as the Saratoga season continues.

Yesterday

4-9. Winners in the 1st [5.60], 5th [13.80], 8th [4.10], and a win by DQ in the 9th nightcap [4.60]. A slew of gimmicks using the picks - starting in R1 where we had the cold superfecta: R1 ABCD x 23.40 t 59.00 s 154.50; R2 ... CAD x 33.40 t 408.00; R4 ...CDA x 30.00 t 147.00; R5 ... ACx x 57.00; R7 ... DBx x 53.00; R9 ... ACB x 15.60 t 42.20.

19363 attended and the large Friday afternoon crowd enjoyed good weather - mostly sunny and warm. A very slight sprinkle passed through quickly at the very end of the day.

Post-race watering holes were jumping until after dark - and downtown a huge crowd watched the carriage parade and enjoyed the free ice cream social in Congress Park - all to commemorate the 150th anniversary of racing in Saratoga. The actual anniversary date is today, Aug 3.

Apologies on the delay in posting - technical difficulties. But we're up well in advance of the first race.

Today

150th Anniversary of Saratoga Race Course: The Spa will mark the official 150th anniversary of the first four day organized race meet in Saratoga, held in 1863 at Horse Haven, with a day-long celebration at Saratoga Race Course. The celebratory day will be highlighted by the first in a series of $15,000 win-wager opportunities, courtesy of Marylou Whitney and John Hendrickson. Fans in attendance will receive a free Saratoga 150 commemorative poster designed by equine cartoonist Pierre E. 'Peb' Bellocq. The poster features legendary figures from the past 150 years at Saratoga and is free with paid admission, while supplies last. The celebration will continue with a specially designed cake from Buddy Valastro of Carlo's Bakery, the setting for the popular television series “Cake Boss.” The track décor and atmosphere will assume a Victorian flair, underscored by a period Freihofer's coach from the 1800s outside the Clubhouse gates and characters dressed in Victorian-era costume.

Whitney Day: The nation's top older horses face off in Saratoga's 86th running of the Grade 1, $750,000 Whitney Invitational Handicap. The Whitney Handicap is part of the “Summer at Saratoga” series broadcast on NBC from 5 to 6 p.m. For the first time in the history of the Whitney Invitational Handicap, the winner will be feted with a special custom-designed horse blanket made of Marylou Whitney pink roses and a new permanent, sterling silver, three-handled chalice trophy featuring the Whitney crest to commemorate the historic Grade 1 race. The trophy, which will debut this Saturday, will be awarded each year to the winner of the Whitney Invitational Handicap.

Fasig-Tipton Festival of Racing: The fifth annual Fasig-Tipton Festival of Racing will return to celebrate the rich partnership between The New York Racing Association, Inc. and Fasig-Tipton with a variety of special events. The Festival of Racing is part of the lead up to Fasig-Tipton's pair of yearling auctions at the Humphrey S. Finney Pavilion in Saratoga Springs. The annual festival includes the return of the “Best Turned Out Filly” contest. On both Saturday and Sunday, ladies are invited to submit a photo of themselves to NYRA's Twitter, Facebook or Instagram accounts with #bestdressedfilly. Fasig-Tipton will select the most elegant woman by 1 p.m. each day to present a trophy in the winner's circle and receive a gift card from NYRA.

FIRST RACE
Gombey Dancer...Put up two nice efforts to kick off career - and one of those was one this track. Perhaps a rebound to those first out with Dutrow.
Googleado...Have a feeling he's better than the latest and might benefit from half furlong cutback.
Slan Abhaile...Turf-to-dirt.
Midnite Poppa.

SECOND RACE
Arriving...Could be very interesting first out. Nature and nuture at work with sire and trainer. Dam has produced some precocious runners.
Darley entry...All could be live in debut.
Stormy Henry...Experience counts and this one has been right there.
Mr O'Leary.

THIRD RACE
Cebu...In from CD. Adds blinkers. Turf-to-dirt. Interesting.
Rudy entry...Diamond Maker is preferred on the recent numbers.
High Inflation...Capable on best effort.
Glassy Aly.

FOURTH RACE
Formulaforsuccess...Owner-trainer-jockey team live up to this one's name.
East of Danzig...Has some closing punch.
Quantity...Finds class relief and also should be rolling late.
Kanagaro.

FIFTH RACE
Done Smoking...Might benefit from career debut and has win-early breeding.
Chrissy Girl...Should be heard from in the lane.
Eddy's Time...Ran well on the stretchout last time.
Raven Rise.

SIXTH RACE
With Exultation...Have a suspicion this one could be primed for a good effort.
Tycoon Cat...Could be dangerous if able to sneak away early.
Gimme Credit...Back to level of claim.
Papa Freud.

SEVENTH RACE
Bold Visionary...Good combo of nature and nuture.
King Cyrus...Pletcher trainee for WinStar will be dangerous on debut.
Dunkin Bend...Asmussen always dangerous second-time out and this one was flattered by the Base Case Scenario here earlier in the meet.
Chisholm.
Souper Lucky.

EIGHTH RACE
Joes Blazing Aaron...Might take them all the way under Rosario.
Tetrdrachm...Lightly-raced this year - and interesting on the move to the Mott barn.
Admiral Perry...In the hunt more often than not.
Abilio.

NINTH RACE - $100KK De La Rose
Baffle Me...Might be the lone speed.
Ruthenia...Exacta finish on half of the career starts.
Laugh Out Loud...Euro-import disappointed in US debut - but might be a better fit with these.
Sweet Little Lion.

TENTH RACE - G1 $750K Whitney Invy Hcp
Fort Larned...Just too sharp to ignore.
Ron the Greek...Good second with a snappy pace in this race last year and could offer the same type of performance in this edition.
Cross Traffic...Lightly-raced but showing great talent. The distance will be the question mark.
Mucho Macho Man.

ELEVENTH RACE
Ave's Halo...Popped a lifetime best Beyer on the move to Saratoga last year. Interesting if able to duplicate scenario.
My Uptown Gal...Last seems to indicate good form.
Desert Bliss...Two OK efforts so far this year.
Wild Grace.

TWELFTH RACE
St Sincere...SoCal transplant makes first start for Weaver.
Summer Shiner...Dangerous on the serious class relief.
Ryvit...Good second here opening weekend.
Fiddlers Chico.

If we are interested in both halves of an entry -- in event of a scratch -- it is noted that way [in other words, both halves are named]. If only one-half of the entry is named, then we prefer that half and will move to our next pick listed [rather than the other half of the entry] in event of a scratch.

Archives of daily Best Bets picks and plays pages: 2013 ... 2012 ... 2011 ... 2010... 2009 ...2008 ... 2007 ... 2006 ... 2005 ... 2004 ... 2003

NOTE: If you feel you're experiencing problems receiving this page in a timely fashion each morning, please bookmark, the Best Bets archive page. Your ISP might be caching pages - meaning you're not receiving the most timely information. But the archive pages are unique, by date, and should always give you the most up-to-date info.

equidaily.com

Note: Pages on this site are labelled with the equidaily.com logo. Some links are for information only and lead to pages at other sites. equidaily.com is responsible only for the pages on this site. equidaily.com assumes no responsibility for errors or omissions. Always check with official sources to verify info.

E-mail any questions, comments, or suggestions: