Saturday’s race card at Belmont Park is absolutely sensational. The Elmont, NY based racetrack offer 5 graded races, including 3 Grade 1 events. We handicap and make free horse racing picks for those 3 graded events: the Metropolitan Handicap, the Manhattan Stakes, and the Suburban Stakes. Check out top plays and Horse Racing Odds from Belmont Park for Saturday, July 4. You can also visit our Online Racebook to place your bets on active racetracks.
Belmont Park Horse Racing Picks
- When: Saturday, July 4 at 1:15 pm ET
- Where: Elmont, NY
- Weather: Mostly Sunny
Belmont Park Picks for Saturday, July 4
Race 9 – 5:47 pm ET – 1 Mile Dirt – $500,000 G1 Metropolitan Handicap
McKinzie, Code of Honor, and Vekoma are all entered in the Metropolitan. Of the three top choices, Vekoma looks best. The 2019 Blue Grass Stakes winner blasted his opponents by 7 ¼ lengths to win the Grade 1 Carter Handicap in his last. Vekoma is as solid as it gets while the mile distance is perfect.
Bob Baffert trained McKinzie won the Grade 2 Triple Bend at 7 furlongs in his last. That was a warmup for this. McKinzie should get the perfect trip under Mike Smith. But because Bob trains, we can’t expect this one to hold the 2/1 morning line, much less offer good enough odds for a win wager.
We’ll shun Code of Honor for third and instead add Chad Brown trained Network Effect to the trifecta. The Mark Valeski sired 4-year-old colt had no shot against Vekoma in the Carter. But Network Effect ran a good enough race to fill out the trifecta on Saturday. Also, any time we get 8/1 odds on a Chad runner, we must use in our exotics.
- Win: Vekoma
- Place: McKinzie
- Show: Network Effect
Race 10 – 6:20 pm ET – 1 ¼ Miles Inner Turf – $400,000 G1 Manhattan Stakes
Chad Brown saddles 3 horses for the Grade 1 Manhattan Stakes. Of the three, we prefer Devamani over Instilled Regard for the win slot. Although Instilled Regard beat Devamani in the Grade 2 Ft. Marcy in each equine’s last race, it was by a neck. The Ft. Marcy was at 1 1/8 miles. This is at 1 ¼. The extra quarter-mile could be exactly what jockey Joel Rosario requires to push his charge past morning line chalk Instilled Regard.
Brown has turned 2018 Kentucky Derby fourth place finisher Instilled Regard into a turf horse. The Ft. Marcy win was fantastic. In January, this one finished third in the Pacific Classic Turf Invitational. So, yes, Instilled Regard can handle the distance. Expect Irad Ortiz aboard Instilled Regard to make it hard on Joel to get the win.
Last year, Spooky Channel won the Grade 3 William McKnight going 1 ½ miles over the turf. The Brian Lynch sired 5-year-old gelding won a $150,000 optional claimer in its last. Overall, Spooky has 8 wins from 15 starts. If things go this one’s way, the gelding could upset both Instilled Regard and Devamani. Consider for all slots on your exotic tickets.
- Win: Devamani
- Place: Instilled Regard
- Show: Spooky Channel
Race 11 – 5:36 pm ET – 1 ¼ Miles Dirt – $200,000 G2 Suburban Stakes
Sir Winston, Mr. Buff, and Tacitus have all signed on for the Grade 2 Suburban Stakes. That’s why we’ve got high hopes Todd Pletcher trained Moretti holds the 5/1 morning line odds. A 4-year-old sired by Medaglia d’Oro, Moretti has as much of a shot of taking the Grade 2 Suburban as any of his more famous peers. Moretti sold for $900,000 in 2017. He’s a legit contender.
Mr. Buff will take these as far as he can. He may not hold off Moretti, but he could stay in front of both Tacitus and Sir Winston. Buff has never run this far. If he relaxes on the lead, he should get the distance, no problem.
Tacitus has burned up more win money in graded races than maybe any other horse in the country. It’s hard to see him suddenly putting it all together on Saturday. But, who knows? Consider for all slots on your exotics if you believe the light bulb finally goes off.
- Win: Moretti
- Place: Mr. Buff
- Show: Tacitus
