Belmont, Arlington Celebrate America’s Best Racing with Stars & Stripes
I love weekend racing across America!
It’s America’s Best Racing when all the big boys and girls come out to play. And it’s the time when handicapping is fun because the fields are more competitive and the quality of the horses can make a race wide open and a good betting opportunity.
Stars and Stripes 2016 Salutes with America’s Best Racing
This weekend is a prime example as there are a plethora of graded stakes races at Belmont and Arlington that culminate Fourth of July, 2016 week by celebrating with the Stars & Stripes Festival at Belmont which features six graded stakes races including:
$1,250,000 G1 Belmont Derby Invitational – 3YO, 1 1/4 Mile (Turf)
$1,000,000 G1 Belmont Oaks Invitational – F3YO, 1 1/4 Mile (Turf)
$500,000 G2 Suburban Handicap – 4&UP, 1 Mile (Dirt)
$500,000 G3 Dwyer – 3YO, 1 Mile (Dirt)
$400,000 G3 Belmont Sprint Championship – 3&UP, 7 Furlongs (Dirt)
$150,000 G3 Victory Ride – F3YO, 6 1/2 Furlongs (Dirt)
And it’s Arlington Million Preview Day in Chicago which features four G3 stakes races including The Stars and Stripes, a graded race for 3 year-olds and up going 1 1/2 miles on the turf for a purse of $100,000.
The Stars and Strips field of ten will be lead by even money favorite and last year’s winner The Pizza Man. He’s a sixteen time winner in his career with earnings of almost $2 million including last year’s Arlington Million. On paper he has all the class in the field, but at age 7 he may not be the same horse he was. He’ll have a new rider in Robbie Albarado for trainer Roger Brueggemann who is currently O for 7 at the meet.
Returning as last year’s Stars and Stripes runner-up is Roman Approval who set all the pace under Julien Leparoux before tiring to get beat a neck. He’ll have new rider Corey Lanerie for trainer Mike Maker who is also 0 for 7 at the meet.
Bullars Alley is listed at 5 to 1 off back-to-back wins in his last two including the G3 Louisville Handicap at Churchill at this distance. It was the first graded stakes victory for Bullards Alley who is 5 of 19 in the win column for a paltry $256,000. His BRIS speed figure was a low 79 and he’s been off since the May 21 Louisville but expect him to take a step forward off the win.
Three other G3 races carded for today at Arlington include:
The Modesty Handicap
The Arlington Handicap
The American Derby
