The holiday weekend in the United States has a long slate of horse racing opportunities. At Belmont Park, this is Runhappy Met Mile day, with other races set for that track as well. There is also action from Los Alamitos, Woodbine and Delaware Park.
Take a look at the full calendar of races as well as odds and predictions for the two big races at Belmont, and for all your betting needs just head over to JAZZ Sports online racebook; they’ve got odds on every major race in the US and beyond.
Weekend Racing Calendar
Saturday, July 4
Great Lady M Stakes (Grade II, $200,000 purse, 6 1/2 furlongs)
Los Alamitos, 7:28 pm ET, TVG
Suburban Stakes (Grade II, $200,000, 1 1/4 miles)
Belmont Park, 6:51 pm ET, FS1
Post Horse Jockey Odds
1 Tacitus John R. Velazquez 9/5
2 Parsimony Kendrick Carmouche 50/1
3 Forewarned Manuel Franco 30/1
4 Mr. Buff Junior Alvarado 2/1
5 Joevia Jose L. Ortiz 20/1
6 Sir Winston Joel Rosario 7/2
7 Just Whistle Irad Ortiz Jr 8/1
8 Moretti Javier Castellano 5/1
Sir Winston and Tacitus were both contenders at the 2019 Belmont Stakes, and Sir Winston won as a 10/1 upset. He came from eighth place to take the lead from Tacitus and win by a length. In his 2020 debut, he won by 2 1/4 lengths in a claiming mile at Aqueduct on January 31. He was headed to the Dubai World Cup, but the COVID-19 pandemic forced the cancellation of the event. He ran on June 11 at Belmont, on a messy day, coming in second by 5 1/4 lengths to Moretti in a race that went 1 3/8 miles.
Tacitus finished third at the 2019 Kentucky Derby, and he was the runner-up at the Belmont Stakes, the Jim Dandy (Grade II) and Runhappy Travers (Grade I) that year. He finished 2019 at the Jockey Gold Cup (Grade I), taking third place over 1 1/4 miles. This will be his third start of 2020. He was fifth in the Saudi Cup (Grade I) back in February and fourth at the Oaklawn Handicap (Grade II) in May. Tacitus gets the #1 post position, which has been golden at Belmont, so I’m picking him to win here.
Los Alamitos Derby ($150,000, 1 1/8 miles)
Los Alamitos, 6:28 pm ET, TVG
Manhattan Stakes (Grade I, $400,000, 1 1/4 miles)
Belmont Park, 6:20 pm ET, FS1
Post Horse Jockey Odds
1 Instilled Regard Irad Ortiz Jr 2/1
2 Rockemperor John R. Velazquez 5/1
3 Cross Border Jose L. Ortiz 10/1
4 Sadler’s Joy Javier Castellano 7/2
5 Devamani Joel Rosario 9/2
6 Channel Maker Manuel Franco 10/1
7 Dot Matrix Florent Geroux 6/1
8 Spooky Channel Julien R. Leparoux 15/1
Sadler’s Joy is looking for his first win at the Manhattan Stakes. He has seven career wins, picking up over $2.5 million in his career. He finished a neck behind Spring Quality in 2018, setting for second, and he finished third in 2017, 1 1/2 lengths behind Ascend. At the end of 2019, he won the Red Smith (Grade III) at Aqueduct by a pair of lengths, and he came in sixth to start 2020 at the Pegasus World Cup Turf (Grade I) at Gulfstream Park. Given his record here, I have him in my money picks, along with Instilled Regard and Rockemperor.
Runhappy Met Mile (Grade I, $500,000, 1 mile)
Belmont Park, 5:47 pm ET, FS1, NBC
Post Horse Jockey Odds
1 Network Effect Irad Ortiz Jr 8/1
2 Vekoma Javier Castellano 5/2
3 McKinzie Mike E. Smith 2/1
4 Hog Creek Hustle Jose L. Ortiz 30/1
5 Code of Honor John R. Velazquez 3/1
6 Endorsed Joel Rosario 10/1
7 Mr Freeze Manuel Franco 8/1
8 Warrior’s Charge Florent Geroux 12/1
Vekoma turned a lot of heads with his big win at the Carter Handicap (Grade I). He has had four weeks of rest, but he has also put together three races after stopping for 11 months. That type of schedule often leads to big results, so he could be in the catbird seat once matters head for home. Does he have the finishing speed to win?
Network Effect has the coveted #1 post position, and he was the runner-up at the Carter Handicap – but by 7 1/4 lengths. The track was wet, which could have played a role. He came in eighth at the Cigar Mile a year ago, the last time he raced in this type of competition. Come back next Friday for our next Weekend Racing Calendar, and keep a head’s distance from the competition by reading JAZZ Horse Racing’s other racing content.
