Monmouth Park is the hub of American horse racing this weekend, with the TVG.com Haskell Stakes serving as the headliner of a number of other races, broadcast on NBC. The Coaching Club American Oaks is also set for Saturday at Saratoga Race Course. We have the odds and the details about the weekend’s events, as well as thoughts on some of the key races.
Weekend Racing Calendar
Saturday, July 18
Coaching Club American Oaks (6:16 pm ET, FS1, Saratoga Race Course)
Grade I, Dirt surface, $350,000 purse, 1 1/8 Miles
Post Horse Jockey Odds*
1 Tonalist’s Shape Irad Ortiz Jr +180
2 Antoinette John R. Velazquez +600
3 Altaf Joel Rosario +500
4 Velvet Crush Jose L. Ortiz +1200
5 Crystal Ball Javier Castellano +400
6 Paris Lights Tyler Gaffalione +200
Bob Baffert was considering bringing Gamine east for this race, but then he decided ont to, so this is a graded stakes with a slight dip in talent. Tonalist’s Shape is the only horse in the field with a graded stakes win, and she gets to open on the rail, which should give her the edge if she just keeps moving straight ahead after establishing an early lead. Antoinette has not finished worse than third place in five straight races and finished third at the Twinspires.com Fair Ground Oaks (Grade II) in her debut as a three-year-old. This is a longer race than what she has raced in the past. Altaf won her debut on dirt at Churchill Downs by over five lengths, but this will be the toughest competition she has faced. Velvet Crush is the longshot, probably overshadowed in terms of talent on the basis of her prior speed figures. Crystal Ball is Baffert’s substitute for Gamine after she won her maiden by 6 ¾ lengths. Paris Lights won her maiden and an allowance race by big margins. Can she replicate those results away from Churchill Downs?
TVG.com Haskell Stakes (5:46 pm ET, NBC, Monmouth Park)
Grade I, Dirt surface, $1 million purse, 1 1/8 Miles
Post Horse Jockey Odds
1 Dr Post Joe Bravo +250
2 Authentic Mike E. Smith -125
3 Jesus’ Team Nik Juarez +1500
4 Ancient Warrior Trevor McCarthy +2000
5 Fame to Famous Jose C. Ferrer +3000
6 Lebda Alex Cintron +2000
7 Ny Traffic Paco Lopez +350
In most years, the Haskell Stakes is the first major stakes race for three-year-old horses after the Triple Crown. However, this year it takes place between the Belmont Stakes and the Kentucky Derby, and the Kentucky Derby made the Haskell Stakes one of the qualifying races providing points for horses to qualify for Churchill Downs. The points go to the top four finishers, using a 100-40-20-1 scale. The winner also gets an automatic entry into the Longines Breeders’ Cup Classic in November.
Authentic is trained by Bob Baffert and has three wins in four career starts, along with a runner-up finish. His wins in the one-mile Sham Stakes and the 1 1/16-mile San Felipe Stakes earlier this year were emphatic. He was the runner-up in the Runhappy Santa Anita Derby on June 6, behind Honor A.P., but his start was poor. Baffert-trained horses have won eight Haskell Stakes titles, and Authentic is Baffert’s top horse after Nadal was retired and Charlatan went down with injury. Authentic already has 100 qualifying points for the Kentucky Derby, but observers will be watching his performance to gauge his favorite status for Churchill Downs.
Dr Post was the runner-up at the Belmont Stakes, behind Tiz the Law, and with a first- or second-place finish, he would clinch his own slot at Churchill Downs. He has a come-from-behind style, which means he could surprise a leading group that will contain Authentic, Ny Traffic and several others. Trainer Todd Pletcher has had three horses win the Haskell Stakes. Dr Post will not have his usual jockey, Irad Ortiz Jr, who stayed in Saratoga due to COVID-19 travel restrictions on jockeys.
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*Betting Odds are subject to change.
