Friday's Free Horse Racing Picks: Late Pick Four At Belmont
Friday's Free Horse Racing Picks: Late Pick Four At Belmont
Friday’s late Pick Four at Belmont is a fun sequence with some good-sized fields. I’ll look to attack it with a $9 ticket that I hope will extract some value out of a likely favorite. Let’s take a closer look!
RACE #6
We’ll kick things off with older fillies and mares going long on the inner turf course, and I’m not sure who’ll go favored when the gates are sprung. It seems like a fun betting race, and I’m going three-deep.
#3 EPONA’S DREAM is my top pick, and she’s one I liked a fair bit last time out. I thought she’d get a bit more pace to run at that day, but she could only muster a fourth-place finish after rating behind moderate fractions. This is another affair that seems to have plenty of early zip, though, and the extra sixteenth of a mile should help her.
#2 DANCING FIREFLY and #8 LA VICTORIA are on my ticket as well. The former ran a good second in her debut for a barn whose runners sometimes need their first races, while the latter goes two turns and tries turf for the first time and is bred to like both switches.
RACE #7
We’ll head to the main track for this starter allowance event. I’m against 5/2 morning line favorite #2 KID BOURBON, who hasn’t won since 2019 and has mainly been running on turf of late.
I much prefer #3 UNCLE MOONLIGHT, who was a good third at this level last time out. He was beaten less than a length despite rating off a pretty slow pace, and I think he’ll get a far better setup here.
I’ll also use the entry of #1 F F ROCKET and #1A BRILLIANT BROOKS. I prefer the latter, whose last race was too bad to be true. He got pretty good over the fall and winter, when he reeled off three straight triumphs, and it wouldn’t shock me if he got back on the beam here in a race that doesn’t seem strong for the level.
RACE #8
This optional claiming event doubles as the Friday feature. It’s a good race for fillies and mares going seven furlongs on the grass, but I can’t get past the likely favorite.
#9 KOKOPELLI does get a bit of a class test, but she stays in the state-bred ranks and looms large from her outside post. She’s been very impressive in two starts to date, and when Christophe Clement gets turf sprinters going in the right direction, they don’t get knocked off-course very often. I’m singling this one, as I think she’s going to be very tough to beat.
RACE #9
We’ll finish things off with another state-bred race, and like the first leg, I’m not sure which runner will go favored. That could mean bettable prices across the board, and I’m going three-deep to finish it out.
I think the May 13th race many of these exit was a strong one. #7 GOOD OLD BOY came out on top that day and returns to face New York-breds after running fifth against open company. This seems like the right level for him, as his last three wins have all come against state-bred competition. Irad Ortiz, Jr., won aboard him two starts ago, and he’ll be back in the saddle for this event.
#8 KLICKITAT and #3 COLD HARD CASH ran second and fourth that day, and both had excuses in that spot. The former raced very wide in his first start since December, while the latter had some trouble on the first turn in his first start on grass. Either of them could easily turn the tables, and I need to have them both on my ticket.
THE TICKET
R6: 2,3,8
R7: 1,3
R8: 9
R9: 3,7,8