Horse Racing Picks by Dietz for Saratoga

September 4, 2023

Well, here we are, the end of another season. In my opening write up on July 13 I stated that I had a feeling the weather would play a major factor and it sure did. SIXTY FIVE races were taken off the turf this year. There were also 8 races cancelled due to weather.

It will be an interesting weekend. At the time of this article (Saturday 10AM) Linda Rice is two wins behind Chad Brown for the trainers title. Both have horses entered in eight races today, each have multiple entries in several races. It will be interesting to watch how this all plays out and how hard riders will ride.

I will have my season summary out sometime this week.

Race 1 - TURF

2 - RED BURGUNDY - Santana Jr.'DePAz. Hot combo and second time start. Horse was placed on turf race in debut, but moved to dirt. Exoitcs.

5 - MARCO T - Franco/Clement. Second time starter. Just missed in debut.

6 - SPLIT STRIKE - Rosario/Clement. First time on turf. Lethal together.

Race 2

2 - AMANDA'S FOLLY - Jose/Rice. Big drop in class and Rice is up for the trainers title, hard riding today for Jose.

3 - JUST KATHERINE - Castsellano/Jiminez. Drops in class and this horse can close. Pace set up will be there. Top 3.

8 - RAGING SEA - Prat/Brown. Second off the layoff, horse had a glorified work in return, should be light out today. MOST LIKELY TO WIN

Race 3 - THE BERNARD BARUCH - 150K - TURF

2 - PIONEERING SPIRIT - Lezcano/Rice. Deep closer who should have the pace set up. Loves this distance. Exotics.

5 - EMARAATY - Prat/Brown. Second off the layoff, toss last race out as it was a tube up. This horse won this race last year with a 101 Beyer. Horse for the course.

4 - WIT - Jose/Pletcher. Huge drop in class from Grade 1 racing. Class level alone this horse will be tough to beat.

Race 4

1 - FLOAT ON - Santana/Diodoro. This is nothing more than a hunch play. Exotics.

5 - SAGAMORE MISCHIEF - Davis/Hills. Drops in class and is third of the form cycle. Top three.

9 - HP MOON - Jose/Rice. Second off the claim. Been using this all year. Toss out last race as it was in the slop and horse was pulled. Better today.

Race 5 - TURF

4 - VOLEUSE - Irad/Clement. Rate and closer, but I hate the 1 and 2 post on turf sprints. Exotics.

8 - PRINCE OF TRUTH - Jose/Rice. Placed to run on turf in debut, but was moved to dirt. They come back here to run again on turf. Use in all wagers.

11 - LADY BANKER - Gaffalione/Weaver. My rider on turf sprints and the hot barn of Weaver on turf. Outside post is a little concerning. Top 2.

Race 6

True maiden race all first timers. Pay attention to the board, someone may know something with a late wager and odds plummet.

5 - BONN CHANCE - Santana/Levine. Turf work two back than a bullet dirt work. Can this one hang on?

6 - SOLO'S FEURY - Johnny V/Engelheart. Trainer loves to have them fly out of the gate. Solid works for debut and gate work. This one breaks out and it will be flying.

8 - WINWOOD - Gaffalione/David. Trainer hits at 23% with firsters. That is all I have.

Race 7 - TURF

4 - SNOWY EVENING - Johnny V/Donk - Lethal combo together and slight drop in class.

Needs a pace to close into.

7 - OVERREACTING - Castellano/Brown. Maiden winner vs. winners is not my thing, but this horse cruised in debut. Great route rider.

10 - WATERVILLE - Prat/Clement. Deep closer who just missed last out. Top 2, lean to win.

Race 8

1 - ASYMMETRIC - Franco/Brown. We bet this horse before and lost. Comes back again today on short rest.

5 - NEWPORT BRIDGE - Jose/Rice. Did 6F in 1:11 to get second. Exotics

8 - WIN FOR GOLD - Carmouche/Giangiulio. Speed of the speed here and the best gate rider. Catch me if you can. Can this hold on?

Race 9 - TURF

5 - BORLETTI - Rosario/Duggan. Deep closer who will no doubt have the pace set up here. Use in all wagers.

4 - BE THERE - Gaffalione/Zito. Only taking because of the rider.

8 - ALEXIS ZORBA - Irad/Brown, Speedster who almost won on the front end going 1 1/16, cuts back to 5 1/2 today. Major force! Top 2.

Race 10 - THE HOPEFUL - Grade 1 - DIRT

Fantastic race. Kentucky Derby hopefuls here.

5 - TIMBERLAKE - Geroux/Cox. Lethal together and this son of INTO MISCHIEF cruised last out doing 7F in 1:23 under a complete hand ride to win by 9L's. Lean to win.

6 - GOLD SWEEP - Jose/Asmussen. Toss out last race, horse had a bad start and was never a factor. This one will have pace to close into. Top 3.

10 - BE YOU - Irad/Pletcher and Repole Stables. Bred from CURLIN, this horse came in second in debut, but battled hard to the wire. Horse got something out of that race. Use in all wagers.

Race 11 - TURF

5 - FAKE CELEBRITY - Irad/Brown. Brown with a baby has been great all year. Sticking with it for the final race of the season.

8 - CHULLIGAN - Franco on inner turf. Been my angle all year and sticking with it on the last race of the meet.

9 - DOLLY'S BANK - Bridgemohan/Coffey. Tried to enter on turf in debutk, but was moved to dirt. This horse is bred to run on turf from LEMON DROP KID. Use in all wagers. I expect this one to close late.

MOST LIKELY TO WIN

Race 3 - WIT

LONG SHOT OF THE DAY

Race 11 - DOLLY’S BANK

EX. BOX

Race 5 - 4, 8, 11

TRIPLE PLAY

Race 10 - All/5/All costly, but try .50 cent.

PICK 3 - Race 4-6

Race 4 - 9

Race 5 - 4, 8, 11

Race 6 - 1, 4, 5, 6, 8, 9

PICK 4 - Races 8-11

Race 8 - 1, 5, 8

Race 9 - 3, 5, 8

Race 10 - 4, 5, 6, 7, 10

Race 11 - 5, 11, 12

PICK 5 Races 4-8 Mandatory Pay Out. Could be a huge pot.

Race 4 - ALL

Race 5 - 4, 8, 11

Race 6 - 5, 6, 8, 9

Race 7 - 10

Race 8 - 1, 5, 8

Hope you had a great season.

Thanks for horse racing with Dietz!

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