Belmont Park: How to bet the Independence Day multi-race wagers

The Independence Day card at Belmont Park is packed with graded stakes races, including a quartet comprising an all-stakes Pick 4 at the end of the afternoon.

A competitive 50-cent Pick 5 and a bevy of rolling Pick 3 wagers are also on the agenda. Let’s follow the action by playing five multi-race wagers on a $100 budget, starting with the Pick 5 kicking off in the seventh race:

Race 7: Allowance (4:38 p.m. ET)

This 1 1/16-mile grass allowance race for New York-breds doesn’t contain much speed, so we’ll take a stand with #8 Danfusi (4-1) as a single. A lightly-raced 4-year-old conditioned by high-percentage trainer Christophe Clement, Danfusi wired a state-bred maiden race over this course and distance on June 4, finishing in a quick :29.10 to win clearly with a 91 Brisnet Speed rating tied for the best in this field. Joel Rosario retains the mount, setting up Danfusi for back-to-back victories.

50-cent Pick 5: 8 with 2,9 with 3,5 with 1,2,3,5 with 4,8 ($16)
$5 Pick 3: 8 with 2,9 with 3,5 ($20)

Race 8: Poker (G3, 5:13 p.m. ET)

Top turf trainer Chad Brown saddles #2 Valid Point (7-2) and #9 Value Proposition (5-2) in this 1-mile turf test, and both bring solid credentials to the table. Valid Point rallied to win the 1-mile Secretariat (G1) as a sophomore, while Value Proposition enters off a late-charging June 3 allowance win over this course and distance. We’ll use them equally in our multi-race wagers.

$1 Pick 4: 2,9 with 3,5 with 1,2,3,5 with 4,8 ($32)
$1 Pick 3: 2,9 with 3,5 with 1,2,3,5 ($16)

Race 9: Metropolitan H. (G1, 5:47 p.m. ET)

Four-time Grade 1 winner #3 McKinzie (2-1) endured a troubled trip when finishing second in this historic handicap last season, and the son of Street Sense sharpened up for a second try at the "Met Mile" by comfortably winning the 7-furlong Triple Bend (G2) one month ago at Santa Anita. A clean run can land McKinzie in the winner’s circle, but he’s been prone to losing races at short prices, so we’ll back him up with #5 Code of Honor (3-1), who rallied impressively to win the 1 1/16-mile Westchester (G3) at Belmont in his 2020 debut.

$1 Pick 3: 3,5 with 1,2,3,5 with 4,8 ($16)

Race 10: Manhattan (G1, 6:20 p.m. ET)

As strong a hand as Chad Brown holds in the Poker, he has an even tougher group of grass runners set to contest the 1 1/4-mile Manhattan. #1 Instilled Regard (2-1) and #5 Devamani (9-2) were separated by a neck when running 1-2 in Belmont’s 1 1/8-mile Fort Marcy (G2), while #2 Rockemperor (5-1) finished just a nose behind the classy Breeders’ Cup Turf (G1) runner-up United in the 1 1/4-mile Charles Whittingham (G2) at Santa Anita. All three warrant inclusion, and for good measure we’ll toss in #3 Cross Border, a speedy Mike Maker trainee who can take this close-laden field a long way on the front end.

Race 11: Suburban (G2. 6:51 p.m. ET)

Last year’s Belmont Stakes (G1) runner-up #1 Tacitus (9-5) is the morning line favorite, not surprising since he’s hit the board in three Grade 1 races over the Suburban’s 1 1/4-mile distance. But Tacitus tends to be a "pick up the pieces" type, preferring to round out the exotics rather than reach the winner’s circle, so we’ll oppose him with the speedy New York-bred #4 Mr. Buff (2-1) and the improving #8 Moretti (5-1). The former crushed the 1-mile Haynesfield S. against New York-breds by 20 lengths in February, while the latter enters off a thoroughly dominant triumph in Belmont’s 1 3/8-mile Flat Out S. on June 11.

Good luck!