BetAmerica’s horse racing pick of the day: July 16, Saratoga

Weekday picks and plays for Thoroughbred racing.

Thursday, July 16

Saratoga, Race 3: Allowance (6 furlongs, 2:20 p.m. ET)

#2 Figure of Speech (3-1 on the morning line) was an impressive debut winner at Saratoga last summer. She pressed a quick pace and rallied to win a 5 1/2-furlong maiden sprint by 5 1/2 lengths.

Her only shortcoming that she weaved around in response to the whip, a trait she demonstrated again when she finished third in the 7-furlong Spinaway (G1).

Figure of Speech subsequently went to the sideline and didn’t run again until June 13, when the daughter of Into Mischief weakened to finish sixth in a 6 1/2-furlong allowance race at Churchill Downs. Figure of Speech would be hard to endorse off that effort, but she has posted a trio of sharp half-mile workouts since then, including a pair of :47 4/5 moves the last two weeks.

Trainer Chad Brown wins at a 25% rate with horses running back for the second time off a layoff, and returning to Saratoga might reawaken Figure of Speech’s competitive spirit. She’ll also reunite with four-time Eclipse Award-winning jockey Javier Castellano, who was aboard for her encouraging efforts as a juvenile.

Assuming her 3-1 morning-line odds hold up, we’ll keep things simple and bet Figure of Speech to win.

$25 to win on #2 Figure of Speech

Good luck!