BetAmerica’s horse racing pick of the day: June 3, Belmont Park

Weekday picks and plays for Thoroughbred racing.

Wednesday, June 3

Belmont Park, Race 3: Maiden special weight (5 furlongs, 2:23 p.m. ET)

In recent years, trainers Todd Pletcher and Wesley Ward have been incredibly successful debuting 2-year-olds in dirt sprints at Belmont Park. Since 2017, Pletcher has gone 14-for-40 (35%) and Ward has gone 5-for-10 (50%) with such runners, striking numbers no matter how you slice them.

Both Pletcher and Ward will be strongly represented in New York’s first juvenile race of 2020. Ward will saddle #3 Fauci (4-5 on the morning line), a son of Malibu Moon who has been cranking out fast workouts at Keeneland, including a bullet half-mile from the starting gate in :47 1/4 May 22.

But Pletcher’s #2 Prisoner (2-1) will be a dangerous threat, considering he is bred top and bottom to be an early maturing type. Sire Violence won the CashCall Futurity (G1) as a juvenile and sires 21% debut winners, while dam Al Max Diner was a stakes-placed 2-year-old who previously foaled the graded stakes-placed juvenile Manuka Honey.

Let’s bet Prisoner on top of Fauci in a cold exacta.

$25 exacta: 2 with 3

Good luck!