BetAmerica’s horse racing pick of the day: Sept. 18, Belmont Park

Weekday picks and plays for Thoroughbred racing.

Friday, Sept. 18

Belmont Park, Race 4: Miner’s Mark S. (1 1/2 miles, 2:35 p.m. ET)

There isn’t a single front-runner entered in this 1 1/2-mile marathon, so let’s play outside the box with #3 Danny California (8-1 on the morning line), who has at least shown some semblance of tactical speed in recent starts.

Trained by Orlando Noda, Danny California won a pair of 1 1/8-mile allowance races during the Saratoga meet. He crushed New York-breds by seven lengths, then rallied to beat open company by 1 1/2 lengths.

Danny California is unproven racing 1 1/2 miles, but his sire, Afleet Alex, won the Belmont Stakes (G1) over this track and distance and previously sired 1 3/4-mile Breeders’ Cup Marathon (G2) winner Afleet Again, so Danny California’s pedigree holds some potential for the stretch out in distance.

Jockey Manny Franco does good work with frontrunners, so let’s bet Danny California to win and hope he leads his pursuers on a merry chase around Belmont Park.

$20 to win on #3 Danny California

Good luck!