Belmont: How to bet the 2023 New York Stakes

A standout field of eight fillies and mares will run 1 1/4 miles on the Belmont Park inner turf surface in Friday’s lucrative $600,000 New York S. (G1). The race is led by multiple Grade 1 heroine #7 War Like Goddess (6-5) for conditioner Bill Mott, and I will give her the narrow edge in the deep and classy field.

War Like Goddess has compiled a 10-for-14 career mark to this point and comes off a third consecutive tally in the Bewitch S. (G3) at Keeneland while making her seasonal debut last time out. The six-year-old daughter of English Channel endured a fine 2022 season led by an easy victory over the boys in the Turf Classic (G1) at Aqueduct in October, and she capped the year with a fast-closing third in the Breeders’ Cup Turf (G1) behind the brilliant Rebel’s Romance.

The Kentucky-bred possesses a potent turn of foot, but she has also put herself into her races much earlier as of late, which leaves her with less work to do in the stretch. I feel that the cutback to 1 1/4 miles on Friday will not affect her all that much, and she will enjoy a clear trip throughout from a post that suits her well. Regular pilot Joel Rosario will be in the stirrups atop the bay.

#6 McKulick (8-1) is a Grade 1 winner both on the surface and at the distance for conditioner Chad Brown. The Frankel four-year-old didn’t run her race in her seasonal bow when unplaced in the Modesty S. (G3) at Churchill Downs, but I am willing to draw a line through that performance. She had won or placed in each of her prior eight races and will surely improve in her second try off the layoff. The bay has a bit of tactical speed combined with a nice turn of foot, and Irad Ortiz stays in the irons to guide her, as well.

#4 Marketsegmentation (6-1) lacks the overall credentials of the aforementioned duo, but the Brown trainee hasn’t done much wrong in her career leading up to the toughest assignment of her lifetime. By American Pharoah, the four-year-old was an easy winner of the Beaugay S. (G3) on the course most recently, and she’s intriguing in her first try beyond 1 1/16 miles. If Jose Ortiz gets her to a clear edge in the early going of the affair, then she rates as a viable contender at a fair price.

#8 With the Moonlight (9-2) owns some pace in a field lacking it and is dangerous from the outside stall. Trained by the otherworldly Charlie Appleby, the daughter of Frankel was second to McKulick in the Belmont Oaks (G1) in July at 10 furlongs and is a logical top-three contender with William Buick coming in to ride.

New York Wagers

• $25 exacta: 7 with 6 ($25)
• $7 exacta: 7 with 4,8 ($14)
• $2 trifecta: key 7 with 4,6,8 ($12)
• $.50-cent superfecta: 6,7 with 6,7 with 4,8 with all ($10)