Saratoga: How to bet the Spinaway and Honorable Miss

Assuming you’re not exhausted from the excitement of Kentucky Derby day, buckle your seatbelts, because high-class racing action continues on Sunday at Saratoga.

The $250,000 Spinaway (G1) for 2-year-old fillies and the $150,000 Honorable Miss H. (G2) for older fillies and mares have both drawn small but competitive fields.

Let’s dig right in and pay both on a $50 budget:

Race 9: Spinaway (G1, 5:11 p.m. ET)

#5 Beautiful Memories (9-5) made a great impression in her debut at Churchill Downs, leading all the way to dominate by 10 lengths over future winner and stakes competitor Yogurt.  Unfortunately, she failed to repeat the effort when stepping up in class for the Schuylerville (G3) on July 16 at Saratoga, stumbling at the start before ultimately getting pulled up by Jose Ortiz.

On the bright side, Beautiful Memories reportedly exited the Schuylerville in good shape, and she’s trained up a storm since then while posting a bevy of fast workouts. The daughter of Hard Spun has drawn outside her pace rivals in the Spinaway and should enjoy a clean, unencumbered trip with Ortiz back aboard.

Let’s bet Beautiful Memories to win and single her to start a double:

$20 to win on #5 Beautiful Memories
$10 double: 5 with 7

Race 10: Honorable Miss H. (G2, 5:45 p.m. ET)

There isn’t much speed in this 6-furlong dash, which could prompt some bettors to favor #2 Blamed (2-1). Though the speedy daughter of Blame has performed best as a route runner, she recently cut back in distance for the 7-furlong Shine Again S. at Saratoga and fired off a big effort, tracking the pace before settling for second by half a length.

But I’m more interested in #7 Lady’s Island (9-2). A winning machine with 11 victories from her last 14 starts, the speedy Florida-bred is 8-for-13 sprinting 6 furlongs and won the Sugar Swirl (G3) over this distance during the winter.

A pure front-runner who routinely throws down triple-digit Brisnet E1 and E2 Pace ratings, Lady’s Island frequently changes barns and posted a career-best effort when transitioning from Georgina Baxter to Danny Gargan at Saratoga last summer, crushing a 6-furlong starter allowance race by 13 1/4 lengths with a 108 Brisnet Speed rating. Lady’s Island’s return to Saratoga will see her switch again from Baxter to Gargan, potentially setting the stage for another powerful performance.

Let’s bet Lady’s Island to win and play her over Blamed and #1 Come Dancing (8-5) in the exacta.

$10 to win on #7 Lady’s Island
$5 exacta: 7 with 1,2 ($10)

Good luck!