Spot plays for the Oct. 31 stakes races at Belmont Park

Picks and plays on a $75 budget for the Saturday stakes races at Belmont Park.

Race 7: Zagora S. (3:22 p.m. ET)

#9 Hungry Kitten (5-1) has improved by leaps and bounds since she stretched out in distance for trainer Shug McGaughey. She rallied to victory in a 1 1/4-mile allowance at Belmont, then charged to win a similar event over 1 3/8 miles at Saratoga.

Tackling 1 1/2 miles shouldn’t be an issue, and as a daughter of Kitten’s Joy, Hungry Kitten is bred to relish the rain-soaked course she’ll encounter Saturday.

If anyone can challenge Hungry Kitten, it might be the 3-year-old #6 Luck Money (8-1), an allowance winner racing 1 1/8 miles at Keeneland. Two starts back, the stoutly bred daughter of Lookin At Lucky finished a game third in the 1 5/16-mile Dueling Grounds Oaks, where she was beaten only by proven Grade 1 performers Micheline and Harvey’s Lil Goil.

The stretch out to 1 1/2 miles is a question mark for Luck Money, but she still has upside and should start at a fair price.

#2 Mutamakina (5-2), an experienced Group 1 competitor in France, can also contend in her U.S. debut for trainer Christophe Clement.

Let’s key Hungry Kitten, Luck Money, and Mutamakina in the top two slots of the trifecta and use “ALL” underneath.

50-cent trifecta: 2,6,9 with 2,6,9 with ALL ($21)

Race 8: Awad S. (4:27 p.m. ET)

#2 Catman (8-1) and #12 Wootton Asset (4-1) were separated by a nose they finished first and second in the Laurel Futurity over yielding ground at Pimlico. Both are bred to relish such conditions, so similar ground at Belmont should be right up their alley.

Let’s box Catman and Wootton Asset in the exacta, then use them equally to kick off a double.

$6 exacta: 2 with 12 ($12)
$6 double: 2,12 with 2 ($12)
Total: $24

Race 9: Bold Ruler H. (G3, 4:57 p.m. ET)

I’m not sure 7 furlongs is ideal for #2 Share the Ride (5-2), but in a race containing very little speed on paper, this speedy frontrunner might just get out in front and forget to stop.

An impressive winner of the Mr. Prospector S. two starts back, Share the Ride enters the Bold Ruler off a respectable third-place effort in the 6-furlong Vosburgh (G2) at Belmont.

The 105 Brisnet Speed rating Share the Ride posted in the Mr. Prospector tops Saturday’s field, so let’s take a shot and bet Share the Ride to win.

$20 to win on #2 Share the Ride
$5 exacta: 2 with 4,6 ($10)
Total: $30

Good luck!