Race 1 (12:35 p.m. ET/9:35 a.m. PT) — $100K MAIDEN SPECIAL WEIGHT for 2YOs going 1 1/16-mile on turf

#3 ATOMIC AGE (7-2 morning line) for deep-pocketed owner Peter Brant, trainer Chad Brown and jockey Flavien Prat. Who could ask for anything more?

Race 2 (1:07 p.m. ET/10:07 a.m PT) — $90K MAIDEN SPECIAL WEIGHT for 3YOs & up going 7 furlongs

#3 IRON MAN IRA (9-5 morning line); #5 TINEBAR (3-1), and #7 SORORITY PRANK (6-1). One of these will graduate.

Race 3 (1:40 p.m. ET/10:40 a.m PT) — $60K CLAIMING for 4YOs & up going 6 furlongs

#7 MASTER OF ARMS (9-2 morning line), trained by John Ortiz and ridden by Ricardo Santana will hit wire first. Combo hopes to repeat Thursday’s score. Extra furlong suits runner’s style.

Race 5 (2:46 p.m. ET/11:46 a.m. PT) — $70K STARTER ALLOWANCE for 3YOs & up going 1 ⅛-mile

#4 WHO’S THE KING (5-2 morning line) for trainer Saffie Joseph Jr., whose barn had a surprise winner earlier this week. A repeat of last race’s 87 speed figure would beat this bunch. Tyler Gaffalione knows colts. Crown the king.

Race 6 (3:20 p.m. ET/12:30 p.m. PT) — G1 $350K ALFRED G. VANDERBILT HANDICAP for 3YOs & up going 6 furlongs

#5 SUBROGATE (7-2 morning line) to spring an upset of speedball #6 SKELLY (6-5). Trained by low-profile, high-percentage conditioner Jorge Duarte and ridden by Irad Ortiz Jr., 4YO son of Arrogate, it should sit perfectly trip behind early speedsters. Colt has won his last three. Let’s go for four.

Grade 2 Jim Dandy, Saratoga, Race #10

The feature on Saratoga’s card showcases the Derby favorite versus the Derby runner-up. This race comes down to your thoughts on #6 Fierceness. If he runs his A race, everyone else is competing for second. The problem is he is wildly inconsistent in running his A race. We’ve seen it three times in six starts. The other three efforts were duds. I expect him to come back well here. It’s a shorter field, just six horses, which should allow him to get a good, settled trip. He can make the lead if he wants it or sit just off. Both have been winning trips in the past, and the morning line price of 9/5 is reasonable since there is a better than 2-1 chance he runs to his talent.

#1 Sierra Leone had every chance to win two of the three triple crown legs and came up short twice. He’s consistently able to close the ground but does not win enough to be an even-money favorite. He’s a likely winner here, but the price does not line up with his chances.

#3 Batten Down has gone gate to wire in his last two and will try to make hay on the front again here. He’ll have a much tougher field to deal with today than either of his last two, but if Fierceness doesn’t fire, I would not be shocked if he can take this field gate to wire.

Your Preakness winner, #2 Seize the Gray, is back to try to knock of Sierra Leone for a second time. He too won gate to wire when at his best so I’d expect to see some pace on. Without a favorable trip, it’s unlikely he competes for the top spot.

Grade 1 Bing Crosby, Del Mar, Race #10
This marks one of my favorite races each year at Del Mar. It’s always a competitive field with some of the top sprinters in the US. All eyes will be on #8 The Chosen Vron, who has won five straight races and 13 of his last 14, including this event last year. He loves Del Mar, three for five over the track and is proven at the distance, five for six. With all of that, however, comes a short price, and since most of his wins have come versus state-bred competition, I’m not willing to swallow a short price.

#9 Jackstown enters the race light on experience but has shown he has boatloads of talent. This will be just the third start of his career and second off a nearly two-year layoff. The simple fact he is in the race tells you what Bob Baffert thinks of the horse’s talent. When a trainer is willing to step out to this level, so am I, especially when the price is 15-1.

#3 Straight No Chaser is also aggressively entered here with just one race in 2024. He made the lead that day and faded, but he has multiple races in his past that make him a player here. He has also been working up a storm leading up to this, and trainer Dan Blacker generally does not overestimate his horses. I expect him to outrun his odds.

#7 Happy Jack lost to The Chosen Vron in his 2024 debut but took a nice step forward next time out. He is in his five-year-old season, so I tend to believe that improvement is legitimate. He’s another that can contend with a repeat of his last.