SATURDAY

Belmont Race No. 5 (3:27 p.m. ET/12:27 p.m. PT)

#2 Pipes (10/1 morning line). “Sharp Rudy Rodriguez claim starts his 4-year-old campaign in a reasonable spot. Last win in December was over #8 Playwright, who might go off as the favorite here. He has light workouts, but jockey Junior Alvarado takes the mount and he has been hot lately and Rudy Rod also is 3-for-18 with two seconds as well this meet.”

Belmont Race No. 7 (4:32 p.m. ET/1:32 p.m. PT)

#2 Dovima (6/1 morning line). “Chad Brown filly was a $440,000 purchase at OBS and has several bullet workouts for her debut. She should show speed and Brown, despite always being overbet, still has $2.05 ROI and 25% wins with first-time turf runners. Jockey Jose Ortiz is due to break out and now is a good time. Key #2 exactas and trifectas with 3, 5 & 10.”

Belmont Race No. 9 (5:36 p.m. ET/2:36 p.m. PT)

#4 Blamed (10/1 morning line). There’s other speed in the Grade 1 Ogden Phipps, but this 5-year-old mare looks like the speed of the speed as she has been sprinting most of her career and outdueling those early runners. But note that she is 1-for-1 at this mile and a sixteenth distance, too, and has won the last three times she’s run a mile or longer. This is obviously a talented field, but my bigger concern is actually that trainer Bill Mott is going for his 5, 000 career win on Saturday and I’m afraid his entrants might get overbet (hopefully he reaches the milestone earlier in the day and the public doesn’t jump all over our horse in the featured race). Wager: Win & Place.

Golden Gate Race No. 7 (6:18 p.m. ET/3:18 p.m. PT)

#2 Mylittlerunaway (12/1 morning line). Just like in my previous race, there’s plenty of other speed in the $75,000 Alcatraz Stakes, but I think I’ve found the speed of the speed with this late-developing 3-year-old filly. It took her seven starts to get her first victory, but now has gone wire-to-wire in her last two starts as she’s working her way up through her conditions (and not she’s never been out of the money in eight career starts). She should bolt right to the lead from the #2 post and hopefully runaway. Wager: Win & Place.

Churchill Race No. 11 (6:22 p.m. ET/3:22 p.m. PT
#1 Perfect Tapatino (20/1 morning line). Trainer Roger Attfield has #6 Tiz a Slam entered in the Grade 3 Louisville Stakes with a chance to steal it on the front end at 7/2, but I suspect he’s going to get pushed on the front end and set this up for a closer. There is plenty of late runners as you’d expect from a 1.5-mile turf race, but I’ll take #1 Perfect Tapatino to get a ground-saving trip and get first run on the other closers.