Suddenly, it’s July, and time to focus on “The Summer Place to Be.”
Five days after saying farewell forever to Aqueduct, we say hello again to Saratoga. Here comes summer, and the Spa will host 46 days of top-class racing, starting Friday with a three-day festival that will celebrate America’s 250th birthday.
The upstate New York track holds the world’s best extended race meeting, stretching from July 3 through Labor Day, Sept. 7.
For serious handicappers, it’s a two-month paradise of parimutuel frenzy. The atmosphere is unique and meant to be savored, but to participate, you don’t have to be on site. You can enjoy all the action from the couch in your air-conditioned living room because most of the handling is done through internet accounts.
Andrew Beyer once wrote that a losing streak at Saratoga hurts worse than it does anywhere else. Conversely, winning there is that much sweeter; try to help you do that. Showing a profit for the meet is a major challenge, but it can be done with discipline, money management, and homework. Here are some insights I’ve picked up over the years.
Don’t try to bet on every race, or even most of them. Pick your targets carefully, because over 46 days, there will be about 500 wagering opportunities. Be selective and wait for overlays, because they will pop up.
Don’t try to strike it rich on opening weekend. The odds against pulling that off are long, and you don’t want to be chasing losses early and be forced out of your comfort zone.
Saratoga runs many races with four or five logical contenders, most of whom have never faced each other. If you’re confused and indecisive, don’t be afraid to admit “I don’t know.” There’s nothing wrong with sitting out the race instead of taking a wild shot.
Every year, hundreds of well-bred 2-year-olds debut at Saratoga. Some future stars won’t be fully cranked for their first race. Study the pedigrees to find juveniles with win-early bloodlines. Check on who is being bet, the best way to determine trainer intent. Some first-time starters score at double-digit odds, but not many.
It’s one of the most powerful betting angles there is. Give extra credit to any horse who’s won over the track, even if its recent form is poor. Every year, you see Saratoga specialists score at big odds after struggling elsewhere.
Perennially, the elite humans dominate Saratoga, where the rich always get richer. Expect Chad Brown, Todd Pletcher, and Mark Casse to battle to be the leading trainer, and for Irad Ortiz, Jr., Flavien Prat, and Jose Ortiz to contend for the leading rider.
Early foot is the universal track bias, and deep closers don’t win many Saratoga dirt sprints, especially early in the meet. You don’t have to go wire-to-wire, but tactical speed is important.
Downgrade outside posts in two-turn grass races and 5½-furlong sprints. As it is on the main track, being on or near the early pace is a plus, but you can win from far back at more than a mile.
Saratoga’s prestige and huge purses attract horses from all over the country (and from Europe for grass stakes). It complicates handicapping but also makes winning more lucrative. Sometimes the New York-based barns get more respect than they should. The nation’s best racing is in Kentucky, and horses from Churchill Downs, Keeneland, and Ellis Park win more than their share of races at the Spa.
Assess your strengths and weaknesses honestly. I’m most comfortable with allowance races and stakes, and I favor turf routes over dirt sprints. Maybe you prefer claiming horses going 6 furlongs on the main track. Just go with what works best for you.
And good luck. You always need it.
Ed McNamara is an award-winning racing writer who has covered the sport since 1981 for The Bergen (N.J.) Record, Newsday, ESPN, Thorocap, and USRacing. He is the author of Cajun Racing: From the Bush Tracks to the Triple Crown and Racing Around the World, and a contributor to The Most Glorious Crown and The Racetracks of America. He has also written for racing publications in France and Italy.
