NYRA Preview: Belmont Park 10/16

October 16, 2019

By: Ricky Pasternak

The Knickerbocker Stakes (G2) lived up to the hype as Lucullan and Luis Saez made easy work of the six-horse field. Catholic Boy was just not the same; the rust was very evident. Nonetheless, it was a very exciting race and a great way to kick off a new racing week. There is only one maiden special weight race today, and my top pick will look to improve on a very impressive debut from just a few weeks ago.

Belmont Meet Statistics (9/6 through 10/14):

Races	Top 4 Wins	Top 4 Exactas	Top 4 Trifectas	Top 4 Supers
50	35	24	12	4

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Race 5: $62,000 MSW for 2-year-olds going 1 mile (8 furlongs) on the Widener turf (horses must have sold or RNA for $45,000 or less in most recent sale)

#6 Danzing Dunhill (6/5) finished third in his career debut, which came here on September 18 after training at Saratoga for George Weaver during the summer. He broke very slowly and was forced toward the back of the pack, where Manny Franco saved ground and waited as long as he could to unleash him. In his first workout since that debut, he posted a career-best :49.53 for 4 furlongs on the Saratoga main track. Everything suggests that this horse deserves to be the favorite and is the horse to beat.

Ricky’s Picks: 6-2-8-9

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Good luck to everyone playing and be sure to follow me on Twitter @RickyP_15 for more NYRA race previews as we take a look at Belmont Park!

If you want further information on the other races for each card at Belmont Park and beyond, you can check the Racing Dudes’ Free Picks page or subscribe to their Premium Selections and get detailed analyses for every race, every card, every track around the country.