The Breeders’ Cup excitement is real as 188 pre-entries were officially announced yesterday. This year’s Breeders’ Cup is one of the most anticipated weekends that I can recall in recent memory. Before we get to next weekend, the maiden special weight (MSW) races at Belmont Park continue to live up to the billing. Today we have three more races that I’ve previewed as we look to close out the fall meet on a positive note.
Belmont Meet Statistics (9/6 through 10/23):
| Races | Top 4 Wins | Top 4 Exactas | Top 4 Trifectas | Top 4 Supers |
| 56 | 41 | 28 | 15 | 5 |
Race 2: $62,000 MSW for New-York-bred 2-year-olds going 6 furlongs on the dirt
Linda Rice has her runners looking better than ever, and I expect that to continue today with #4 Scilly Cay. Linda is one of the best trainers when her horses make their second lifetime start. Usually her horses are a little green on the track during their debut and improve dramatically in their next start. Her colt showed good speed out of the gate and was on the front end in that 5 1/2-furlong dirt sprint. In a short field with a lack of early speed, look for this colt to go wire-to-wire on the front end.
Ricky’s Picks: 4-3-5-6
Race 4: $75,000 MSW for fillies and mares 3-years-old and upward going 1 1/16 miles (8.5 furlongs) on the dirt
#1 Bell Court is a lightly raced filly by Street Sense who looks to make her second career start a winning effort. She made her debut on the Belmont main track just over a month ago going 6 1/2 furlongs. Luis Saez was very aggressive with her early on and kept her toward the front of the group of six. Lifetime Memory was able to take advantage of a heavily contested first half of the race and closed with ease. There is plenty of speed in this field, but Luis Saez will have no problem sitting off the pace and allow the front-runners to expose themselves to quick fractions and leave them vulnerable in the end.
Ricky’s Picks: 1-3-4-2
Credit: NYRA
Race 8: $75,000 MSW for 2-year-old fillies going 1 1/16 miles (8.5 furlongs) on the inner turf
#8 Laughable has had her chances in the past, but today sets up perfectly for her. In her first two starts she had to work relentlessly to be on the front end. In today’s race, there is no early speed to speak of, and I wouldn’t be surprised if she were able to work a :25.00 first quarter. The distance certainly isn’t an issue as she’s run the same distance in her previous to efforts. Jose Ortiz will look to take this filly to the winners’ circle after failing to do so in his last trip on this filly. She is my best play of the day and certainly could be singled in multi-race wagers.
Ricky’s Picks: 8-4-5-9
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.
