Saturday at 'the Spa': Saratoga Race Course picks for Whitney Day, including four Grade 1 stakes races

Take my word for it: Saratoga, New York is one of the best summer towns in the country. The concerts, restaurants, nightlife, and most importantly, the Saratoga Race Course, attract a terrific party vibe. Every Saturday during the summer, horse racing's best thoroughbreds, jockeys and trainers go to The Spa.

And Whitney Day, headlined by the self-titled Grade 1 stakes, is one of the best of the days in Saratoga’s summer meet. Along with the Whitney are three more Grade 1 races, such as the Test Stakes, Fourstardave Stakes and Saratoga Derby.

In my first trip to The Spa this summer, I went 0-for-3 on Jim Dandy Day last week, losing $100. I'm heading back to Saratoga for this loaded Whitney Day card with $125 I'm willing to risk. Here's how I'm betting races 9-12 Saturday, August 8.

Saratoga Race Course Bet Slip: 'Whitney Day'

Statistically speaking, #6 On Time Girl (7-2) has the best jockey (Irad Ortiz) and trainer (Brad Cox) combo in this field.

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Ortiz is a multiple-time winner of the best jockey during the Saratoga summer meet, and he has the highest winning percentage of any jockey this summer with a minimum of five starts. Cox has the highest winning rate of any trainer this summer at Saratoga with a minimum of 25 starts.

On Time Girl has two wins and a second in three races at this distance and has gone off as the top betting choice in five of her last six starts, including four straight. She is the only filly in this field with tactical speed, so she can win whether there is a fast or slow pace.

This is just a good price for #3 Zulu Kingdom (7-2), who has gone off as the top betting choice in seven of his 11 career races. He has eight wins and one third in his career.

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In five starts at The Spa, Zulu Kingdom has three wins and a third. At this distance, he has four wins and a third in seven races. Zulu Kingdom’s jockey (Flavien Prat) and trainer (Chad Brown) are leading this summer’s Saratoga meet in earnings.

He is coming off his fastest career Beyer Speed Figure (101) in a dead-heat win at the Grade 3 Kelso in Saratoga last month. Zulu Kingdom is experienced in these tough fields; he’s been in seven Graded stakes races, including six straight.

I’m putting #6 Capitol Hill (10-1) underneath in an exacta because he is the only horse in this field with "late speed" and could sneak into the money on the final stretch.

#1 Glavine (12-1) has clocked 86, 83 and 85 Beyers in his three races this year, which isn’t far off the top speeds in this field. He broke his maiden in May and finished fourth and third in his last two starts, both at Saratoga.

If he can improve a little, Glavine will outrun his odds. Speaking of which, he’s gone off at $4.17 or shorter in his three races this year, making Glavine’s 12-1 Saratoga Derby morning-line a great price.

At the end of the day, the top-three betting choices in this field are 9-2 or shorter, and Glavine isn’t nearly three times worse than them.

The 2025 Kentucky Derby and Belmont Stakes champion, #6 Sovereignty (3-1), has a second and a third in his first two starts this year, which is disappointing, considering his resume.

But Sovereignty has three wins in four races at The Spa, which includes last year’s Belmont Stakes and a 10-length victory in the Grade 1 Travers in a field with the top betting choice Saturday, #1 Magnitude (9-5), who lost by 20.75 lengths.

Granted, Magnitude got his revenge by beating Sovereignty in the Grade 1 Stephen Foster at Churchill in May. Nevertheless, Sovereignty’s floor is the rest of this Whitney field's A-game; he has run a 104+ Beyer in six consecutive races.

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Lastly, Sovereignty broke his maiden in his third start as a two-year-old and won the Kentucky Derby in his third start last year, followed by his three wins at Saratoga last summer. At this price, I'm betting Sovereignty will continue this pattern as a four-year-old.

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