Back by popular demand for the massive day of stakes action is yet another $5000 Hit & Split! This time it is Whitney Day at Saratoga where 1/ST BET and Xpressbet will offer up a free $2500 bonus for the late Pick 5 sequence that kicks off with the Saratoga Derby (Race 9) and another $2500 for the late Pick 4 that begins with the Test (Race 10). The big card features Fierceness and Sierra Leone in the main event and plenty of other top-tier runners in the supporting Grade 1s. Let’s dive in.

Grade Descriptions: Grade A=Highest degree of confidence; Grade B=Solid Play. Grade C=Least preferred or pass; Grade X=probable winner but likely at odds too short to play.


Race 9: Saratoga Derby (G1)
Grade: C
Main Ticket: 7 Hotazhell
Backups: 9 World Beater; 5 Test Score

Forecast: I lack creativity in this 1 3/16-mile excursion for 3YOs over the lawn where European import #7 Hotazhell looks like the clear one to beat. The Jessica Harrington trainee was empty late against top flight competition in the Coral Eclipse (G1) last month, but was 25-1 in a 6-horse field. He faces a legitimate group, but it is still a decrease in competition. #5 Test Score was good to me last out in the Belmont Derby (G1) and is the best American hope. I am concerned though with regression since trainer Graham Motion said this was not originally part of the plan. #9 World Beater was beaten handily last out by Test Score, but still posted a career best runner-up effort in defeat. With an outside draw, do not be surprised if jockey Jaime Torres rides this colt aggressively given the lack of early zip signed on.


Race 10: Test (G1)
Grade: B
Main Ticket: 5 Me and Molly McGee; 6 Echo Sound
Backups: 1 Ragtime

Forecast: It is hard to make a great case against 9-5-ML favorite in this $500k 7-furlong affair for 3YO fillies. The daughter of Echo Town won on debut for a barn that does not strive to get first out victories and has followed up with strong performance after strong performance. She showed an affinity for this racetrack in the Victory Ride (G3), draws favorably for her first Grade 1 try, and is a must use. That said, I have been waiting to take a swing with #5 Me and Molly McGee. This Vekoma filly has been hammered at the windows in all three starts in Kentucky and has delivered. She lost her debut at Keeneland by less than a length to a runner that had two starts under her belt before rattling off two wins going away at Churchill Downs. She is the speed of the speed. Hopefully, jockey Frankie Dettori can get her out of the gate in good order and have enough left late to spring the upset.


Race 11: Whitney (G1)
Grade: C+
Main Ticket: 7 White Abarrio; 9 Fierceness
Backups: None

Forecast: One of the biggest races of the year for older handicap horses drew a strong field even with the likely defect of #1 Mindframe. #9 Fierceness is a very fast racehorse. In the past, I have sided against the City of Light colt, especially when down on the inside, but he drew perfectly for his first start since failing as the chalk in the Met Mile (G1). He probably should have won that race, but it is also easy to forgive since it was out of the Wilson chute over an off track. In the end, this is a true two-turn horse who chased a legitimate sprinter in Raging Torrent. He might get over bet, but his chances are impossible to deny.

The only horse I can see beating Fierceness is #7 White Abarrio. The $7M earner also exits the Met Mile where it just was not his day chasing the pace over the sloppy surface. The son of Race Day has bounced back from poor efforts in the past and won this event in 2023 in a romp. He is the kind of horse that might offer the best value in the Win pool, but also has a chance to throw in another clunker. I would not take a head to head against Sierra Leone, but I much prefer his chances to get to the wire first.


Race 12:
Grade: B-
Main Ticket: 12 Leslie’s Humor; 4 Upon a Star; 3 La Salvadorena
Backups: 1 Tales of The Heart

Forecast: #3 La Salvadorena is a deserving 3-1-ML favorite in her third start off the layoff for trainer Ray Handal. She has been a bit camera shy thus far earning just 1 win and 4 seconds in 7 career starts, but has been up against it from a race shape perspective in both of her efforts of 2025. If she gets an honest pace, she could be tough to hold off. I do prefer the value though of #4 Upon a Star and #12 Leslie’s Humor. Upon a Star was purchased after her last race at the FTK Horses of Racing Age sale and is moved right to the lawn by new trainer Mike Maker. She has influences on the bottom side to suggest the surface switch could lead to a move forward and is dangerous on the front end. Leslie’s Humor makes her first start since entering the Chad Brown barn. The Kantharos filly has not raced since last October, but Brown sports a strong 8 for 32-record with a $2.29 ROI over the last 5 years in turf sprints off 180+ day layoffs. Expect her to be ready to roll off the bench.


Race 13:
Grade: B-
Main Ticket: 7 Twolatebabydoll; 5 Via Vento; 9 Selfless
Backups: 2 Peak Hype

Forecast: The card concludes with a wide-open MSW for the ladies over the Inner Turf. I give trainer Phil Antonacci runners upset chances, but like #7 Twolatebabydoll most. The Al Stall Jr. trainee makes her third start off the bench after a good second going 9-furlongs over the Churchill Downs turf. The runner-up effort was even better than it appears on paper since she was bottled up at one point before finding clear sailing late. She gets a rider upgrade to Ricardo Santana Jr. and meets a field she should handle with a move forward. Hopefully she sticks around that 6-1-ML offering.