Saratoga Weekend Racing Preview: Shuvee, Coaching Club Oaks and Vanderbilt Headline July 24 to 26
Saratoga runs three straight days of graded stakes racing this weekend, and the numbers on this card are as good as any we have seen all meet. Friday brings a Shuvee rematch between two fillies who dead heated for second at Saratoga in June. Saturday layers a Coaching Club American Oaks rivalry on top of a stacked Alfred G. Vanderbilt sprint. Sunday closes the stretch with the Honorable Miss. Here is what we are watching and how we are approaching the bets.
Friday Opens With the Shuvee and Rick Violette
Friday's card is built around the Grade 2, $250,000 Shuvee, a nine furlong route for older fillies and mares that goes as Race 8 with a first post of 1:10 p.m. Eastern. It also marks the sixth annual New York Thoroughbred Aftercare Day at the Spa, with the $200,000 Rick Violette for New York bred sophomores following in Race 9.
Fully Subscribed and Bless the Broken run it back. The two fillies shared second in the Grade 1 Ogden Phipps at Saratoga on June 6, hitting the wire together three and a quarter lengths behind runaway winner Nitrogen. Fully Subscribed, trained by Chad Brown for Klaravich Stables, has hit the board in all seven career starts and has banked $626,300, including Grade 2 and Grade 3 wins last year in the Mother Goose and the Comely. Bless the Broken, trained by Brad Cox, arrives off three straight Grade 1 tries and a runner up finish behind Fully Subscribed in the La Troienne. She sold for $950,000 at the Fasig Tipton Kentucky Fall Mixed Sale before joining the Cox barn in January.
Scottish Lassie is the wildcard. The dual Grade 1 winner, who took the Frizette as a juvenile and demolished last year's Coaching Club American Oaks field by fifteen and a half lengths for a career best 99 Beyer, returned from a break with an eight and a half length romp in a June optional claimer. Trainer Jorge Abreu reports her training well into Friday. Aeolian makes her stakes debut for the Brown barn, while Eunomia, Snowyte and Valtellina round out a seven horse field.
Saturday's Coaching Club American Oaks Renews a Rivalry
The Grade 1, $500,000 Coaching Club American Oaks runs nine furlongs for three year old fillies as the tenth race on Saturday's card, with a 5:45 p.m. Eastern post. Nine are entered, and the story is the third meeting this year between Always a Runner and Counting Stars.
Always a Runner beat Counting Stars to win the Longines Kentucky Oaks in May, then lost her unbeaten record when Counting Stars turned the tables in the Acorn at Saratoga on July 5. Both fillies have banked over a million dollars. Irad Ortiz Jr. is undefeated in two rides aboard Counting Stars for the West Point Thoroughbreds partnership, while Jose Ortiz stays on Always a Runner for Chad Brown.
The rest of the field brings real depth. Zany, who won the Grade 2 Demoiselle as a two year old, was sixth in the Kentucky Oaks for Todd Pletcher. Dandona took the Florida Oaks on turf in March before finishing sixth in the Regret. La Rascasse arrives unbeaten, and Miss Fulton Gal adds another stakes winner to the mix. Chad Brown doubles up with Directive, a two time winner for Juddmonte who gets Flavien Prat, while Mark Casse saddles Measure for jockey Manuel Franco and Luis Saez rides Nycon.
The Vanderbilt Brings Grade 2 Sprint Firepower
Saturday's other feature is the Grade 2, $400,000 Alfred G. Vanderbilt, a six furlong sprint for older horses that runs as Race 9 ahead of the Oaks. Trainer Gregg Sacco sends out two graded winners in this spot.
Just Beat the Odds, a six year old Munnings gelding, has hit the board in 14 of 15 career starts and carries a career best 103 Beyer from an optional claiming score last March. He was runner up in the Group 2 Riyadh Dirt Sprint in Saudi Arabia in February before a third in the Alapocas Run last out. Stablemate Crazy Mason adds blinkers back as he chases his first win since last year's Grade 2 Carter, coming off a rare off the board finish in the Grade 3 Hanshin.
Built, trained by Wayne Catalano, brings the fastest recent number in the field, a 103 Beyer earned when he was nosed out in the Bango at Churchill Downs. He has banked $479,696 from a 13 5 2 3 record after starting out as a Kentucky Derby prep type before finding his true form as a sprinter. Nutella Fella, the 2024 Hopeful winner, makes his first start for trainer Joe Sharp off an eight month layoff after drilling twin bullet works at Saratoga in June and July. Damon's Mound, T Kraft, Hymn and eight time winner Cat On Time complete the field.
Sunday's Honorable Miss Closes the Weekend
The Grade 2 Honorable Miss, a six furlong sprint for fillies and mares, wraps the weekend on Sunday, July 26. Last year's renewal went to Halina's Forte under Irad Ortiz Jr. for trainer Philip Bauer. NYRA has not yet published a final field for this year's edition, so we will confirm names and connections once entries are drawn later in the week.
Weekend Stakes at a Glance
| Date | Race | Purse | Conditions |
|---|---|---|---|
| Friday, July 24 | Shuvee Stakes (G2) | $250,000 | 9 furlongs, older fillies and mares |
| Friday, July 24 | Rick Violette Stakes | $200,000 | New York bred sophomores, turf |
| Saturday, July 25 | Coaching Club American Oaks (G1) | $500,000 | 9 furlongs, three year old fillies |
| Saturday, July 25 | Alfred G. Vanderbilt (G2) | $400,000 | 6 furlongs, older horses |
| Sunday, July 26 | Honorable Miss (G2) | $200,000 | 6 furlongs, fillies and mares |
How We Are Approaching the Bets
Three straight days of graded stakes racing gives us plenty to work with, from rivalry renewals in the Shuvee and the Oaks to a wide open Vanderbilt sprint. We will have final fields, morning line prices and our picks up before each card.
Bet online at app.mywinners.com, on the MyWinners: Racing & Sports app on iOS or Android, or go here to find your nearest MyWinners or Winners venue in CT.
