Super Saturday Betting Guide: Mohawk Million, Joe Hirsch Turf Classic And Lukas Classic Headline September 26

Saturday September 26 is the single biggest betting day of the next two weeks. Six tracks across four countries stage graded, group and Grand Circuit stakes worth close to eight million dollars combined (Woodbine Mohawk’s purses in Canadian dollars, the rest in US dollars), from the Grade 1 Joe Hirsch Turf Classic at Belmont Park to the Mohawk Million at Woodbine Mohawk Park, the Lukas Classic at Churchill Downs, the Goodwood at Santa Anita and a pair of Group 1s at Newmarket. Here is what we know about the fields, the market leaders and the stakes on offer at every track.

Joe Hirsch Turf Classic Headlines Belmont Park

The Grade 1 Joe Hirsch Turf Classic is worth five hundred thousand dollars over one and a half miles of turf, with a first post of 12:05pm ET on the Belmont Park card. It goes as race 10. El Cordobes, trained by Charlie Appleby and ridden by Flavien Prat, is the headline runner after seven months on the sidelines. His last start was a third place finish in the Amir Trophy at Doha on February 14, and before that he was third in this race last year and third in the Breeders’ Cup Turf. He faces a seven horse field that includes Program Trading (Chad Brown, Ricardo Santana Jr), a three time Grade 1 winner for a trainer chasing his fourth Joe Hirsch win, and Far Bridge (Miguel Clement, John Velazquez), who won this race in 2024 for his father Christophe Clement and returns off a start in the twelve furlong Pan American. Asbury Park (Chad Brown, Manny Franco) tries twelve furlongs for the first time, while Minaret Station (Will Walden, Jose Ortiz), Pride of Arras (Ralph Beckett), a dual Group 2 winner of the Dante Stakes and the Great Voltigeur Stakes and a fancied runner in this year’s Derby who adds the Group 3 September Stakes at Kempton on September 5 to his form and switches to James Doyle after nine starts with Rossa Ryan, and Fort George (Ed Walker, Kieran Shoemark) round out the field. The winner earns eligibility for a Japan Racing Association bonus if selected for the Japan Cup at Tokyo. El Cordobes is the 5/2 morning line favorite, ahead of Minaret Station at 7/2 and Fort George at 9/2.

The Turf Classic anchors a huge afternoon at Belmont Park worth one and a half million dollars across four graded stakes. The Grade 2 Flower Bowl (five hundred thousand dollars) and Grade 2 Gallant Bloom (two hundred fifty thousand dollars) support the fillies and mares division, while the Grade 3 Vosburgh (two hundred fifty thousand dollars) is the sprint feature. Fields for those three had not been finalized at the time of writing, so check back closer to post for confirmed entries.

Mohawk Million And Metro Pace Turn Woodbine Mohawk Into A Million Dollar Night

Woodbine Mohawk Park hosts the richest harness card of the year, with five Grade 1s worth three and a half million Canadian dollars plus three seventy five thousand dollar Free For All events, first post 6:30pm ET.

Mohawk Million

Woodbine Mohawk Park hosts the richest harness card of the year, with five Grade 1s worth three and a half million Canadian dollars plus three seventy five thousand dollar Free For All events, first post 6:30pm ET. The one million dollar Mohawk Million, run for the seventh time, draws ten of the division’s best two year old trotters. Athenas Girl, the reigning Grade 1 Peaceful Way Stakes champion trained by Marcus Melander, starts from post 2 with Dexter Dunn driving as Melander chases a third straight win in the race, though Wrong Sounds Right is the 8/5 morning line favorite with Athenas Girl at 6/1. She lines up against Dataprivacy (post 1, Louis Philippe Roy, Luc Blais), Detonater Hanover (post 3, Tyler Moore, Dr Ian Moore), Seven Pledges (post 4, Joe Bongiorno, Andrew Harris), Wrong Sounds Right (post 5, Todd McCarthy, Jim Campbell), Kissme Ifyoucan (post 6, Austin Hanners, Todd Luther), Nevis Peak (post 7, Yannick Gingras, Ron Burke), out of 2020 Hambletonian winner Ramona Hill, D A Johnny Cash (post 8, Doug McNair, Chris Mathews), Ocean Storm (post 9, James MacDonald, Cameron Capone) and Access Now (post 10, Bob McClure, Luc Blais), runner up in the Wellwood and a Grade 3 Champlain winner.

Metro Pace

The one million dollar Metro Pace, for two year old pacers, is just as loaded. Shalom Hanover, trained by Dr Ian Moore and unbeaten through seven stakes starts this season, lines up from post 3 with Louis Philippe Roy in the bike. Dr Ian Moore won last year’s renewal with Horse of the Year Beau Jangles. Eastie Boy (post 6, Ronnie Wrenn Jr, Ron Burke), fresh off an elimination win, and Rose Run Cowboy (post 4, Yannick Gingras, Ron Burke) also carry live chances against High Rise Hanover (post 1, J R Plante, Nick Comegna), Cattletracks (post 2, Scott Zeron, Dr Ian Moore), TH Theo (post 5, Doug McNair, Gregg McNair), Vainqueur (post 7, Dexter Dunn, Andrew Harris), Global Choice (post 8, James MacDonald, Garry Merner), Big D Energy (post 9, Mark MacDonald, Herb Holland) and L A Captain (post 10, Bob McClure, Luc Blais).

The card also features the Canadian Trotting Classic (five hundred ninety thousand Canadian dollars), She’s A Great Lady (five hundred ten thousand Canadian dollars) and Elegantimage (four hundred thousand Canadian dollars), rounding out a five Grade 1 program.

Lukas Classic Day At Churchill Downs

Churchill Downs closes its September meet with the thirteenth running of the Grade 2 Lukas Classic, the first since D Wayne Lukas died last summer, worth five hundred thousand dollars over one and one eighth miles, post time 12:45pm ET with the race itself going off at 5:29pm ET as race 10. Banishing, the six year old Ghostzapper gelding trained by David Jacobson with more than three point two million dollars in career earnings, was third in last year’s renewal and returns off a win in the Grade 2 Godolphin Mile this year and a runner up finish in the Charles Town Classic. Francisco Arrieta takes the ride from post 4. He is opposed by Tiztastic (post 3, Steve Asmussen, Brian Hernandez Jr), winner of the 2025 Louisiana Derby, Dragoon Guard (post 2, Brad Cox, Tyler Gaffalione), Chunk of Gold (post 7, Ethan West, Jaime Torres), a Grade 3 winner, This Is Uscar (post 1, Jordan Blair, Edgar Morales) and McAfee (post 6, George Weaver, Luis Saez). Original Sin (post 5, Brendan Walsh), a Blame Stakes winner, was also drawn here but is double entered and expected to scratch in favor of the Goodwood at Santa Anita the same day, which would leave six runners.

Supporting stakes on the card include the Grade 3 Ack Ack (four hundred thousand dollars) over one mile, led by Bishops Bay, trained by Brad Cox, last year’s Cigar Mile winner who beat Chunk of Gold by a neck in the Iselin, and the Bourbon Flight (three hundred thousand dollars), taking the day’s stakes total to one point two million dollars across three races.

Santa Anita’s Opening Weekend Builds Around The Goodwood

A day after opening its Autumn Meet, Santa Anita runs the Grade 1 Goodwood, a Breeders’ Cup Classic Win and You’re In qualifier over one and one eighth miles, drawn as race 8 of 10 with a post time of around 7:30pm ET. Nine go to post, with Nevada Beach the 7/5 morning line favorite ahead of Caldera and Forged Steel at 5/1 and Original Sin at 6/1.

Nevada Beach, the defending champion trained by Bob Baffert who won last year’s renewal by a length and a half at 8/1, returns after seven and a half months on the sidelines, his last start a troubled trip in the Saudi Cup on February 14. Juan Hernandez replaces Mike Smith in the saddle, and he is bidding to be the first back to back winner of the race since Game On Dude, with Baffert a nine time winner of the Goodwood himself. He is opposed by Original Sin (Brendan Walsh, Kazushi Kimura), beaten six and a quarter lengths by Knightsbridge in the Grade 1 Pacific Classic, Forged Steel (Saffie Joseph Jr, Edwin Gonzalez), who has been off the board in both starts since his Grade 2 Hollywood Gold Cup win, Taif (Bob Baffert, Emisael Jaramillo), Vodka Vodka (Aggie Ordonez, Kent Desormeaux), Midnight Mammoth (Craig Dollase, Tyler Baze), Mr A P (Vladimir Cerin, Joel Rosario) and Caldera (Saffie Joseph Jr, Paco Lopez). McAfee (George Weaver, Hector Berrios) completes the field and is expected to scratch from the Lukas Classic to run here.The Goodwood anchors a one million dollar stakes day that also includes the Grade 2 City of Hope Mile (two hundred thousand dollars), Grade 2 Eddie D (two hundred thousand dollars) and Grade 2 John Henry Turf Championship (two hundred thousand dollars), all three also Breeders’ Cup Win and You’re In qualifiers, plus the Grade 3 John C Harris (one hundred thousand dollars), five graded stakes in total.

Cambridgeshire Saturday Delivers Two Group Ones At Newmarket

Newmarket’s three day Cambridgeshire meeting reaches its Saturday peak with the Group 1 Cheveley Park Stakes, off 2:27pm UK, 9:27am ET, and the Group 1 Middle Park Stakes, off 3:00pm UK, 10:00am ET. Six fillies were declared for the Cheveley Park, with Sun Goddess heading the market at 6/4 and Senorita Bonita close behind at 7/4. Senorita Bonita, trained by Simon and Ed Crisford off wins in the Duchess of Cambridge Stakes and the Prix Morny at Deauville, and Sun Goddess, trained by Aidan O’Brien on the back of four straight wins including the Group 1 Phoenix Stakes and Group 1 Moyglare Stud Stakes, head the market on form. Aidan O’Brien holds the record in the Cheveley Park with six wins, including the last two runnings. Libertango (George Boughey), a winner of the Albany Stakes and the Lowther Stakes, also carries deep Group 1 credentials, with Star Of State and Alwaysanangel (both Joseph O’Brien), Snowing (Aidan O’Brien), Moonrise (Andrew Balding) and Controlla (Robson De Aguiar) completing the field.

Off 2:27pm UK, 9:27am ET. Aidan O’Brien holds the Cheveley Park record with six wins, including the last two runnings. Sun Goddess heads the market. Jockeys and odds were not available at the time of writing.

Seven juvenile colts were declared for the Middle Park Stakes, with ante post favorite Great Barrier Reef a notable absentee for Aidan O’Brien. Inner City Blues (Charlie Appleby) heads the betting at 7/4 ahead of Orthodox (Clive Cox, off the Norfolk Stakes) at 5/2 and Push The Boat Out (Michael O’Callaghan) at 3/1, who beat Great Barrier Reef in the Round Tower Stakes and looks the strongest form angle in the race. Marco Polo (6/1) and Confucius (16/1) run for Aidan O’Brien, with Force Noir (33/1) and Hell Of A Spin (50/1) completing the field. The card also carries deep Group 1 credentials at 7/2, with Alwaysanangel (Joseph O’Brien, 10/1), Moonrise (Andrew Balding, 20/1) and Snowing (Aidan O’Brien, 100/1) completing the field. The historic Cambridgeshire Handicap completes the card as the meeting’s betting heat race.

Also Live On Saturday: The Curragh And The Wider Card

The Curragh stages the Group 2 Beresford Stakes, off 3:10pm Irish, 10:10am ET, a Road to the Kentucky Derby qualifier where Aidan O’Brien has traditionally dominated the entries, though a confirmed field had not been published at the time of writing. Recent winners of the Beresford, including Luxembourg, Hotazhell and Hawk Mountain, have all gone on to become Group 1 winners. Between Belmont, Woodbine Mohawk, Churchill, Santa Anita, Newmarket and the Curragh, Saturday September 26 offers more graded and group stakes than any other single day in the next fortnight.

Best Bets For Super Saturday

El Cordobes’ course form in the Joe Hirsch, third last year and third in the Breeders’ Cup Turf since, makes him the class act in the Turf Classic on paper, though seven months off is a real question mark, and Program Trading’s three Grade 1 wins make him the biggest threat if the Godolphin runner needs the run. In the Lukas Classic, Banishing’s Godolphin Mile win this year and career earnings give him the nod over Tiztastic’s three year old upside, with Original Sin and McAfee’s expected scratches to the Goodwood thinning the field further. Athenas Girl arrives at 6/1 as the reigning Peaceful Way champion, while Sun Goddess’s four straight Group 1 form, including the Phoenix and Moyglare, makes her the one to beat in the Cheveley Park alongside Senorita Bonita.

Ready To Bet Super Saturday

With graded and group stakes running from Belmont’s turf course to the Woodbine Mohawk oval and Newmarket’s Rowley Mile, Saturday gives bettors a full card of marquee racing to work across dirt, turf and standardbred pacing alike.

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.