The final leg of the Triple Crown is still a few weeks away with the running of the 2020 Preakness Stakes on Oct. 3. The last Saturday of September offers some major graded races at Santa Anita Park in Southern California.
Highlighting this Saturday at Santa Anita is the 2020 Speakeasy Stakes. This is an ungraded sprint on the turf for some promising two-year old juveniles.
Turning to horse betting action on the East Coast this weekend, Belmont Park in Elmont, New York will open up its fall meet on Friday with the ungraded Miner’s Mark Stakes highlighting the card.
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Belmont’s Saturday’s card features the 2020 Belmont Oaks Invitational as part of the track’s Stars and Stripes Festival. This is the companion race to the Belmont Oaks that was run on July 4 this year. The Invitational features some of the top three-year old filly racers on turf over the course of the year.
2020 Speakeasy Stakes – Santa Anita Park
This ungraded stakes race is open to two-year old Thoroughbreds. The 5½ furlong sprint will be contested on the turf track at Santa Anita.
The actual field for Saturday’s race has yet to be finalized but Horse Racing Nation has nine entries listed as probable. Four of the top juveniles on that list already have a HRN rating.
The likely favorite with a 4.84 rating is Commander Khai. Trained by Richard Baltas, he is coming off a recent victory at Del Mar. The two-year old Kentucky-bred colt covered five furlongs in 0:57.72 in a Maiden Special Weight race on Sept. 4. This followed a second-place finish at that same track on Aug. 14 in another MSW five furlong sprint on turf.
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Another juvenile that could be in Saturday’s field coming off an early win is Big Flame. He won a Del Mar MSW event on Sept. 6 under the watchful eye of trainer Tim Yakteen. The two-year old Californian-bred colt covered six furlongs on dirt in 1:11.59.
Trainer John Sadler is expected to run Fury Kap on Saturday. This two-year old gelding started his racing career with a MSW victory at Tampa Bay Downs back on May 29.
2020 Belmont Oaks Invitational – Belmont Park
This is an invitational race open to three-year old fillies. It is a Grade 1 event with a total prize purse of $750,000. It will be contested on the turf track at Belmont covering an extended distance of 1¼ miles.
The field for Saturday’s main event features three closely matched entries that should make this a highly competitive run on Belmont’s turf track. The added length of this race could end up being the difference in the actual finishing order.
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This race is part of the Turf Tiara series. This three-race event started last year with the Saratoga Oaks and Jockey Club Oaks rounding out the three races. This Saturday’s race will also have some bearing on the Filly & Mare Turf as part of this November’s Breeders’ Cup at Keeneland.
Breaking from the No. 5 post is trainer William Mott’s Antoinette with John Velazquez as her jockey. This Kentucky-bred filly has been opened as the 7/5 favorite on the morning line coming off her victory in the Saratoga Oaks on Aug. 16.
The second-favorite at 2/1 odds is Magic Attitude. Breaking from the No. 2 gate with jockey Javier Castellano on board, she is looking to bounce back from a fifth-place finish in the Grade 1 Prix De Diane her last time out.
Trainer Lenard Powell is running Neige Blanche in this race. She is a 3/1 third-favorite out of the No. 4 post with jockey Jose Lezcano getting the ride.