Veteran horse bettors in the Keystone State still refer to Parx Racing as Philadelphia Park. Either way, this Bensalem, PA. track is the place to be this Saturday for major graded racing action.
That card’s lineup offers five graded events led by the 2021 Pennsylvania Derby as the featured race of the day. When you add it all up, there is a combined $2.8 million up for grabs in prize money for these five major stakes races.
Along with the Pennsylvania Derby as the top betting event this Saturday, the 2021 Cotillion Stakes for three-year old fillies is the other Grade 1 race at Parx with $1 million dollars in the total prize pool.
2021 Pennsylvania Derby Picks
When: Saturday, September 25th 2021
Where: Parx Racing
Covering 1 1/8 miles on the dirt track at Parx, the Grade 1 Pennsylvania Derby is open to three- year old Thoroughbreds. There will be a total of nine colts competing for $1million in total prize money.
Kentucky Derby winner Medina Spirit has been scratched from the list for this race. However, this year’s Pennsylvania Derby still boasts a very deep field. The following is a closer look at my top three choices to finish in the money.
Top Choice – Hot Rod Charlie
This Kentucky-bred colt will be looking for redemption this Saturday after slipping all the way to seventh his last time out in the Grade 1 Haskell Stakes at Monmouth Park on July 17. This ended a string of six-straight runs inside the top three, highlighted by a third-place finish in the Kentucky Derby and a second-place effort in the Belmont Stakes.
Trained by Doug O’Neill, the son of Oxbow will break from the seventh post in Saturday’s main event. Jockey Flavian Prat will get the ride. Hot Rod Charlies comes into this race with the highest Horse Racing Nation rating (8.15) of any contender in the entered field.
Second Choice – Midnight Bourbon
Trainer Steve Asmussen’s prized three-year old colt placed second in the Grade 1 Travers Stakes on Aug. 28 at Saratoga. Essential Quality won that race covering 1¼ miles on dirt. The slightly shorter length of the Pennsylvania Derby at 1 1/8 miles should work in his favor. Midnight Bourbon drew the No. 8 post for Saturday’s race with Ricardo Santana as his jockey.
His HRN rating after a very productive three-year old campaign is now set at 8.02. Prior to finishing in the money in the Travers, the son of Tiznow could only manage a sixth-place finish in this year’s Haskell. His most notable effort of the year was a second-place finish to Rombauer in the Preakness Stakes back in mid-May.
Third Choice – Weyburn
As the ‘best of the rest’ in Saturday’s field, this three-year old Canadian-bred colt will break from the No. 4 post on Saturday. Trained by James Jerkens, Pascacio Lopez will be on board as his jockey. His HRN rating is a bit lower on the list of entries for this race at 6.36, but he should also do well at the slightly shorter distance.
Sired by Pioneerof the Nile, he finished just outside the money in the Grade 2 Jim Dandy Stakes on July 31 at Saratoga by taking fourth. This was another major graded stakkes event won by Essential Quality this summer.
