Belmont Oaks Picks — Betting Preview and Predictions (Jul 5)

Following the excitement of the Belmont Derby, the high-quality horse racing action at Saratoga continues on Saturday, as the fillies take center stage for the Belmont Oaks.

A field of seven will go to post at the Spa, with the runners competing over a distance of 1 1/8 miles on the turf. You can find the odds and our picks here.

Odds

Belmont Oaks Recent Winners

Belmont Oaks: Event Information

Race Preview

A strong renewal of the Belmont Oaks is set for this Saturday, with a competitive field of seven set to go to post. Nitrogen will be a solid favorite at the top of the betting for trainer Mark Casse.

The three-year-old filly has won five from seven attempts in stakes company, and confidence levels will be high after her dominant performance in the G3 Wonder Again Stakes last month when beating Bessie Abott by 17 lengths over a mile. Up in class today, but deserves plenty of respect with more improvement on the cards.

May Day Ready is a slight surprise second favorite after being well beaten by Nitrogen on her reappearance in June. However, she does have some strong back form to her name, including a very solid second behind Lake Victoria in the G1 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf. Should excel over this trip.

Brad Cox’s runners also deserve special attention, meaning that Fionn could be an interesting selection. The three-year-old was beaten by Nitrogen at Keeneland in April, but she regained her winning touch when she narrowly held off Totally Justified at Churchill Downs at the end of May. Plenty more to come from this runner, and she regularly runs her race.

Belmont Oaks Picks

Nitrogen will be very hard to beat this weekend, but bettors that are looking for a price shouldn’t be put off Opulent Restraint for the Chad Brown yard.

The three-year-old is very lightly raced, and is slowly getting to grips with racing after finishing second on her most recent start at Aqueduct.

Based on her pedigree, this kind of distance will bring out the best in her, and she is certainly value at over +1000.