Daily Racing Form expert handicapper and analyst Mike Beer handicaps the Saturday, August 22 racing card at Saratoga, including his projected 1-2-3 finishers. His best bet of the day comes from Race 8.
Also, view FREE DRF Past Performances for today’s Race of the Day.
BEST BET: Arinata (8th race)
Eighth Race
1. Arinata
2. Maria Callas
3. Fairy Godmother
ARINATA was ultra-impressive in her debut win over this course and distance last summer as a 2yo; made her next start in a stakes race downstate, where she was away from the gate poorly and then could not run down a loose-on-the-lead winner; appears to have plenty of talent as she returns from the layoff with Lasix on. MARIA CALLAS hasn’t stretched out effectively yet, though she didn’t run as poorly as it might appear in her two route attempts; the sprint efforts are both good, including that last one when over behind horses for a long way and then having to finish inside behind a sharp winner; has the recency edge on the top one. FAIRY GODMOTHER impressed winning her return to turf at the end of May in a race that came back fast, and she has been compromised by poor starts in both starts since; dangerous in here with a clean trip.
Here are Mike’s thoughts on the other eleven races on Saturday’s Saratoga card.
First Race
1. Modest Maclean
2. Teuflesdale
3. Term Premium
MODEST MACLEAN was bet hard on debut here three weeks ago, and he ran well that day while only second-best to a winning stablemate; can benefit from that experience, and he is bred to get this added distance. TEUFLESDALE tried making the lead in a fast-paced race on debut; got close to the pace when out to this distance last time, but he could only chase, then was ultimately no match while continuing on gamely in the stretch; has some speed from the rail; can do better at a price. TERM PREMIUM got outrun early in the debut, then made a nice run in the stretch before ultimately failing to get by a winning stablemate; went favored last time but was bumped at the start and left to chase over a speed-favoring track; adds blinkers looking to be more involved early.
Second Race
1. Asbury Park
2. Arkhipov
3. Mutaawid
Ultimately landed on the opinion that ASBURY PARK and ARKHIPOV are the two most talented runners in this field, and they are both already proven over this distance – the former in a Grade 2 victory last October as a 3yo. ASBURY PARK hasn’t been seen since coming up empty in a Grade 1 on Derby Day; resetting in his available condition. ARKHIPOV got first run on in-form stablemate Right to Vote and was clear under the wire two back going shorter; faced that rival again last month going this distance, and ARKHIPOV was forced to do the chasing from behind that day while finishing well for second. MUTAAWID loves this trip but he has no early speed and is going to require at least some pace to develop, and then a clean run into it.
Third Race
1. Powerline
2. Got Tough
3. No Time to Lose
Big things were expected from expensive yearling buy POWERLINE when he debuted early in the meet. While he didn’t deliver a win on the day, he certainly received an education after breaking a bit slowly and then being kept over behind horses for a long way while taking a lot of dirt in his face, before finishing well for second; expecting rapid improvement. GOT TOUGH debuted in the same race as POWERLINE, which was dominated on the lead by a well-meant rival from a top barn. GOT TOUGH rallied gamely up the rail in the stretch after getting outpaced to last in the early stages; benefits from that experience and from this slightly longer distance; NO TIME TO LOSE sold for $1.4 million as a yearling. He is by a top sire and is a half-brother to a pair of graded stakes winners; most recent breeze came in company with stablemate Twinkle Town, who recently won a Grade 2 on this track with an 88 Beyer.
Fourth Race
1. Give Her Another
2. Five Dozen Roses
3. Paynterpretty
Based on results, GIVE HER ANOTHER appears to have spent a bit too much time on dirt for her prior connections. She sprinted on turf three times early in her career and ran well in all of those races while facing solid competition; was stretching out when finally back to the grass last time, where she could gain no late ground from the pocket and settled for a clear third behind recent NY-bred stakes winner Greyjoy; cuts back. FIVE DOZEN ROSES was compromised by slow starts several times on both surfaces last year; has cleaned up the gate issues this year, resulting in the two best efforts of her career; threat right back. PAYNTERPRETTY faced tougher in her turf debut routing two starts back, and she was in the mix for much of that race before tiring in the stretch; scored an easy maiden win when given class relief and turned back in a race rained off the grass last time; sprints right back while logically spotted.
Fifth Race
1. Private Property
2. River Empress
3. U Vicky
PRIVATE PROPERTY just missed the only other time she raced down around this level last October, and she was wide from a tough past that day; liked her next start even better when bumped back at the start and then making a long, wide run that fell short; disappointing a bit last time when once again breaking from the outside gate and getting headstrong off the layoff; drops and leaves from the rail this time. RIVER EMPRESS looked green in her three turf races as a 2yo late last year, though she had some run in all of those starts; has faced tougher since starting back this year; needs this drop. U VICKY faced Faithful Departed in her career debut back in January; tried going long when back on grass in her return from a short layoff two back, and she was taken back to last and left with too much to do last time; drops looking for a better trip.
Sixth Race
1. Key Colony Beach
2. Very Clever
3. Coastal Conflict
KEY COLONY BEACH was well-meant for the debut early in the meet, where she lined up against a strong field over a wet track; she wasn’t aggressively looking to show speed in that spot despite a good start, and she bumped the eventual winner of that race pretty hard in the stretch (likely why the blinkers go on), before finishing a good second; Fawkes 2yo, maiden, second career start, dirt sprint: 10 for his last 24, 42%, $3.68 ROI. VERY CLEVER is a half-sister to Godolphin’s multiple Grade 1-winning filly Matareya, who was also a debut winner as a 2yo; works look good for a trainer who is always dangerous with horses like this. COASTAL CONFLICT debuts for a trainer who doesn’t always crank up young horses for first-out success, but this filly is from a very strong Phipps female family, crossed with an excellent debut sire in Violence (19% with juvenile first-time starters); has a long series of works showing and hasn’t missed a beat.
Seventh Race
1. Acoustic Ave
2. Sacrosanct
3. Over and Ollie
ACOUSTIC AVE lacks a winning profile so far in 2026, though his amazing run of consistency since the Rice claim last March continues, and he has run well in each of his last three starts since dropping out of a series of graded stakes races; getting back to six furlongs helps, and he can get any kind of trip in a race. SACROSANCT has been back in top form for Linda Rice this year; landed in a tough field last time, and he lost his best chance in that spot when breaking slowly from the gate; going good now, though he was listed as a vet scratch from a NY-bred stakes race a couple of weeks ago. OVER AND OLLIE has chased to no avail in his last two starts, though he was giving no quarter through the stretch of both of those races; tactical 6yo likes this track, and he might get overlooked a bit in this spot.
Ninth Race
1. Stimulate
2. Silver Talent
3. Playa Del Mar
STIMULATE made a promising debut here as a 2yo before missing time; he was training strongly up to his return early in the meet, and he ran to the workouts when powering home over a wet track to break his maiden; more distance is no issue with his pedigree. SILVER TALENT looked like he needed his career debut when racing greenly before finishing well too late; he was a clear-cut winner of his next start over this distance, then raced behind horses for a long way and finished determinedly when turned back a furlong last time; stretches back out with forward to go. PLAYA DEL MAR was facing weaker when blowing fields away on his first two starts off the claim for Rice, though they were both fast races; was forced to chase a strong pace to no avail last time; in tough again, but his current form is quite good.
Tenth Race
1. Ozara
2. And One More Time
3. Segesta
OZARA is not Grade 1 caliber, and she has made three of her last five starts at that level to no avail; thought she ran well, winning her return from the layoff at Monmouth, after which she had a no-chance trip up in Canada; loves Saratoga, and this is a much better spot for her as she moves to an inside post. AND ONE MORE TIME has run one good race after another since returning from an extended layoff late last year with a victory over allowance company; she has dominated on the lead in her last two wins, but she can rate and run if necessary; in excellent form, and there should be another good trip coming. SEGESTA is the one to beat, dropping out of five straight Grade 1 races, including two wins at that level; got the right ride but could not withstand the late run of her in-form stablemate in the Diana last time; makes her own trip and projects to be hard to handle with this step back in class.
Eleventh Race
1. Counting Stars
2. My Gun’s Loaded
3. Measure
COUNTING STARS towers over her rivals as she shoots for a second major Grade 1 victory in the Alabama. The distance seems an unlikely stumbling block, though you never know until they try it, and she is otherwise too talented for her five rivals in this spot; not that she needs an added advantage, but she might also play out as the controlling speed; likely winner at a very short price. MY GUN’S LOADED is the only filly in the field outside the favorite with two Beyers of 90+ on her card, and she has earned those figures in her first two starts as a 3yo on this track; the obstacles in terms of class, distance, and experience are not insignificant, though she might have the talent to eventually play in races like this. MEASURE has handled distance from the start, and she has run well in her two starts going long here this summer, including a good third in the CCA Oaks while no match for her stablemate; can easily get a piece of this.
Twelfth Race
1. Osmosis
2. Secretly Delighted
3. Stand the Rain
OSMOSIS finished well into a wire-to-wire winner in her debut late last year; was in Florida for her next start, where she came running too late and just missed getting up while outfinishing subsequent Grade 3 winner Lion Lake for second; has some talent and returns with Lasix on. SECRETLY DELIGHTED has been competitive in all three starts so far, and she didn’t have a clean trip last time when finishing behind one of these same rivals; also gets Lasix for the first time as she looks to improve. STAND THE RAIN was first back from a layoff when enduring a tough trip in her turf debut at the end of last year; she went right back to the sidelines after that, then had her first start as a 4yo rained off the grass; just went evenly over this distance last time; rates one more chance.
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