How to bet Belmont Park on Saturday, July 18

Although not long on quality – no surprise there, what with the stakes-loaded Stars and Stripes Festival happening just two weeks ago and Saratoga opening next week – the final Saturday card of the Belmont Park spring-summer meet does have a few races I found interesting. So, I’ll center my pari-mutuel day, at least in terms of Belmont, around them. Here they are:

Race 5 - This is a straight maiden race going 1 1/16 miles on the Widener turf course. Personally, I don’t think there are nearly enough of these races in New York. Not only are they almost always great betting races, but also if you run five of these a week, you’ve created five new allowance horses. Anyway, I’m focused here on two horses who both ran only once and who both were compromised by tough outside post positions. Sky Tower is the first. He finished eighth in his only start last fall in what turned out to be an above-average maiden event but was severely compromised by having to break from post 10, which often is the kiss of death in 1 1/16 mile races on the inner turf course. He returns now, sporting what appear to be sharp workouts and, very notably, with Lasix on. Lasix on is a huge positive move for the Kiaran McLaughlin barn. My other horse here is Irish Cat, who finished seventh in his only start last February at Gulfstream. It was tough enough for Irish Cat that he went up against the subsequent stakes winner Divisidero and the capable Tapkee that day, but he also drew post 12 going 1 1/16 miles on turf. Not surprisingly, Irish Cat was caught three wide on the first turn and four wide on the far turn but still made a little run before weakening.

And now, Race 7 – I’m interested in Chunnel in this conditioned claimer going a mile on the Widener course. Chunnel changed hands the last two times he ran for a tag, and he showed what all the fuss was about two starts back when a narrowly beaten second against some tough New Jersey-breds in the Dan Horn Handicap at Monmouth. Chunnel also aimed high last time out in a first-level allowance event at Belmont, and aside from simply being in too deep, a wide trip only made matters worse. He now drops back in for a tag for a barn trying to win a race, and if he brings that recent Dan Horn form with him, he’ll be a handful.

Race 10 – This New York-bred maiden-claiming sprint on the inner turf course is much more interesting than the average one of these, and I have a couple of strong negative opinions here and one positive one. While I recognize Splendid Gold can win for trainer Linda Rice off the drop from straight statebred maiden races into a maiden claimer for the first time, I avoid Linda Rice class droppers as a rule and won’t be using this one. I also don’t want any of the four in the body of this race coming out of the race last month won by C d’Cat, and that includes two in Pink Freud Live and Jamaalaree, who, like Splendid Gold, figure to attract a good bit of action. I just didn’t think that C d’Cat event was a strongly run race, even for this level. But I do want Hatta’s Appeal, whose overall form is a bit clouded by dirt starts but whose two turf performances two and three starts back are good enough to win this. Hatta’s Appeal hit the board after setting the pace in both of those outings, which were both at a mile. I really like the cut back to a sprint for her, especially since she hails from a Dave Donk barn that is very good in turf sprints.he returns as a new gelding.