Belmont Park Picks Thursday June 10th 2021

With the G1 Belmont Stakes in the books, another week of racing begins at beautiful Belmont Park with a nine-race card on Thursday highlighted by a nearly $70,000 carryover in the Pick 6. As usual, our in-house handicapper has you covered with picks for the whole card and analysis of his strongest opinions throughout the day.

If you're looking for picks elsewhere around the country on Thursday, be sure to check out our Free Horse Racing Picks via the gold button below.

Most Likely Winner:  Ghostmon (Race 9) - It’s always a dicier proposition to tab a New York-bred maiden claimer the day’s ‘Most Likely Winner,’ but I thought Ghostmon ran too well to lose in his last start and should appreciate the slight turnback to a mile in the finale. This horse has progressed nicely for trainer Rudy Rodriguez through three career starts, and if Javier Castellano is able to get him to settle a little better he should be able to handle this field without much issue.

Best Value:  Jalen Journey (Race 8) - Jalen Journey isn’t going to be a big price in the day’s feature, however I believe he’s a very likely winner and should offer plenty of value as his form is really dirtied up. Once upon a time Jalen Journey looked like a future start on dirt. While he’s never been able to live up to the potential he showed in 2019, Steve Asmussen has been able to resurrect this ridgling’s career, and he remains in deceptively strong form despite some lackluster recent results. I’m certainly not going to hold his two-back non-effort in the Group 1 Dubai Golden Shaheen against him, and last out he had a nightmarish trip as he broke with the speed but was checked sharply entering the far turn. Usually in such instances you’ll see a horse completely throw in the towel at that point, however Jalen Journey actually finished with good energy and even made up a nice chunk of ground in the stretch. There isn’t much speed signed on for this race, so I’m expecting him to work out a far better trip against this group of underachievers.

Other Races of Interest:  Race 4 - This is one of the most wide-open races on the card, which is why I think it’s imperative to look beyond the likely favorite Silky Blue (#7), who lost at odds-on last out. The horse I landed on is Saratoga Love (#6), who I believe could take advantage of a relatively paceless turf sprint. This filly was disastrous in her latest outing on the main track, however she’s clearly best on turf. Her form is a bit erratic, but she ran a couple races last year that would put her in the mix, and I trust her trainer George Weaver to get her back to those kinds of efforts.

Race 6 - Malthael (#4) more fits the mold of a likely winner than a true value play, but I thought he was worth highlighting if his generous morning-line odds come to fruition. To me, Malthael is a clear standout in this race based on his solid turf form for trainer Tom Morley. I find him to be significantly better and far more reliable than the uncoupled pair from the barn of Mike Maker, and I’d be happy to accept 4-1 on him. I’d also throw in Larceny (#5) at a huge price. This horse arguably ran better than The Last Zip (#12) when they met on April 15 at Aqueduct, and you can draw a line through his last race given the brutal trip he endured.

*If you're interested in seeing payouts for these races, you can find them and others on our Results page linked to below*