Horse Racing This Weekend: Key Races, Top Horses & Best Bets [Aug. 16-17, 2025]
August 16th, 2025
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Get ready for horse racing this weekend
Discover everything you need to know about horse racing this weekend, including top horses, best bets, tournaments, key races, and many great promotional bonus offers you just can't say no to.
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Jason Beem Horse Racing Podcast Aug. 14, 2025
Jason catches up on some racing news, offers some thoughts on a few gambling related topics, and welcomes in Kellie Reilly for the weekly International Radar segment.
Top horses and best bets for horse racing this weekend
Click to jump to each race listed!
Woodbine Racing (Photo by Michael Burns Photography)
Welcome to Woodbine for Kings Plate Day!
Woodbine has come to life with a slew of stakes races for the day, including the main headliner — the 2025 Kings Plate S. Join our team trackside as they give you exclusive interviews, expert picks, recaps, previews and more. Check out the race day schedule below and don't forget to place those best bets with TwinSpires.
Jason Beem Horse Racing Podcast
Jason looks ahead to Wednesday's racing at Saratoga and welcomes Robert Geller from Woodbine to talk King's Plate and more!
Best Bets for the 2025 Alabama Stakes
Read the full analysis here: Betting With, and Against, Good Cheer in the Alabama Stakes
A total of six three-year-old fillies, two of which are Grade 1 queens, will vie in Saturday’s $1 million Alabama S. (G1) at Saratoga. The 1 1/4-mile affair on the dirt is led by the once-beaten #2 Good Cheer (8-5) for conditioner Brad Cox. By Medaglia d’Oro, the Godolphin homebred went four-for-four as a juvenile and kicked off 2025 with a trio of graded stakes wins in succession, led by a decisive score in the Kentucky Oaks (G1) at Churchill Downs on May 2.
While Good Cheer may seem like the one to beat, if you prefer to bet against the favorite, here are some worthy options as your best bet to built that bankroll.
Good Cheer – With
- $20 trifecta key 2 with 4,6 ($40)
Good Cheer – Against
- $20 win #6 La Cara ($20)
- $5 trifecta key 4,6 with 2,4,6 with 2,4,6 ($20)
Top Horses for the 2025 Alabama Stakes
#6 La Cara (5-2) is the most likely upset threat in the field, in my opinion. One of two in the group for trainer Mark Casse, the two-time Grade-1 winning Street Sense lass has done some of her best work at The Spa and will likely be controlling speed against this group, too. Tracy Farmer’s homebred will be sent from the break by Dylan Davis.
#4 Nitrogen (9-5) missed by a nose in the Belmont Oaks (G1) on the local lawn most recently and switches surfaces in this affair. The Casse pupil aired by a whopping 17 lengths in the off-the-turf Wonder Again S. (G3) two back, and while she beat only a pair of grass specialists in the performance, the daughter of Medaglia d’Oro did earn a healthy 97 Brisnet Speed rating in the process without being asked for her best in the lane. The Kentucky-bred bay wouldn’t be a big surprise with Jose Ortiz retaining the mount.
King's Plate contender Notorious Gangster winning the Queenston Stakes at Woodbine (Photo by Michael Burns Photo)
Pick 5 of the Week: Woodbine Saturday
A fantastic card will be hosted by Woodbine on Saturday, led by the 166th running of the King’s Plate S. I’ll swing at the Pick 5, which includes the feature and three other accompanying stakes tilts.
Race 5 Wager
- 20-cent Pick 5: 1,2,3,6 with all with 4 with 1,5 with 3,10,12,13 ($64)
Best Bets for the 2025 Iselin Stakes
Read the full analysis here: Exotics Plays for the Iselin Stakes
A compact field of six will travel 1 1/16 miles on the Monmouth Park dirt in Saturday’s feature, the $250,000 Philip H. Iselin S. (G3). Check out these best bets below.
Iselin Exotics
- $20 exacta 6 with 1 ($20)
- $10 exacta 6 with 3 ($10)
- $1 trifecta key 6 with 1,2,3 ($6)
- $3 trifecta 6 with 1 with 2,3 ($6)
Top Horses for the 2025 Iseline Stakes
#6 First Mission is the class of the group and will be hard to go against in this particular assignment. The dark bay homebred is a multiple graded victor who has arguably been at his best this campaign, with a dominant win in the Oaklawn H. (G2) two back preceding a smart third-place result in the Stephen Foster S. (G1) at Churchill Downs in June.
#1 Offaly Cool to benefit most in the cast. Trained by Jacinto Solis, the five-year-old gelding has won or placed in eight straight since the start of 2024 and comes off a dominant allowance victory at Parx in his latest appearance. Kentucky-bred gelding drilled a bullet leading up to this endeavor, and the versatile son of Kantharos will be well placed throughout the contest with Abner Adorno taking the reins.
#3 Vitality for major improvement for conditioner Joe Orseno. The chestnut son of Street Boss has been a bit disappointing in his last two following a nice tally at Gulfstream Park three back, but he has back class as a Canadian classic winner, and the gelding can unleash a big turn of foot on his best day, as well. Sonny Leon will take the reins.
#2 Surface to Air upset a different short-priced favorite from the Cox shedrow on this course in his latest showing and has to get a look on this occasion. The chestnut son of Midshipman has never been the most consistent runner in training, but the Kentucky-bred can obviously be quite good on his best day, and he also has room to improve in his third start since December, too. Samuel Marin stays in the irons and will rally the contender from off the pace in this spot.
Randomized winning the Alabama (G1) at Saratoga (Photo by Coglianese Photos/Chelsea Durand)
Pick 3 of the Week: Ellis Park Sunday
I will take a swing at the closing Pick 3 on the Sunday card at Ellis Park where my favorite types of races will be contested.
Race 7 Wagers
- 50-cent Pick 3: 3,10,12 with 4,8 with 1,2,5,11,12 ($15)
- $1 Pick 3: 3,10,12 with 4 with 1,2,5,11,12 ($15)
TwinSpires Jury
The TwinSpires Jury of James Scully, Nick Tammaro, and Kevin Kerstein cover their best bets and fades for the King's Plate at Woodbine, Saratoga, Del Mar, and more.
Best Bets for the Del Mar Oaks
Read the full analysis here: How to bet the 2025 Del Mar Oaks
A deep and competitive field of three-year-old fillies will travel 1 1/8 miles on the lawn in Saturday’s $300,000 Del Mar Oaks (G1). Conditioner Phil D’Amato has a pair of players in the field including the classy #10 Thought Process (8-5) who is a fine five-for-six on the lawn in her lifetime. By Collected, the Kentucky-bred lass is perfect from a pair of runs in 2025 with facile victories in both, led by a stroll in the recent San Clemente S. (G2) on this surface.
Del Mar Oaks Wagers
- 50-cent superfecta 10 with 2,5,7 with 2,5,7 with all ($24)
- 50-cent trifecta box 2,5,7,10 ($12)
Top Horses for the Del Mar Oaks
#10 Thought Process (8-5) is a fine five-for-six on the lawn in her lifetime. By Collected, the Kentucky-bred lass is perfect from a pair of runs in 2025 with facile victories in both, led by a stroll in the recent San Clemente S. (G2) on this surface.
#5 Lush Lips (3-1) has been very good since joining the Brendan Walsh barn as the fantastic Nitrogen is the lone filly to finish in front of her on U. S. sod. The daughter of Ten Sovereigns was ultra-impressive in dusting her foes in the Tepiun S. at Churchill Downs last time out and will be a major factor with something resembling that performance. The bay found a new dimension as of late while rating off the pace and kicking for home, and I feel that her ability to do so has moved her forward in a pretty big way. Tyler Gaffalione comes out to guide the filly.
Take A Breath (12-1), now in the Mark Glatt barn, the European import is a wildcard in that she hasn’t been facing top foes overseas, although she has won three of her last four and this barn is very good at placing runners, in general. Bated Breath filly got a work over the grass here and will be included in the deep cast.
#7 Will Then (6-1) is a Grade 3 winner on the oval and had a really good prep for Saturday when a closing third in the San Clemente most recently. The Jonathan Thomas trainee will receive a more favorable set up with a good measure of pace in the group, and if they go too fast early, then the Augustin homebred might be moving best of all in the lane with Juan Hernandez accepting the mount.
El Corodobes wins the Sword Dancer at Saratoga. (Photo by Coglianese Photo)
How to bet the 2025 Bolton Landing Stakes
The Sunday feature at Saratoga is the $150,000 Bolton Landing S., a 5 1/2-furlong dash on the turf for juvenile fillies. A total of eight lassies will vie in the dash, and I’m going to give a chance to a first-time starter in the group. Lael Stables’ homebred #7 Should’ve (8-1) has been training swiftly in advance of her unveiling, with two nice drills on the lawn as of late. The daughter of Not This Time is a half-sister to two-time turf stakes sprint winner Daring Do, and she will go postward for exceptional juvenile conditioner Wesley Ward.
Bolton Landing Wagers
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