Horse Racing This Weekend: Key Races, Top Horses & Best Bets [Aug. 2-3, 2025]
August 2nd, 2025
Jump to each section below for easy access to everything you need for horse racing this weekend!
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.
Come back to find more weekly horse races and promotional offers every weekend.
.@AshleyAnd502 has your TwinSpires #WeekendWindup ahead of a big weekend in racing! 🏇⏱️ pic.twitter.com/e1UOKqZPHQ
— TwinSpires Racing 🏇 (@TwinSpires) August 2, 2025
Top horses and best bets for horse racing this weekend
Click to jump to each race listed!
Best Bets for the 2025 Whitney Stakes
Read the full analysis here: Tipsheet: 2025 Whitney Stakes
A standout field of 10 will run 1 1/8 miles on the Saratoga dirt in Saturday’s historic $1 million Whitney S. (G1).
Whitney Stakes Picks
- #9 Fierceness
- #3 Highland Falls
- #5 Sierra Leone
Whitney Stakes Wagers
- $20 exacta 9 with 3,5 = $40
- $2 superfecta 9 with 3,5 with 3,5,6,7 with 3,5,6,7 = $24
Top Horses for the 2025 Whitney Stakes
#9 FIERCENESS (9-5): Standout son of City of Light dons a healthy 4-3-1-0 mark at Saratoga and is the one to beat for Todd Pletcher. The four-year-old bay has had two good preps leading up to this target and seems poised to be the one to run down in the lane. John Velazquez keeps the mount and will be forcing the action early on atop the superb colt.
#3 HIGHLAND FALLS (8-1): Godolphin homebred owns a Grade 1 score from one prior effort at The Spa and rates as an upset contender for Brad Cox. The Curlin five-year-old was a swift allowance winner at Aqueduct in his seasonal bow and could be dangerous in the lane with a forward move second off the shelf. Luis Saez will guide the chestnut.
#5 SIERRA LEONE (2-1): Champion colt was last seen closing fast when second to Mindframe in the Stephen Foster S. (G1) for conditioner Chad Brown. The Gun Runner colt has won or placed in each of his 11 lifetime appearances to date, including all three on this course, and the four-year-old will be moving best of all in the lane on Saturday. Flavien Prat retains the ride.
Randomized winning the Alabama (G1) at Saratoga (Photo by Coglianese Photos/Chelsea Durand)
Pick 3 of the Week: Ellis Park Saturday
The first of two Kentucky Downs Preview Days at Ellis Park will feature a trio of stakes races on the sod to close out the Saturday card.
Race 8 Wager
- $2 Pick 3: 1,8,9 with 1,2,4,5,8 with 1 ($30)
Best Bets for the Fourstardave Stakes
Read the full analysis here: Betting With, and Against, Johannes in the Fourstardave Stakes
A top-notch cast of 10 will jaunt one mile on the Saratoga inner grass oval in Saturday’s $750,000 Fourstardave S. (G1). Turf savant #3 Johannes (5-2) has been tabbed as the deserving morning-line choice in his seasonal debut for conditioner Tim Yakteen. The Nyquist homebred flashed considerable potential through his sophomore season, but the five-year-old really exploded in 2024. He racked up five graded stakes wins from six appearances, with his lone defeat coming when a fine runner-up result in the deep Breeders’ Cup Mile (G1) at Del Mar.
Johannes – With
- $5 trifecta key 3 with 1,4,8 ($30)
- 50-cent superfecta 3 with 1,4,8 with 1,4,8 with all ($21)
Johannes – Against
- $2 trifecta 1,4,8 with 1,3,4,8 with 1,3,4,8 ($36)
- 50-cent superfecta 4 with 1,3,8 with 1,3,8 with 1,2,3,6,7,8,9 ($15)
Top Horses for the 2025 Fourstardave Stakes
#4 Think Big (6-1) has blossomed since moving to the grass for trainer Michael Stidham, with wins in five of his six turf endeavors. The Twirling Candy gelding possesses a fine turn of foot, and he proved capable of going eight panels last time out when rallying to a victory in the Kelso S. (G3) on the course. The multiple Grade 2 winner has enough positional speed to stay in touch early prior to being asked for his best in the lane with Luis Saez in the silks.
#1 Cugino (10-1), the Twirling Candy colt, was a measured winner over a strong allowance field in his 2025 debut at Aqueduct on June 19 and will surely move forward second time off the layoff. His running style fits the cast well, and having Irad in the silks in a big race at The Spa is always a good thing, too.
#8 Deterministic (9-2) has led at every call in a pair of graded wins in succession and has reportedly been training in superb fashion coming into this test. Miguel Clement's pupil has rallied from off the pace on multiple occasions in the past, and his versatility could play a big role in the race with Kendrick Carmouche staying in the silks.
Daryl's Joy at Santa Anita, undated. (Photo credit to Keeneland Library Mochon Collection)
Daryl's Joy: Antipodean warrior once honored at Saratoga
One of the supporting features on the Aug. 2 Whitney Day program at Saratoga will be the $750,000 Fourstardave (G1), which honors the rugged New York-bred gelding who, in a 99-start career, won at least one race for eight consecutive Saratoga meets (1987-94).
The Fourstardave was previously known as the Daryl's Joy, a race Fourstardave the horse contested five times. After finishing second in the second division of the 1989 Daryl's Joy, Fourstardave won the then-Grade 3 event in both 1990 and 1991. He trailed a field of five in the 1992 renewal that was rained off the turf, but rebounded to finish second in the 1993 edition behind Hall of Fame miler Lure.
TwinSpires Jury
The TwinSpires Jury of Darin Zoccali, Nick Tammaro, and Ashley Anderson deliberate over who to back in the Whitney (GI), Fourstardave (GI), and Clement Hirsch (GI).
Best Bets for the Saratoga Derby
Read the full analysis here: Exotics Plays for the 2025 Saratoga Derby
Nine talented sophomores will run 1 3/16 miles on the green at Saratoga in Saturday’s lucrative, $750,000 Saratoga Derby Invitational S. (G1).
Saratoga Derby Exotics
- $5 exacta key box 7 with 5,6,9 ($30)
- $2 trifecta key 7 with 5,6,9 ($12)
- 20-cent superfecta 7 with 5,6,9 with 5,6,9 with all ($7.20)
Top Horses for the Saratoga Derby
#7 Hotazhell (7-5) gets the slight nod in the event. Trained by Jessica Harrington, the son of Too Darn Hot was four-for-six with three group tallies as a juvenile and has run well in a pair of deep fields this season, led by a third in the Irish Two Thousand Guineas (G1) at The Curragh in his seasonal debut. The Silverton Hill color bearer held up pretty well going 1 1/4 miles at Sandown most recently and should find this trip right in his wheelhouse on Saturday. Regular pilot Shane Foley coming in to ride is a major positive in my opinion.
#9 World Beater (10-1) has improved his Brisnet Speed rating in every career run to date, and the ascending colt was last seen rallying for a runner-up result in the Belmont Derby (G1) on the surface most recently. Conditioned by Riley Mott, the son of Oscar Performance wasn’t done any favors when being assigned the outside post in the race, but he is in fine form and also gives the impression of a colt who will thrive with the added distance on this day. The talented late runner will be doing his best work late beneath Jaime Torres.
#5 Test Score (7-2) has been very good in his last trio of assignments and could surely win the race with another step in the right direction. The Lookin at Lucky colt prospered in his initial try beyond 1 1/16 miles last time and figures to like the move to 1 3/16 miles in this spot. The bay has the tactical speed to stay in range early and will be formidable with his best under Manny Franco.
#6 New Century (5-1) was taken out of his game when too close to the pace in the Belmont Derby most recently, when finishing fifth, beaten by two lengths. While I have a feeling that the accomplished son of Kameko might be more of a miler type, he is too talented to ignore, with Irad taking the reins.
The Smooch wins the New Mexico Breeders' Derby at Sunland Park. (Photo by Coady Media)
How to bet the 2025 Keswick Stakes
A group of seven juvenile fillies will travel 5 1/2 panels on the Colonial Downs dirt in Saturday’s $100,000 Keswick S. Three of the major players in the race are all coming off daylight wins, and one or more of these could turn into a really nice prospect going forward.
Keswick Wagers
East Avenue wires the Matt Winn (Photo by Coady Media)
How to bet the 2025 West Virginia Derby
An octet of three-year-olds will travel 1 1/8 miles over the Mountaineer Park main oval in the $400,000 West Virginia Derby (G3) on Sunday night. The event seems to be top-heavy with the four horses most fancied on the morning line holding an edge over the rest of the group, and I will center my plays around the quartet.
West Virginia Derby Wagers
$12 exacta 2 with 4,6 ($24)
$1 superfecta key 2 with 4,5,6 with 4,5,6,8 with 4,5,6,8 ($18)
Jason Beem Horse Racing Podcast
Jason discusses some news and items from Saratoga, the West Virginia Derby at Mountaineer, and much more!
Pick 4 of the Week: Ellis Park Sunday, Aug. 3, 2025
Part 2 of the Kentucky Downs Preview Day will be held at Ellis Park on Sunday, and I will take aim at the all-stakes Pick 4 to close out the card.
Race 7 Wager
- 50-cent Pick 4: 1,7,10 with 1,7,9 with 3,4,10 with 2,7 ($27)
Bring Theband Home wins the Harvey Pack at Saratoga. (Photo by Coglianese Photo / Credit to Susie Raisher)
How to bet the 2025 Troy Stakes
A total of seven grassy dashers are entered for the turf in Sunday’s $300,000 Troy S. (G2) at Saratoga. The 5 1/2-furlong tilt features a well-matched field of talented, yet slightly inconsistent, horses in what could be a tricky betting endeavor.
Troy Wagers
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