Horse Racing This Weekend: Key Races, Top Horses & Best Bets [July 19-21]
Racing at Monmouth Park
July 19th, 2025
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.@AshleyAnd502 has the TwinSpires Weekend Windup with what is going on this weekend in racing! ⏱️🏇
— TwinSpires Racing 🏇 (@TwinSpires) July 17, 2025
What are you most excited for? pic.twitter.com/qVSswDfF8L
Top horses and best bets for horse racing this weekend
Click to jump to each race listed!
Best Bets for the 2025 Haskell Stakes
Read the full analysis here: Betting With, and Against, Journalism in the Haskell Stakes
An excellent field of eight three-year-olds will vie in Saturday’s $1 million Haskell Invitational S. (G1) at Monmouth Park. The 1 1/8-mile tilt on the main oval attracted an octet of top sophomores, led by multiple Grade 1 victor #2 Journalism (4-5). However, if you're not set on the favorite, here are some options on how to bet with and against Journalism.
Journalism – With
- $4 superfecta 2 with 6,8 with 1,4,6,8 with 1,4,6,8 ($48)
Journalism – Against
- $6 superfecta 8 with 2 with 1,4,6 with 1,4,6 ($36)
- 50-cent superfecta 6,8 with 2,6,8 with 1,2,4,6,8 with 1,2,4,6,8 ($12)
Top Horses for the 2025 Haskell Stakes
#8 Goal Oriented (4-1), by Not This Time, the lightly raced colt went into the Preakness with a two-for-two mark prior to finishing a troubled fourth, in an effort that I feel was much better than it appears on paper. The $425,000 yearling purchase was shut off at the top of the lane in the race after rating kindly on the backside, and he will benefit from the experience going forward. The Kentucky-bred has fired bullets in four of his five most recent morning drills and will always be close to the action with Flavien Prat on board once again.
#6 Gosger (9-2) looked to be home free in an excellent Preakness try before getting run down late by Journalism in what was a huge showing for trainer Brendan Walsh. The Nyquist colt is rapidly improving; he has posted six morning moves in advance of his second Grade 1 attempt, and the colt also has a versatile running style, as well. Luis Saez has the assignment.
#1 Bracket Buster (10-1) aired in his local debut in a Pegasus S. romp but faces a much more daunting task on Saturday. The Vickie Oliver trainee has shown steady improvement in his career, and if he happens to clear the cast early, then he can hang around for a piece late. I f
#4 Burnham Square (5-1) is more of a grinder who could find this particular surface unfavorable to his running style, but the Ian Wilkes charge has class and can’t be ignored for the exotics. The pace of the race could be contested, which will aid his chances at rallying for a piece inside the final furlong.
Randomized winning the Alabama (G1) at Saratoga (Photo by Coglianese Photos/Chelsea Durand)
Pick 3 of the Week: Monmouth Park Saturday
The $1 million Haskell Stakes is the centerpiece of a massive day of racing at Monmouth Park on Saturday, but the undercard is full of excellent wagering opportunities throughout the day, as well. I will take aim at an all-stakes Pick 3 prior to the marquee event in hopes of padding my bankroll in advance of the big one.
Race 9 Wager
- $1 Pick 3: 5,6,7 with 3 with all ($36)
TwinSpires Jury
The TwinSpires Jury of James Scully, Darin Zoccali, Ashley Anderson, and Nick Tammaro share their best bets and fades for the weekend, including picks for the Haskell S. (GI).
Best Bets for the Alfred G. Vanderbilt Stakes
Read the full analysis here: Exotics Plays for the Alfred G. Vanderbilt Stakes July 19, 2025
An outstanding cast of eight dashers will run six panels on the Saratoga dirt in Saturday’s $400,000 Alfred G. Vanderbilt S. (G2). The race features seven graded stakes winners, with a trio of those being Grade 1 victors, and there is not much separating the talented contenders.
Vanderbilt Exotics
Top Horses for the
#4 Mullikin, captured the 2024 Forego S. (G1) on the course by a commanding 5 3/4 lengths and will make his third run of the season. Trained by Rodolphe Brisset, the high-quality son of Violence has very good early foot combined with a strong closing kick, and he is more than capable at six furlongs, too. The $500,000 yearling purchase ran a strong fifth in the Churchill Downs S. (G1) to commence his season, prior to finishing a very good second in the True North S. (G3) on the surface most recently.
#5 Book'em Dano is a Grade 1 winner on the strip and is surely one of the better one-turn horses in training for conditioner Derek Ryan. The Bucchero gelding is three-for-three at the distance, two-for-three with a third on the oval, and he comes off a strong score in the True North over my top pick last time out, as well. He is a must-use beneath Paco Lopez.
#7 Baby Yoda often morphs into another animal at The Spa and could run with most horses on his best day at this venue. Prospective gelding cruised home an emphatic winner of the 2024 True North on the oval and was last seen making easy work of allowance runners at Aqueduct, too. The dark bay could enjoy a good stalking voyage in the dash, and the Florida-bred will add a lot of value to the exotics with Dylan Davis taking the reins.
#1 Skelly led for the majority of the race last campaign before being run down late by defending champ #8 Nakatomi in the final yards. Trained by Steve Asmussen, Skelly has compiled a superb 22-12-7-0 mark in his lifetime and is two-for-three this season. While the son of Practical Joke didn’t fire most recently, he comes in fresh with good works and will be the one to catch while breaking from the rail. Regular pilot Ricardo Santana, Jr., will be in the silks once again.
Woodbine Racetrack (Michael Burns Photo)
How to bet the Connaught Cup Stakes
A talented cast of 10 will travel seven-eighths on the Woodbine turf in Sunday's $175,000 Connaught Cup S. (G2). The pair of morning-line choices are each speedy sorts, and with additional pace also in the contest, I could see a horse rallying from off the early tempo to record an upset.
Connaught Cup Wagers
Jason Beem Horse Racing Podcast
Jason discusses some broadcasting and sports topics and also looks ahead to Saturday's Haskell Invitational (G1) at Monmouth.
Mystic Seaport wins the Tyson Gilipin Glen Petty Stakes at Colonial Downs. (Photo by Coady Media)
Pick 4 of the Week: Colonial Downs Saturday, July 19
I’ll take a swing at the middle Pick 4 on the fine Colonial Downs Saturday card, which features a trio of turf sprints among the four tilts.
Race 4 Wager
- 50-cent Pick 4: 4,7,10,12 with 6 with 3,6,7,8,10,12 with 1,2,5 ($36)
Tall Tales of the Track: Unexpected Glory
The fair-haired kid from South Dakota had found life in the saddle was his calling. From his humble beginnings at bush tracks to a spin in Man o’ War’s saddle, Earl Sande had made his name riding horses like Sir Barton, Zev, and Grey Lag, a Hall of Fame-level career arrested by a spill at Saratoga in August 1924. His fame was such that the accident made headlines in newspapers around the country.
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