Horse Racing This Weekend: Key Races, Top Horses & Best Bets [May 23 2026]
Aqueduct (Vance Hanson photo)
May 23rd, 2026
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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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2026 Kentucky Derby Corner & the 2026 Kentucky Oaks
Come here every week to discover everything you need to know about the 2026 Kentucky Derby. With many races from last week rescheduled for Friday, it'll be important to check back next week to see all the changes.
Jason Beem Horse Racing Podcast
Jason discusses a variety of topics to open the show and previews some weekend racing action from Churchill Downs and Santa Anita.
Top horses and best bets for horse racing this weekend
Click to jump to each race listed!
Best Bets for the 2026 Keertana Stakes
Read the full analysis here: Tipsheet: 2026 Keertana Stakes
A fine cast of eight fillies and mares will go 1 1/2 miles on the Churchill Downs lawn in Saturday’s $250,000 Keertana S.
Keertana Stakes Picks
- #1 Sultana
- #4 Golden Sunshine
- #3 Ayra Stark
- #5 Way to Be Marie
Keertana Stakes Wagers
Top Horses for the 2026 Keertana Stakes
#1 SULTANA (3-1): Always Dreaming five-year-old has won a pair of graded races in succession and gets a nice slot on the fence for trainer Kevin Attard. The dark bay mare is two-for-two on the grass in her lifetime, led by a game score in the Orchid (G3) at Gulfstream Park last time out, and she will improve making her second run off the layoff, as well. Junior Alvarado will ride.
#4 GOLDEN SUNSHINE (4-1): Bewitch (G3) second and ran the best race of her lifetime in her initial marathon attempt on the lawn at Keeneland. The four-year-old filly will be a major player in this affair with even minor improvement. The Eoin Harty trainee has won or placed in seven races in succession and has hit the board in her last two races on this grass course, too. Jaime Torres will guide the Godolphin homebred.
#3 AYRA STARK (9-5): Group 2 victress has checked in second in a trio of races in succession, including the Clement (G3) and Orchid (G3). The Horacio de Paz pupil comes in fresh with a sharp half-mile move at Laurel most recently, and the tactical win contender will be in the hunt from the break beneath Jose Ortiz.
#5 WAY TO BE MARIE (6-1): Kenneally pupil will make her third run since attracting a final bid of $750,000 in January and could offer some good value in the tilt. The five-year-old daughter of Not This Time will have a target in this race after leading early in the Bewitch in her latest venture, and she will be well-placed at the top of the lane with Luis Saez retaining the ride.
Churchill Downs Scenic. (TwinSpires / Jessica Piatt)
Pick 3 of the Week: Churchill Downs Saturday, May 23
A three-race sequence with some of my favorite types of contests – maiden and starter allowance – will comprise the Pick 3 of the Week at Churchill Downs on Saturday.
Race 6 Wagers
- $2 Pick 3: 1,3 with 6 with 1,3,4,6,10 ($20)
- $1 Pick 3: 1,3 with 6,11 with 1,3,4,6,10 ($20)
Best Bets for the 2026 Gamely Stakes
Read the full analysis here: How to bet the Game Face Stakes
A total of seven three-year-old fillies will dash six panels on the Gulfstream Park main surface in Saturday’s $100,000 Game Face S. Trainer Saffie Joseph has four of the fillies in the cast, and I’ll give a slight nod to one of his runners in the affair.
Game Face Wagers
- $10 exacta box 2-7 ($20)
- $4 exacta 7 with 1,2,3 ($12)
- 50-cent trifecta box 1,2,3,7 ($12)
- 50-cent superfecta 2,7 with 2,7 with 1,3 with all ($8)
Top Horses for the 2026 Gamely Stakes
#7 Late Night Text broke her maiden well last time out in her first run for the barn and received a nice slot on the outside of the sprint field. The Into Mischief sophomore is out of a nice mare and could surely improve in her second run off the shelf while receiving a similar trip that she got last time. The Kentucky-bred bay faces a pretty big class hike in the tilt, but go-to pilot Micah Husbands will be in the silks and have the filly tracking the pace with intent from third or fourth in the early stages.
#2 Lennilu is the class of the cast, and the Group-2 placed filly is a must-use in the heat. The gray daughter of Leinster exits a decent run on the Keeneland turf in the deep Limestone (G3) in her second run of the season and could peak third time back for Biancone. The Florida-bred gray is two-for-two on the dirt in her lifetime, and while I feel that she is better on the green, the sophomore is still too good to omit in a winnable spot. Jonathan Ocasio will be in the stirrups.
#1 Maxitas is a wild card in the cast with just one run to her credit to date, but the $290,000 yearling purchase looked good in that unveiling and could be a nice prospect. By Maxfield, the Kentucky-bred was always traveling like a winner at Tampa Bay in her first showing, and she beat a decent filly who was more than six lengths clear of her nearest foe in the win. She might benefit from being inside as she will save ground throughout, and the win threat will have Miguel Vasquez in the silks.
#3 Willow Case was well back in an allowance race in her juvenile finale, but the daughter of Neolithic had captured a pair of stakes wins in succession prior to that and comes in with some useful morning drills. The Florida-bred bay is three-for-five on the strip and will be in the mix late with her best performance. Diego Herrera inherits the mount.
Mohaven winning the Golden State Juvenile Fillies S. at Del Mar (Photo by Horsephotos.com)
Pick 4 of the Week: Santa Anita Saturday, May 23
The Pick 4 of the week will come from Santa Anita on Saturday, led by a pair of black-type tilts to commence the play.
Race 7 Wager
- 50-cent Pick 4: 3,4 with 1,3,7 with 3,4,5,9 with 1,8,9,11 ($48)
Memorial Day Weekend picks
Check out our Late Pick 5 for Santa Anita and this Memorial Day Weekend's Jury covering the weekend's races.
RELATE: Late Pick 5 Preview: Santa Anita's Crystal Water, Melair & Snow Chief Stakes Picks
Best Bets for the 2026 Shoemaker Mile Stakes
Read the full analysis here: How to bet the Shoemaker Mile Stakes
An excellent cast of nine, six of which are graded stakes winners, will travel one mile over the Santa Anita lawn in Saturday’s $300,000 Shoemaker Mile (G1). A fair case can be made for nearly every runner in this challenging handicapping puzzle, but I’ll give the edge to the contenders drawn inside in the field.
Shoemaker Mile Wagers
Top Horses for the Shoemaker Mile
#1 El Potente loves the surface with six wins from 10 lifetime runs at Santa Anita, and the son of Temple City also thrives at the trip, evidenced by his 7-4-2-1 line at eight panels in total. The Dan Blacker trainee showed a new dimension last time when he rallied from off the pace to be a clear second in the Kilroe Mile (G2) on March 7, and the versatile seven-year-old has posted seven morning drills in order to be fully fit for this heat. I expect Hector Berrios to have him tracking the pace in second before taking the lead in the early stretch.
#2 Formidable Man will make his first appearance since checking in a strong second in the Breeders’ Cup Mile (G1) in November. Trained by Michael McCarthy, who has two contenders in the field, the son of City of Light can fire off of works and was a closing fourth in the race last year when sent postward as the favorite. The five-year-old is surely a specialist at Del Mar, but he is also a Grade 1 victor at one mile on this lawn, as well, and his best run will make him ‘formidable’ inside the final furlong. Flavien Prat picks up the mount.
#3 King of Gosford, one of two signed on for Phil D’Amato, rallied to take this race last season in his second run off the layoff, and he will attempt to retain his crown in his second appearance of 2026 in this spot. The Zoustar chestnut sports a sharp 8-5-1-1 lifetime mark on the local lawn and has a decent prep for the event when fourth in the American (G3) at this locale on April 18. The chestnut is pretty handy with good tactical speed and a quick turn of foot, and I like his chances of being close in the final stages of the heat with Kimura taking the reins.
Thought Process maintained her grip on the local division in the San Clemente (G2) (Photo by Benoit Photos)
Exotics Plays for the 2026 Paradise Creek Stakes
A sharp field of nine three-year-olds will race six panels on the outer lawn at Aqueduct in Saturday’s $150,000 Paradise Creek S. Grade 3 winner #3 Intricate Spirit flashed a ton of ability as a juvenile sprinting on the turf for conditioner Miguel Clement. A dominant winner on the Saratoga green in his unveiling, the son of Complexity was a close second to the very good Street Beast in a subsequent allowance heat at Kentucky Downs, which preceded a measured victory in the Futurity (G3) on this course on Oct. 3. He closed out 2025 with an unplaced run in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint (G1).
Paradise Creek Exotics Wagers
Aqueduct (Vance Hanson photo)
A Day at the Races: Au revoir to Aqueduct
Two years after acknowledging the "long goodbye" to Aqueduct, I bid my adieu earlier this month by spending two days of racing there. The first, a gorgeous, sunny Thursday afternoon, was probably like many in the 1960s, when Aqueduct was the epicenter of American racing, with the crowds and betting handle to prove it.
The second day, a Saturday, was cool, windy, and overcast with occasional showers; in other words, the conditions Aqueduct had become synonymous with in the half-century since it morphed into a dreary studio, largely for wintertime racing.
Racing at Gulfstream Park. (Photo by Coglianese Photos)
How to bet the Game Face Stakes
A total of seven three-year-old fillies will dash six panels on the Gulfstream Park main surface in Saturday’s $100,000 Game Face S. Trainer Saffie Joseph has four of the fillies in the cast, and I’ll give a slight nod to one of his runners in the affair. #7 Late Night Text broke her maiden well last time out in her first run for the barn and received a nice slot on the outside of the sprint field.
Game Face Wagers
- $10 exacta box 2-7 ($20)
- $4 exacta 7 with 1,2,3 ($12)
- 50-cent trifecta box 1,2,3,7 ($12)
- 50-cent superfecta 2,7 with 2,7 with 1,3 with all ($8)
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