Horse Racing This Weekend: Key Races, Top Horses & Best Bets, September 5
Trainer Aidan O'Brien's Breeders' Cup contenders for 2025 at Del Mar
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Breeders' Cup 2026 Corner
Come here every week to discover everything you need to know about Breeders' Cup 2026 hosted at Keeneland this year in Lexington, KY.
- Breeders’ Cup Roundup: Sovereignty rebounds in Whitney - Aug. 10
- Breeders’ Cup Roundup: Sovereignty, Magnitude meet again - Aug. 3
- Breeders’ Cup Roundup: Kalpana, Moonrise qualify at Ascot - July 27
- Breeders’ Cup Roundup: Survie strikes in Christophe Clement - Aug. 17
- Breeders’ Cup Roundup: Knightsbridge crushes Pacific Classic - Aug. 24
- Breeders’ Cup Roundup: Leading Change upsets the Travers - Aug. 31
Jason Beem Horse Racing Podcast
Kellie Reilly joins for the International Radar segment and Jason discusses weekend racing from Kentucky Downs and Saratoga.
Top horses and best bets for horse racing this weekend
Click to jump to each race listed!
Best Bets for the 2026 Del Mar Debutante
Read the full analysis here: Tipsheet: 2026 Del Mar Debutante
An excellent field of 10 juvenile fillies will travel seven furlongs on the main strip in Saturday’s $300,000 Del Mar Debutante (G1).
Del Mar Debutante Picks
- #9 Miss Monica
- #2 Dear Diary
- #7 Well Versed
- #8 Holmby
Del Mar Debutante Wagers
- $25 exacta 9 with 2
- $5 trifecta 2,9 with 2,9 with 7,8
- $.50-cent superfecta 9 with 2,7,8 with 2,7,8 with all
Top Horses for the 2026 Del Mar Debutante
#9 MISS MONICA: Top pick was very impressive in a debut romp on the surface for Baffert when she registered a 102 Brisnet Speed rating as well as a 103 Late Pace rating. The $850,000 purchase by the sharp young sire Early Voting drilled a swift six furlongs on the strip in advance of her stakes debut and will be an imposing foe with anything resembling her last showing. Juan Hernandez opts to stay in the silks.
#2 DEAR DIARY: Dangerous win contender was full of run late in her runner-up debut on the oval for Mandella and will appreciate the extra distance in this affair. The Spendthrift homebred is well drawn to save ground throughout the tilt, and it’s worth noting that Mike Smith chooses the daughter of Into Mischief over her stablemate.
#7 WELL VERSED: Second from the Mandella shedrow was a sharp second to the top pick in her first offering and has to be given a chance with one under her belt. Out of a Grade-1 heroine, the Into Mischief filly has trained well all summer at this venue and wouldn’t be a major surprise with Tyler Baze inheriting the mount.
#8 HOLMBY: Sorrento queen is one of two in the cast for Bob Baffert and is two-for-two on the course to begin her career. The daughter of freshman sire Corniche was game in the lane at six panels last time, and the move to seven-eighths should pose no problem for the talented lass with Ricky Gonzalez taking the reins for the first time.
Sapphire Beach wins at Churchill Downs. (Photo by Coady Media)
All-Stakes Pick 4 at Kentucky Downs for Monday, September 7
A handful of lucrative black-type tilts will be part of a massive 14-race card at Kentucky Downs on Monday, and four of the stakes events will comprise the Pick 4 of the Week.
Race 8 Wager
- 50-cent Pick 4: 5,9 with 2,6,9,10 with 2,3,4,6,7 with 5,8,10 ($60)
Best Bets for the 2026 Hopeful Stakes
Read the full analysis here: How to bet the 2026 Hopeful Stakes
Eight juvenile colts will travel seven-eighths over the Saratoga main strip in Sunday’s $300,000 Hopeful (G1). This is not the strongest edition of the race in its history, but the cast boasts numerous talented runners in what is a very competitive group.
Hopeful Wagers
- $10 win and place #5 Midnight Still ($20)
- $3 trifecta 1,5 with 1,5 with 2,3 ($12)
- $2 trifecta key 5 with 1,2,3 ($12)
Top Horses for the 2026 Hopeful Stakes
#5 Midnight Still was a good third on debut at Churchill Downs behind the highly regarded Balloteer on June 12, and followed that up with a dominant maiden win on this oval on July 11, when winning by a widening 6 1/4 lengths. I don’t feel that the colt defeated the strongest field in his tally, but the way he did it is what impressed me most.
#1 The Good Life was never under duress in his facile debut romp on the course on July 18 and could be almost any kind going forward. Trained by Brad Cox, the bay son of exciting freshman sire Life is Good comes in fresh with five morning drills in preparation for Sunday, and I expect the red-hot Manny Franco to send the fine prospect from the break.
#3 Booked is the most accomplished runner in the field after his Sanford (G3) score and runner-up performance in the Saratoga Special (G2) at this meeting. The speedy Steve Asmussen pupil has been first or second in all four lifetime appearances to date and has to be included beneath Ricardo Santana.
#2 High Official can duplicate the turn of foot he displayed on the turf to the main oval, then the son of Not This Time will be a major contender inside the final furlong. The April foal seemingly trains well on the main oval, and I like the aggressive move from a top outfit to land in this event. He should be a nice price with Javier Castellano taking the reins.
Burnham Square wins the Arlington Million at Colonial Downs. (Photo by Coady Media/ Credit to Renee Torbit)
Pick 3 of the Week: Kentucky Downs Saturday, September 5
A great three-race sequence led by a pair of Grade 2 tilts will make up the Pick 3 of the Week at Kentucky Downs on Saturday.
Race 5 Wager
- 50-cent Pick 3: 1,3,6,8,9 with 1,4,7,10 with 1,6,7,10 ($40)
TwinSpires Jury
The TwinSpires Jury is back with a coast-to-coast look at three major stakes races featuring some of the most promising horses in the sport. Kali Francois, Darin Zoccali, and James Scully cover the Nashville Derby at Kentucky Downs, the Grade 1 Spinaway Stakes at Saratoga, and the Grade 1 Del Mar Debutante, with expert picks, wagering strategy, and strong opinions throughout.
Best Bets for the 2026 Nashville Derby
Read the full analysis here: Exotics Plays for the Nashville Derby
A dozen three-year-old turf specialists are signed on to run 1 5/16 miles over the unique Kentucky Downs lawn in Saturday's wildly lucrative, $3 million Nashville Derby (G2). Only one runner in the cast has raced at this venue previously, which only adds to the challenge of trying to figure out this puzzle.
Nashville Derby Exotics
- $2 exacta box 3,6,9,11 ($24)
- 50- cent trifecta box 3,6,9,11 ($12)
- 10-cent superfecta 6,11 with 3,6,9,11 with 3,6,9,11 with all ($10.80)
Top Horses for the Nashville Derby
#6 Causeway (5-2) is among the top sophomores overseas and will make his U. S. debut. The Aidan O’Brien pupil is a Group 2 winner coming off of a subpar run on soft ground at Longchamp last time out, but he is long on talent, and these connections are always very dangerous when shipping a runner to the states. Ryan Moore coming in to guide the son of Wootton Bassett only adds to his appeal.
#11 Nil Bua Gan Dua (10-1), from the barn of Joseph O’Brien, was a winner at 1 1/2 miles in Ireland in his latest showing and is an inviting price on the morning line. The American Pharoah colt has been forwardly placed in his last few outings in Europe and is expected to be among the early leaders once again. Ben Curtis will pilot the colt.
#9 Gostam (6-1) drops down in class to some measure after facing Group 1 foes in a pair of races in succession and could be any kind in his stateside bow. The colt by Saxon Warrior from the always dangerous Andreas Wohler shedrow is from a very good family of grass runners, and he has to be on my tickets with Antonio Fresu coming in for the voyage.
#3 Glacius (4-1) was a wire-to-wire winner in the Saratoga Derby (G1) in his North American debut and is another import with a big chance in this fascinating event. Trained by Hugo Palmer, the highly regarded son of dynamic sire Too Darn Hot handled the 1 1/4 miles well in two runs previously this campaign, and his running style seems well suited to this course. Luis Saez retains the ride atop the three-year-old colt.
Kentucky Downs starting gate. (Photo by Coady Media / Credit to Renee Torbit)
Nashville Derby International Scouting Report: Gostam
Last year’s unbeaten champion two-year-old colt in Germany, Gostam was hailed as a budding star of historic proportions. His sophomore campaign hasn’t panned out the way connections dreamed, and now he turns up on a retrieval mission in Saturday’s Nashville Derby (G2) at Kentucky Downs.
Causeway scored his signature win in the King Edward VII (G2) at Royal Ascot (Photo by Megan Rose Photography/Ascot)
Nashville Derby International Scouting Report: Causeway, Nil Bua Gan Dua
With four European shippers in a field of 12, Saturday’s Nashville Derby (G2) offers plenty of international intrigue at Kentucky Downs.
Classic Q wins the Just a Game (G1) at Saratoga. (Photo by Coglianese Photos/Susie Raisher)
Betting With, and Against, Classic Q in the Ladies Turf
An octet of fillies and mares will jaunt one mile over the Kentucky Downs green in Saturday’s $1.5 million Ladies Turf (G2).
Classic Q – With
Classic Q – Against
- 50-cent trifecta 1,3,4 with 1,2,3,4 with all ($27)
- $1 trifecta 1,3,4 with 1,2,3,4 with 1,2,3,4 ($18)
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