How to bet the 2026 American Stakes

A well-matched field of seven grass specialists will run one mile on the Santa Anita green in Saturday’s $100,000 American (G3). Trainers Phil D’Amato and Richard Mandella account for four of the contenders in the field, and I feel that the race will come down to their quartet of runners. 

American Wagers

• $12 win and place #3 King of Gosford ($24)
• $2 trifecta key 3 with 2,5,6 ($12)
• $1 trifecta 3,5 with 2,3,5,6 with 2,3,5,6 ($12)

D’Amato’s #3 King of Gosford (7-2) loves Santa Anita and earned his best win to date when annexing the Shoemaker Mile (G1) on the strip in May. The chestnut son of Zoustar sports a nifty 7-5-1-1 mark on the course and will make his first appearance since an unplaced effort in August at Del Mar, and he comes in with a long string of morning moves to prepare for his return to this locale. He possesses a good amount of tactical speed and will be well-placed throughout the race with Emisael Jaramillo in the silks. 

Multiple stakes winner #5 Almendares (2-1) has hit the board in four of his last five graded stakes tries and wouldn’t be a surprise on this occasion. The dark bay son of Havana Grey is mostly a one-run closing type with a consistent turn of foot, and the D’Amato pupil could peak while making his third run off the shelf after recording a bullet five panels as of late. The six-year-old gelding has won or placed in eight of 10 career runs at the trip and will have good turf pilot Antonio Fresu in the irons. 

Mandella’s #6 Seal Team (5-1) had a fair tune-up for this tilt in a dash going down the hill in the San Simeon (G3) off the long layoff and will move forward second time back. The War Front six-year-old went close in the Shoemaker (G1) in his 2025 finale and has recorded a trio of morning drills leading up to Saturday for a trainer who does good work with horses making a second run off the break, in general. The late runner will have fine grass rider Hector Berrios on board. 

Grade 3 winner #2 Sumter (5-2) owns multiple black-type tallies at the distance in advance of this one and is well drawn near the fence with Mike Smith in the silks. The Mandella charge has earned a lot of success on the Santa Anita sod, and the seven-year-old will be right there late with something close to his best performance. The War Front gelding has posted three fast morning moves in anticipation of the feature and will always be in range in a field lacking abundant pace.