How to bet the Rick Violette Stakes

A total of six New York-bred sophomores will run 1 1/16 miles on the Saratoga outer lawn in Thursday’s $150,000 Rick Violette S. Morning-line choice #6 Smooth Breeze (7-5) is unbeaten from two tries on the grass when facing state-bred foes in advance of this tilt and gets the nod to make it three in succession for trainer Jorge Abreu. 

Rick Violette Wagers

• $20 exacta 6 with 2 ($20)
• $8 exacta 2 with 6 ($8)
• $4 trifecta 2,6 with 2,6 with 4 ($8)

The son of More Than Ready was a debut winner on the local turf as a juvenile and followed his unveiling up with a pair of solid stakes tries to conclude his two-year-old season, led by a fast-closing second in the Central Park S. at Aqueduct in November. He has shown steady improvement in each of his trio of runs at three and is perfectly placed to stalk the action early from the outside post slot. Flavien Prat riding adds to his appeal. 

#2 Sounds Like a Plan (9-2) will have blinkers back on after a one-race experiment without the hood, and the colt will be a danger at a fair price in the small field. Conditioned by Horacio de Paz, the son of Twirling Candy led at nearly every call when falling a neck short when third in the Woodhaven S. in his seasonal debut at Aqueduct, which preceded an unplaced allowance run on this course without the blinkers most recently. 

The $95,000 short yearling purchase possesses a good amount of early speed as the potential pacesetter in the group, and he signaled his readiness for this encounter with a rapid bullet half-mile spin at this venue as of late. If Ricardo Santana, Jr. can negotiate a good trip for the bay, then he will be an upset threat inside the final furlong. 

Of the remaining quartet, #4 Outsource (4-1) has some intrigue to me in his second lifetime run on the green. Claimed by Thomas Morley two back, the gelding tried the grass for the initial time on this oval on June 4 and produced a last-to-first allowance heist at a huge number. The $125,000 juvenile purchase was aided by a fast early pace in the victory, but he still looked the part from a visual standpoint and will also have a better voyage with fewer horses to run down in his stakes debut. John Velazquez stays in the silks.