Spot Plays for 2026 Belmont Stakes Day
Saratoga on Travers Day (Photo by Adam Coglianese/Credit to Susie Raisher)
Graded stakes make up half of the marathon, 14-race Belmont Stakes Day program at Saratoga on Saturday, but it's best not to overlook the quality maidens and allowances on the rest of the program.
A trio of horses in these offerings have caught my eye.
Race 1: Maiden, 11 a.m. ET
This seven-furlong test for fillies and mares will have as a prohibitive favorite Cold Spell, who earned a 96 Brisnet Speed rating on debut, finishing a clear second to Mashallah at Keeneland on April 23. Mashallah, however, flopped in her follow-up allowance attempt at Churchill last weekend. That doesn't mean Cold Spell will be vulnerable back against maidens, but it does inspire me to try and beat her with #5 Fusion (10-1).
Fusion ran much slower when dead-heating for second in her debut on March 8 at Aqueduct, but I expect this filly to take a significant step forward for Chad Brown. She's bred to be a good one, by Into Mischief and out of Separationofpowers, who won the Test (G1) over this track as well as the Frizette (G1).
Race 6: Allowance, 2:09 p.m. ET
#7 Brightline Bullet (10-1) broke slow and finished third after making an early move to the lead in his debut at Monmouth last August, was subsequently sidelined and gelded, and then looked quite sharp graduating by 5 3/4 lengths in his April 9 return at Aqueduct.
A four-year-old by Liam's Map, Brightline Bullet has room for further improvement and likely takes far less money here than some of the flashier three-year-old debut winners like Local Knowledge and Sea Strike. Perhaps his relative maturity and recency can give him a slight edge.
Brightline Bullet rewarded a lot of faith from @miguelmclement, drawing off at Aqueduct with Jaime Rodriguez. pic.twitter.com/fPiHj1YDzz
— West Point Tbred (@westpointtbred) April 9, 2026
Race 14: Allowance, 8:02 p.m. ET
Nine hours after our first spot play on the card, I'm looking for #3 Winnebago (10-1) to bring the curtain down on a successful day. The Miguel Clement trainee has been pretty solid since his importation from England, with the exception of a dull run over a tricky Kentucky Downs course in a sprint try in October, which likely was too short for him.
Gelded over the winter, Winnebago won at this exact level last time at Tampa Bay Downs. But because the winner's share was less than $20,000, he remains eligible for the entry-level condition on this circuit. It's an angle I look for from time to time, especially at Oaklawn Park. This looks like another winnable spot for the improving four-year-old.
