Pick 4 of the Week: Saratoga Saturday, June 6

A total of five Pick 4 wagers will be hosted by Saratoga on Saturday, and I’ll take a swing at the middle sequence, which features a trio of graded tilts.

Race 6 Wager

• 50-cent Pick 4: 1,5 with 2,3,4 with 2,3,8 with 1,5,6,9,10 ($45)

Race 6 – Allowance

The boys will run 6 1/2 furlongs on the main strip to kick things off. #1 Playa Del Mar (6-1) has been super impressive, posting a pair of commanding wins since being claimed by Linda Rice, and will be tough to upend if he can match his last performance. The Into Mischief gelding will have to overcome the rail, but he’s too sharp right now not to be on the ticket despite the tricky post. 

Todd Pletcher’s #5 Local Knowledge (5-2) overcame a wide draw and a slow break to defeat a nice maiden field at Keeneland in October and has trained well in the interim. The $625,000 juvenile purchase has posted four solid morning works on the Oklahoma training surface in advance of his comeback. I’m often not a big fan of sophomores facing their elders for the first time off the shelf, but this colt has the look of a fine prospect, and he gets John Velazquez in the silks, too. 

Race 7 – Just A Game (G1)

Fillies and mares will run on the green in the second part of the play with an octet of contenders in the mix. #2 Sandtrap (3-1) made a fine impression in her stateside bow at Aqueduct on April 18, and while she takes a massive class hike, I have a feeling that the Lope de Vega filly is the real deal. She has run big in each of her three career races to date and has a very high ceiling for Chad Brown. 

Juddmonte homebred #3 Segesta (7-5), also from the Brown barn, has won Grade 1 races in two straight dating back to November and is a must-use as the morning-line choice. The Ghostzapper mare loves the distance and defeated a nice cast in the Jenny Wiley (G1) in her 2026 debut. Prat retains the mount. The Group-1-placed #4 Mandanaba (9-2) was a game winner in her four-year-old debut at Longchamp and has every right to improve in her second run of the season. I feel good about having the three most logical ladies in this event. 

Race 8 – True North (G3)

A strong cast of nine will go postward in the third leg, which will be run at 6 1/2 furlongs on the main strip. The trio of morning-line choices will be formidable in the dash, and I can’t see any other contender in the field upending each of the three. Bob Baffert’s star #2 Imagination (4-1), reigning Breeders’ Cup Sprint (G1) star #3 Bentornato (8-5), and champion #8 Book’em Dano (2-1), who roared home to three wins at this meeting last season, will get me through to the final portion of the wager. 

Race 9 – Jaipur (G1)

The closing piece will be run at 5 1/2 panels on the grass, and five horses will make my ticket. #1 Governor Sam (15-1), multiple Grade 2 victor #5 Reef Runner (4-1), defending champ #6 Ag Bullet (3-1), multiple stakes winner #9 Twenty Six Black (12-1), and Canadian champion #10 My Boy Prince (5-1) are the ones.