Price horses of interest on 2026 Arlington Million Day

With another terrifically competitive Arlington Million Day on tap at Colonial Downs, unheralded contenders might well outperform their odds. It could pay to think creatively in the exotics, especially with Saturday’s profit-boost offer. 

Let’s look at a few candidates to consider including in your turf stakes wagering strategy. 

Race 4 (1:26 p.m. ET) – Andy Guest S.

#2 G W’s Girl (15-1) hasn’t raced on turf since her juvenile days, but the daughter of Munnings showed an affinity for the surface. A debut winner on the Delaware Park turf, she rallied for fifth versus males in the 2024 Indian Summer S. at Keeneland. The Indian Summer winner, Governor Sam, has become a mainstay in the turf sprint division, and he rates a prime player in Saturday’s Van Clief S. G W’s Girl subsequently switched to dirt, and notably upset Shisospicy in the 2025 Mockingbird S. at Oaklawn Park. 

Although G W’s Girl is winless since last year’s Dixie Belle S., she was best of the rest behind Maida, the eventual Honorable Miss (G2) heroine, in her sophomore finale. She’s eligible to improve in her third start off the layoff for Greg Compton, who boasts a 23% strike rate in that category according to the Brisnet stats. Shortening up in trip and reverting to turf also figure to help. 

Race 8 (3:35 p.m. ET) – Van Clief S.

Will defending champion #7 Witty (12-1) hover anywhere near his morning-line odds? The Elizabeth Merryman veteran enters in sharp form, having won both of his outings at Laurel this term, and he’s never been off the board here.

Likely to remain at a big price is South African import #9 Isivunguvungu (20-1). The erstwhile Group 1 star endured a forgettable 2025, and he’s not getting any younger. Still, trainer Graham Motion might have him back on track after his victorious reappearance in a Laurel allowance. In this race last summer, a subpar Isivunguvungu finished sixth, beaten a grand total of three lengths by Witty. Just a modicum of restoration could see him in the frame this time. 

Race 9 (4:22 p.m. ET) – Secretariat (G2)

Motion’s #1 Turf Star (6-1) will probably get lost in the shuffle among flashier, more logical rivals. The Calumet homebred hasn’t lived up to his ambitious name, and he comes off a poor effort in the Belmont Derby (G1) at Saratoga. Yet the son of Caravaggio and the multiple Grade 3-winning Galileo mare Starstruck could get a better set-up here. Note that he reunites with jockey Jorge Ruiz, whose patient handling conjured the best from him to win the James W. Murphy S. on Preakness Day. 

Remember that Turf Star was thrown into the deep end in last fall’s Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf (G1), where he wasn’t disgraced in sixth behind Aidan O’Brien’s Gstaad and the top-class Stark Contrast. #7 Street Beast (8-1) was a creditable fourth that day, but he has questions to answer now after a couple of abysmal flops.

#6 Infiltrate (10-1) is intriguing from both pedigree and connections angles, so I’d expect him to get bet down a bit. It’s a tell that Brendan Walsh is bold enough to pitch him into a stakes and turf debut off a layoff, and the Oscar Performance colt can go well.

Race 10 (5:03 p.m. ET) – Beverly D. (G2)

No surprise that I’m rooting for another Motion-trained South African in #9 Gimme a Nother (9-2), but #5 Crevalle d’Oro (12-1) strikes me as potentially overpriced. 

Transferred to Jose D’Angelo after selling for $500,000 at Keeneland November, Crevalle d’Oro was in the form of her life at Gulfstream Park over the winter. The Constitution mare broke through with her first stakes score in the Suwannee River S. and just missed as a 31-1 shot in the Pegasus World Cup Filly & Mare Turf (G2). While Crevalle d’Oro hasn’t raced since her belated fourth to Lush Lips and Classic Q in the Feb. 28 Honey Fox (G3), she has been training forwardly. The step up to 1 3/16 miles should be within her compass. 

Race 11 (5:52 p.m. ET) – Arlington Million (G1)

The cutback to 1 1/4 miles holds no fears for deserving favorite #5 Burnham Square (5-2). But I’m very interested in what #8 Gran Oriente (10-1) might do in his first try at this trip since his signature win in his native Chile. By upsetting the 2025 Club Hipico de Santiago – Falabella (G1) in a blistering 1:57.71, the son of Classic Empire earned a spot in the Breeders’ Cup Mile (G1). That was an awfully tall order in his U.S. debut, and his 11th-place effort at Del Mar is no indication of his true class. 

Once Gran Oriente acclimated stateside, he started to come around for Marcelo Polanco this spring at Santa Anita. After rolling in a 1 1/8-mile allowance over graded-caliber opponents, he was acquired by new owners and transferred to Saffie Joseph Jr. Gran Oriente continued his winning form in a pair of races at Gulfstream, and he’ll bring a three-race streak into the Million.