Horse Racing Picks & Best Bets on Sunday: 2 Races to Play at Belmont Park (July 5)

Horse racing closes out another strong week today, with several tracks featuring top-notch cards across the North American thoroughbred landscape.

We are keeping our attention focused on Belmont Park and close out the weekend with more from the “Big Sandy," which features a deep 10-race slate.

Here are the marquee plays at Belmont Park, along with several multi-race wagers for Woodbine, Monmouth Park and Los Alamitos Thoroughbred in California.

Lets take a look:

BELMONT PARK

Race 8

Time: 5:04 p.m. ET

My top selection in this $56,000 Allowance event, scheduled for six furlongs on the dirt track, is No. 2 Big Thicket at 5-2 odds.

Trainer Rudy Rodriguez sends out the 5-year-old colt by Union Rags, who is coming off a win in a $47,000 Claiming event on June 4 at Belmont Park. The 1 1/2-length victory came at this distance on the same surface, so Rodriguez is hoping for a repeat effort in this slight step up in class.

Jockey Irad Ortiz Jr. rides back for the connections of Big Thicket, who is looking for his seventh win in the 35th start of his career. He has wound up in the money 17 times, putting him at a solid 50% when finishing inside the top three in his races.

I am playing Big Thicket across the board in my Win-Place-Show wagering. I am going to box him in an exacta with No. 1 Giant Shoes (6-1), No. 7 Quick Flash (3-1) and No. 8 Tale of the Union at 2-1 odds. Use Big Thicket and Tale of the Union on top of your trifecta, with the others and No. 4 Inside Info (12-1), underneath in the exotic wager.

The bets:

• $7 Win/Place/Show: No.2 Big Thicket (5-2) — $21 Ticket
• $2 exacta wager: 1/2/7/8 — $24 Ticket
• $1.50 trifecta wager: 2/8 over 1/2/7/8 over 1/2/4/7/8— $27 Ticket

[Bet now at TVG (available in 31 states) and get your first win-bet 100% risk-free up to $300.]

Race 9

Time: 5:36 p.m. ET

This is a pretty wide-open $70,000 Allowance Optional Claiming race, set to be run seven furlongs on the turf.

You could probably land on four or five different horses handicapping this field of solid runners, but I keep landing on No. 6 Majestic Dunhill (4-1) as my top choice.

Trainer George Weaver brings his 5-year-old colt back after finishing a closing neck behind the eventual winner in the First Defence Stakes on June 7 at Belmont. Majestic Dunhill put up a 110 speed figure on the Equibase chart that day, which was his second-best number in 17 career starts. His top speed figure came in the Grade III General George Stakes back in February of 2019 at Laurel Park.

Jockey Reylu Gutierrez climbs aboard and I feel his mount should improve off that prior start where he closed at 11-1 odds. There is very good chance Majestic Dunhill is going to be overlay in this race as well, with several other flashier horses, jockeys and trainers in the mix, so getting this him at this number or better is tremendous value in my opinion.

Play Majestic Dunhill across the board and box him in an exacta with No. 2 Delaware (5-1), No. 7 Front Run the Fed (3-1) and No. 10 Chewing Gum at 7-2 odds. Go with Majestic Dunhill and Front Run the Fed on top in your trifecta wager, then throw Delaware, Chewing Gum and No. 11 Pulsate (10-1) on the back end of the play.

The bets:

• $4 Win/Place/Show: No. 6 Majestic Dunhill (4-1) — $12 Ticket
• $2 exacta box wager: 2/6/7/10 — $24 Ticket
• $1.50 trifecta wager: 2/6 over 2/6/7/10 over 2/6/7/10/11— $27 Ticket

[Bet now at TVG (available in 31 states) and get your first win-bet 100% risk-free up to $300.]

Favorite Multi-Race Wagers at Belmont Park

• Daily Double (Races 1 and 2): 1,3,7 / 2,5,6,7 ($2 Daily Double = $24 Ticket)
• Daily Double (Races 7 and 8): 5,6,7,8,9 / 2,7,8 ($2 Daily Double = $30 Ticket)
• Pick 3 (Races 8-9-10): 2,7,8 / 2,3,7,10,11 / 5,6,7,8 ($0.50 Pick 3 = $30 Ticket)

BONUS PLAYS

Favorite Multi-Race Wagers at Monmouth Park

• Pick 3 (Races 1-2-3): 1,2,6,8 / 3,4 / 3,5,6,7,8 ($1 Pick 3 = $40 Ticket)
•  Daily Double (Races 8 and 9): 2,7,8 / 5,7,9,10 ($2 Daily Double = $24 Ticket)

Favorite Multi-Race Wagers at Woodbine

• Daily Double (Races 1 and 2): 1,6,8 / 1,5,6,10 ($2.50 Daily Double = $30 Ticket)
• Daily Double (Races 9 and 10): 3,4,5 / 2,4,5,7,8,11 ($1.50 Daily Double = $27 Ticket)
• Pick 3 (Races 7-8-9): 3,6,7 / 4,5,6,9,12 / 3,4,5 ($1 Pick 3 = $45 Ticket)

Favorite Multi-Race Wagers at Los Alamitos Thoroughbred

• Pick 3 (Races 3-4-5): 2,4 / 1,3,7 / 1,2,3,4,5,6 ($1 Pick 3 = $36 Ticket)
• Daily Double (Races 7 and 8): 2,3,4,9 / 5,8,10 ($2 Daily Double = $24 Ticket)

[Bet now at TVG (available in 31 states) and get your first win-bet 100% risk-free up to $300.]