Thursday Horse Racing Picks & Exotics for Belmont Park (June 25)

Horse racing continues to garner a ton of attention in the sports world, with almost every racetrack back up and running across North America.

Numerous venues are in action today, with the day’s marquee schedule coming live from Belmont Park and its nine-race card loaded with deep fields.

Here are the highlighted plays at “Big Sandy,", along with our multi-race wagers for Indiana Grand and Woodbine, as well as the evening card at Evangeline Downs in Louisiana.

Handicapping racing in the Bayou proved to be profitable yet again Wednesday via a large Daily Double that came through for us at Evangeline. We are hoping for more of that success from our latest plays.

Lets take a look:

BELMONT PARK

Race 2

Time: 1:50 p.m. ET

We start things off with this $27,000 Claiming race, slated for 6 1/2 furlongs on the dirt track.

It took some time to dig into the past performances of the 10 horses entered in this event, but I am settling on No. 5 Mental Model (7-2) as my top choice.

Trainer Linda Rice sends out Mental Model, who is taking a significant drop in class here and should be able to dictate his trip with jockey Luis Cardenas in the saddle.

Play Mental Model across the board in your Win-Place-Show wagering and on top of your exotics with No. 7 Inside Info (4-1), who goes out for trainer Brad Cox and gets jockey Luis Saez in the irons. Throw No. 1 Mandatory Payout (9-2), No. 9 Mine the Bird (5-1) and No. 10 Our Stormin Norman (6-1) underneath in your exacta and trifecta wagers.

The bets:

• $5 Win/Place/Show: No. 5 Mental Model (7-2)— $15 Ticket
• $4 exacta wager: 5/7 over 1/5/7/9 — $24 Ticket
• $1.50 trifecta wager: 5/7 over 1/5/7/9 over 1/5/7/9/10— $27 Ticket

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

Race 8 (Easy Goer Stakes)

Time: 5:04 p.m. ET

The featured race on the card — an $80,000 stakes event, scheduled for 1 1/16 miles on the dirt — is loaded with young talent.

All six contenders have a legitimate shot at winning, but I am backing No. 3 Casino Grande (8-5) to move one step close to a potential Triple Crown race berth.

Trainer Christophe Clement has slowly worked his 3-year-old colt by sire Cairo Prince into racing form, only sending him out for his career debut in March at Tampa Bay Downs. He won that day and was then put on the shelf for more than two months before rolling to a win in an Optional Claiming race at Gulfstream Park.

There had been some backside chatter that Clemente was pondering sending Casino Grande to the Belmont Stakes, but opted to enter him here and potentially point to bigger races down the line.

Casino Grande has improved in each start thus far, including increasing his Beyer Speed Figures (71 to 83) in his only two starts. However, I am not sure what to expect in terms of those ratings improving this time, due to the fact he’s trying the deep, sandy Belmont dirt for the first time in his career.

Regardless, Casino Grande is the horse to beat and I am playing him across the board. Box him in your exacta and trifecta wagers with No. 4 Sonneman (2-1), No. 5 Prodigious Bay (3-1) and No. 6 Toy at 8-1 odds.

The bets:

• $8 Win/Place/Show: No. 3 Casino Grande (8-5) — $24 Ticket
• $2 exacta box wager: 3/4/5/6 — $24 Ticket
• $1 trifecta box wager: 3/4/5/6 — $24 Ticket

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

Favorite Multi-Race Wagers at Belmont Park

• Daily Double (Races 2 and 3): 1,5,7,9,10 / 5,8,10 ($2 Daily Double = $30 Ticket)
• Daily Double (Races 7 and 8): 2,3,4,6,7,10 / 3,4,5 ($2 Daily Double = $36 Ticket)
• Pick 3 (Races 7-8-9): 2,3,4,7 / 3,4,5 / 3,5,8,9,11,12 ($0.50 Pick 3 = $36 Ticket)

BONUS PLAYS

Favorite Multi-Race Wagers at Indiana Grand

• Daily Double (Races 1 and 2): 2,4,5 / 3,4,6 ($3 Daily Double = $27 Ticket)
• Pick 3 (Races 3-4-5): 1,5,6,7 / 2,3,7,9 / 4,5,7 ($1 Pick 3 = $48 Ticket)

Favorite Multi-Race Wagers at Woodbine

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

Favorite Multi-Race Wagers at Evangeline Downs

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

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