Bet on Horse Racing Online

By Richard Rosenblatt Code of Honor overtook the leaders in the stretch and pulled away for a three-length victory in the $1.25 million Runhappy Travers Stakes (G1) on a sunny summer Saturday at Saratoga Race Course. With a crowd of 48,123 packing the Spa, Code of Honor, under Hall of Famer John Velazquez, blew past Mucho Gusto and hard-luck Tacitus to give Hall of Fame trainer Shug McGaughey his fourth Travers victory and first since 1998. “Obviously, we’ve been looking for this kind of performance for a long time,’’ said Velazquez, who has been aboard the 3-year-old William S. Farish-owned

By Margaret Ransom A new rider will be aboard Catalina Cruiser in Saturday’s $200,000 Pat O’Brien Stakes (G2), but the way he’s been running it may not matter who’s aboard. However, with regular rider Joel Rosario in New York this weekend (he’ll be aboard Endorsed in the $1.25 million  Runhappy  Travers on Saturday), Del Mar’s leading rider Flavien Prat is not a bad fill-in. The 4-5 morning-line favorite in a field of seven, Catalina Cruiser is 2-for-2 this year, and 6-for-7 overall for Hronis Racing and trainer John Sadler. The 5-year-old chestnut son of Union Rags won the True North

By Richard Rosenblatt After a crazy first half of the season, a dozen 3-year-olds will be looking to make a name for themselves in Saturday’s $1.25 million Runhappy Travers Stakes (G1) at Saratoga Race Course. The field for the 1 ¼-mile race includes a bunch of Triple Crown race runners-up and a few up-and-coming horses, with Belmont Stakes (G1) second-place finisher Tacitus the 5-2 morning line favorite. Code of Honor, who ran third in the Kentucky Derby (G1) but was moved up to second after Maximum Security finished first but was disqualified for interference, is the second choice at 4-1

The only question that arose in selecting this week’s “Best Bet” is whether or not it would be the Pick 4 or Pick 5 ending with the Travers on Saturday at Saratoga. With Shancelot looming a heavy favorite in the first leg of the Pick 5, and one I’m not inclined to play against, it felt prudent to shorten up, even though I’m a complete sucker for Pick 5’s. I can’t say that the Pick 4 is the most attractive betting sequence either, but the racing is too good to pass up and there are at least a few spots

By US Racing Team Martin Chuan, a top jockey in Peru, makes his first North American Grade 1 start aboard 30-1 long shot Everfast in Saturday’s $1.25 million Runhappy Travers Stakes (G1) at Saratoga Race Course. It’s far from his first career top-level appearance, though. The 24-year-old is currently the leading rider in his homeland and has collected more than 1,200 victories since he first started riding in 2012, including multiple top-level races in Peru. He plans to stick around and become one of the top jockeys in America. With a recommendation from retired jockey Ramon Dominguez, as well encouragement

By Richard Rosenblatt The revelation for trainer Steve Asmussen came 11 years ago in California, just after his soon-to-be two-time Horse of the Year Curlin finished fourth in the Breeders’ Cup Classic at Santa Anita Park. Horse of the Year in 2007 with a trio of Grade 1 wins in the Preakness, Jockey Club Gold Cup and Breeders’ Cup Classic, the mighty Curlin returned at age 4 and won a handicap race in Dubai before overpowering the field in the $6 million Dubai World Cup (G1), at the time the richest race in the world. After his return to the