Horse racing’s second season – the Breeders’ Cup Challenge Series and the run-up to the world championships of horse racing at Churchill Downs on Nov. 2 and 3 – is underway! That means there’s great racing action nearly every weekend from here on out. America’s Best Racing is challenging some of the brightest minds in horse betting to come up with their top three picks for key races leading up to the Breeders’ Cup.

The players' picks will be posted here and a running bankroll will be kept to track their success all year long. Bankrolls will be tabulated on the basis of a $2 win bet on top selections and $2 exacta and $2 trifecta box bets of each player’s top three selections. Check next week's Big Race Showdown to find out how the players fared in this inaugural round. Your players are Eric Bialek, Emily Gullikson, Candice Hare, Nicolle Neulist, Dan Tordjman, and Brian Zipse.

Let’s take a look at the players’ picks for this week’s races: a pair of Road to the Breeders’ Cup Challenge Series “Win and You’re In” races – the Arlington Million and the Beverly D. Stakes – on Saturday’s International Festival of Racing at Arlington International Racecourse. The winners of these two races receive berths to the Longines Breeders’ Cup Turf and the Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Turf, respectively. The Arlington Million and Beverly D. will be featured in an Aug. 11 broadcast by NBC Sports as part of the network’s “Win and You’re In” series of telecasts presented by America’s Best Racing. The broadcast will air on NBCSN from 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. ET.

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Eric Bialek

National Handicapping Championship Qualifier

$600,000 Beverly D. Stakes

1. Sistercharlie

2. Dona Bruja

3. Athena

Alternate: Fourstar Crook

$1 million Arlington Million XXXVI Stakes

1. Robert Bruce

2. Oscar Performance

3. Century Dream

Alternate: Money Multiplier

Top Selection: 5/9

Exacta Winnings: $143.10

Trifecta Winnings: $18.80

Total Winnings: $161.90

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Emily Gullikson

OptixEQ, Tournament Handicapper

$600,000 Beverly D. Stakes

1. Dona Bruja

2. Athena

3. Sistercharlie

Alternate: Daddys Lil Darling

$1 million Arlington Million XXXVI Stakes

1. Robert Bruce

2. Century Dream

3. Almanaar

Alternate: Oscar Performance

Top Selection: 2/9

Exacta Winnings: $28.80

Trifecta Winnings: $0

Total Winnings: $28.80

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Candice Hare

TVG On-Air Host and Analyst

$600,000 Beverly D. Stakes

1. Sistercharlie

2. Dona Bruja

3. Inflexibility

Alternate: Athena

$1 million Arlington Million XXXVI Stakes

1. Oscar Performance

2. Deauville

3. Money Multiplier

Alternate: Spring Quality

Top Selection: 2/9

Exacta Winnings: $63.80

Trifecta Winnings: $0

Total Winnings: $63.80

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Nicolle Neulist

Chart Caller and Freelance Writer

$600,000 Beverly D. Stakes

1. Fourstar Crook

2. Sistercharlie

3. Athena

Alternate: Dona Bruja

$1 million Arlington Million XXXVI Stakes

1. Robert Bruce

2. Almanaar

3. Century Dream

Alternate: Oscar Performance

Top Selection: 2/9

Exacta Winnings: $73.20

Trifecta Winnings: $61.46

Total Winnings: $134.66

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Dan Tordjman

Video Correspondent and Handicapper for America's Best Racing

$600,000 Beverly D. Stakes

1. Sistercharlie

2. Fourstar Crook

3. Nyaleti

Alternate: Athena

$1 million Arlington Million XXXVI Stakes

1. Deauville

2. Spring Quality

3. Robert Bruce

Alternate: Oscar Performance

Top Selection: 2/9

Exacta Winnings: $166.10

Trifecta Winnings: $0

Total Winnings: $166.10

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Brian Zipse

Derby Day Racing Managing Partner

$600,000 Beverly D. Stakes

1. Nyaleti

2. Sistercharlie

3. Fourstar Crook

Alternate: Daddys Lil Darling

$1 million Arlington Million XXXVI Stakes

1. Oscar Performance

2. Century Dream

3. Spring Quality

Alternate: Robert Bruce

Top Selection: 4/9

Exacta Winnings: $29.10

Trifecta Winnings: $36.20

Total Winnings: $65.30