For the fourth year in a row, 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 every weekend leading up to the Breeders’ Cup World Championships. The handicappers face off in what we like to call “Big Race Showdown.”

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 $2 exacta and $2 trifecta box bets of each player’s top three selections. We will also be keeping track of which player correctly selects the most winners. 

Your 2019 players are TVG’s Candice Hare, Ashley Mailloux (Paddock Analyst, Fort Erie), Mike McCormick (PokerFuse), Nicolle Neulist (Arlington Park), Mike Somich (RacingDudes.com), Kenny Schmitt (FBWinners.com), ABR’s Dan Tordjman, NYRA’s Darwin Vizcaya, and Derby Day Racing’s Brian Zipse.

Our featured race this week is: the 152^nd Belmont Stakes, which for the first time will kick off the 2020 Triple Crown on Saturday, June 20.

Along the traditional schedule following the Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve and the Preakness Stakes, the Belmont Stakes is traditionally held at a taxing 1 ½ miles, with 3-year-old horses navigating the entirety of Belmont’s vast main track. This year, the aptly named “Test of the Champion” will not occur as the race will be held around one turn at 1 1/8 miles.

NBC Sports will show the Belmont Stakes during a broadcast Saturday, from 2:45 p.m. to 6 p.m. ET on NBC. The show, anchored by Mike Tirico and featuring analysis from Randy Moss and Jerry Bailey, will include features on Belmont Stakes horses and personalities and also show four other races at Belmont Park, including the Jaipur Invitational Stakes Presented by America's Best Racing, a Breeders’ Cup Challenge Series “Win and You’re In” qualifying race for the Turf Sprint. 

Features scheduled for the program include a visit with the connections of leading Belmont contender Tiz the Law, an essay from turf writer Tim Layden, a virtual tour around the country to check out fans watching the Belmont Stakes from home, and a discussion of trainer Bob Baffert’s eventful spring.