Welcome to Noel Michaels’ Weekend Winners, the place to go for weekend best bets and spot plays from veteran handicapper and tournament-play pioneer Noel Michaels. Check back every week for a couple of highlighted selections designed to help you cash a few bets and make some money.

Noel's selections have been featured just about everywhere horse racing picks can be found, including in print in the Daily Racing Form, The HorsePlayer Magazine and American Turf Monthly, online at DRF.com, Twinspires.com and USRacing.com, from the paddock on-track at Arlington International Racecourse, and on the air on HRTV, TVG, NYC OTB Extra, NYRA's SatuTalking Horses, and on broadcast TV on WAVE-3 Louisville, ABC KOLO-8 in Reno, Nevada, and channel 72 Long Island Cablevision.

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Six Beginner Betting Tools

1. Start simple with an easy guide for how to bet on horse racing.
2. Not sure what that word means? Horse racing terminology is a language of its own. Allow us translate for you
3. What the heck is a speed figure? This beginner’s guide to speed figures has everything you need to know.
4. Betting on horse racing can be intimidating. Team ABR put together some Dos and Don’ts for the new fan getting started betting on racing.
5. We all make mistakes when it comes to betting on horse racing, here are eight lessons learned from experience.
6. Figure out how much each bet will cost in advance with our Gambling Calculator, presented by NYRA Bets.

Belmont at the Big A hosts this Saturday’s featured race card with an 11-race program topped by the running of the Grade 2 Pennine Ridge Stakes on the turf. The day’s other feature at Belmont at the Big A is a wide-open turf sprint allowance race with a big field that could yield value-packed payoffs. For this weekend’s winners, let’s take a look at these two turf headline races. If we can cash on the grass in the day’s best races, we will be well on our way to a profitable day. Best of luck.

Saturday, May 25

Belmont at the Big A, Race 7, $200,000 Pennine Ridge Stakes, post time 3:39 p.m. ET

The Grade 2 Pennine Ridge Stakes has drawn a field of seven 3-year-old turf hopefuls set to go 1 1/8 miles for a purse of $200,000. The horse to beat is #2 Legend of Time from the lethal invading European connections of trainer Charlie Appleby for Godolphin. Legend of Time came to the States off a three-race winning streak in Dubai and disappointed against arguably better company in the Grade 2 American Turf Stakes presented by TwinSpires on the May 4 Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve undercard. He’s likely to race on or close to the lead in this spot and should have no trouble bettering his fifth-place finish in Kentucky. The question is, will he be a good bet as the likely favorite? If you are looking for better value on the tote board, the pick at slightly better odds should be #3 Risk Tolerance, who makes only his second lifetime start today after winning his career debut with the best turf Beyer Speed Figure in today’s field. Trainer Chad Brown should have him set to do even better in his second lifetime start, and there’s a chance that the tactical speed of Brown’s other runner in the race, #1 White Palomino, will soften up Legend of Time and allow Risk Tolerance the opportunity to roll on by in the stretch. The horse in the race that can potentially bump-up the value of your exotics in this race is #4 Cable Ready, a New York-bred that has won two of his last three races including his turf debut last time out. He’ll be overlooked on the tote board based on being a New York-bred from lower-profile connections, but his turf speed figure indicates he fits right in against this competition.

The Play: Bet to win on #3 Risk Tolerance (3-1) and play him in exacta boxes with #2 Legend of Time (2-1). Add #4 Cable Ready (8-1) to the top two in trifecta boxes.

Belmont at the Big A, Race 10, $80,000 allowance, post time 5:15 p.m. ET

A full field of 12 turf sprinters will assemble for this highly playable race going six furlongs on the Aqueduct grass course. There are plenty of contenders to choose from in this spot, but the horse to beat looks like #11 Russi, who exits a second-place turf sprint finish at this course and distance in a solid return effort off a five-month layoff. That six-furlong race ran in a fast 1:07.80 and this horse was beaten just 1 ½ lengths. He should be ready here in his second start off the layoff. The other main contender in the race is drawn further toward the inside and that is #4 Power Attack, who owns back-to-back wins this year since returning in fine form from a long layoff. The last win was on this grass course and at this six-furlong distance, and yet another high finish seems likely again today based on speed figures that stack up well against the rest of the field.

The Play:  Bet #11 Russi (9-2) to win and box him in the exacta with #4 Power Attack (5-1).