Saturday is a big day north of the border. A power-packed card at Woodbine is headlined by six stakes races, including the Grade 1 Woodbine Mile. Big fields up and down the 12-race program mean plenty of opportunities to take swings at prices, and that’s what we’ll do here.

Each of these horses is at least 6-1 on the morning line, and two of them run in some of the biggest races on the program. Let’s jump right in …

Race #3, Maiden-Optional Claiming Race, Six furlongs, all-weather surface, 2 p.m. ET

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#3 I Will Follow (6-1 morning-line odds): This is moreso a “play against” than anything else, as I’m against #6 Chinook, the 2-1 morning-line favorite. I wasn’t impressed by her last start when she stalked a moderate pace at this level and faded. Maybe she’ll win, but this is the sort of horse I just can’t back at a short price.

The problem is, none of the others that have run before has shown all that much, so I need to look at first-time starters. I Will Follow, at least, has a few things to recommend ahead of her debut. She was produced by a mare who has two winners from three foals to race, including first-out winner Streetshavenoname. There are a couple of OK workouts on her sheet, and this barn has shown it can pop at a price with first-time starters (12% in a 59-starter sample with a positive ROI).

It’s tough to be too bullish on anyone in a field of runners that hasn’t shown much. However, there are some reasons to be optimistic about I Will Follow, and those are enough for me to give her a nod at her expected price.

Race #5, $500,000 Johnnie Walker Natalma Stakes, One mile, turf, 3:05 p.m. ET

#8 Runaway Bride (8-1): The first graded stakes of the day drew a very exciting field of 11 2-year-old fillies going a mile on the turf. There’s a lot of talent here, but I think Runaway Bride may get a bit overlooked.

She did a lot of things wrong in her debut going 5 1/2 furlongs at Saratoga. She didn’t break well and was well behind the leaders going around the turn at a configuration where closers often need quite a bit to go right. She had every excuse to spit the bit, but she instead made up a lot of ground and got the money at a juicy 13-1 price.

Trainer Whit Beckman has stellar numbers with horses routing for the first time (20% in a 50-starter sample with a fantastic $3.32 ROI, per Brisnet), and his runners also generally improve with experience. There’s a ton of pedigree here that says the added distance won’t be an issue, and while a few others in here may need the lead in order to run well, we know this one can close and overcome some adversity. If Runaway Bride is this price come post time, that would hit me as an overlay.

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Underlay vs. overlay in odds when betting: A horse with underlaid odds means that his/her odds to win in the pari-mutuel betting pool (which collects all bets made and distributes the money to winners) are lower than what you, the bettor, believe is his/her actual chance to win the race compared with the other horses in the field. For a horse with overlaid odds, the reverse is true: his/her odds in the pari-mutuel pool are higher than what you, the bettor, estimate his win chances at, making him/her the one to bet on.

Race #8, $175,000 HPIbet Ontario Matron Stakes, 1 1/16 miles, all-weather surface, 4:45 p.m. ET

Speedy Freeze wins 2025 Algoma Stakes (Michael Burns photo)

#2 Speedy Freeze (12-1): The old axiom says, “pace makes the race.” If you follow that adage (and I think you should), Speedy Freeze looks very, very live in this event for fillies and mares 3 years old and older going two turns on the all-weather main track.

There are seven horses signed on. It appears no fewer than four will want to be on the lead early, and most of those runners break toward the outside. This means a potential meltdown, and while Speedy Freeze certainly needs to improve coming out of races against weaker competition, she should have the ideal setup necessary to do just that.

The other closer in this race, #1 Fantastical, may be favored and makes a lot of sense. However, it’s tough for me to ignore a runner with the same running style that will be a much, much bigger price. She may be outclassed, but if this race falls apart up front and Fantastical doesn’t fire, this may be the runner that takes advantage.