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 Talking Horses, and on broadcast TV on WAVE-3 Louisville, ABC KOLO-8 in Reno, Nevada, and channel 72 Long Island Cablevision.

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.

The long history of Aqueduct Racetrack is winding down quickly with just one more week left to go before the plant closes its doors for the last time. For this weekend’s winners, let’s go to New York and focus on the late double on Saturday’s 10-race Aqueduct card, which will be the penultimate Saturday racing program ever at The Big A. Sometimes you don’t appreciate something until it’s gone. Best of luck and enjoy New York racing and wagering from Aqueduct this weekend.

Saturday, June 20

Belmont at the Big A, Race 9, $29,500 claiming, post time 5:16 p.m. ET

A field of 10 non-winners of two claimers will take to the track going seven furlongs and it looks like a good betting race. There’s a good chance for an upset in this race with #7 Solutions, who looked very good in his return from a seven-month layoff last time when getting a 5 ¼-length victory over the track at Aqueduct. That win came at the bottom maiden claiming level, but it still was a good effort where he survived a five-length-gap duel for the lead in order to draw off for the victory. By the looks of this field, Solutions should be able to get to the lead again on Saturday and he will be tough to catch by the rivals in this field that have had trouble finding the winner’s circle. #2 Shellac also makes a lot of sense in this spot for leading trainer Linda Rice despite laying an egg last time out in his first start for Rice in a mile race at a tougher class level. This class drop makes Shellac an instant contender here, as does the cutback in distance to a sprint. Shellac’s dirt sprint speed figures so far in his career all look better than the other horses in this race. The other horse to consider for the exactas and trifectas in the field is #10 Tapwrits Temper. He has been stuck at this non-winners of two level forever, but he’s been in his best form lately and knocking on the door in his recent races including a length loss last time and a runner-up finish two races ago when he overcame a bad start and lost only to an odds-on favorite who has already came back to win his next race.

The Play: Bet on #7 Solutions (10-1) to win and play him in exacta and trifecta boxes along with #2 Shellac (3-1) and #10 Tapwrits Temper (9-2). Start the late daily double using both Shellac and Solutions along with the top picks in race 10.

Belmont at the Big A, Race 10, $48,000 maiden claiming, post time 5:48 p.m. ET

A full field of 12 mostly 3-year-old filly maiden claimers has been assembled for Saturday’s finale at Aqueduct going six furlongs on the turf. It’s another wide-open betting race to complete the late double. Let’s use the top three contenders in this field to round out the doubles and also play those horses in exactas and trifectas to end the day. #8 Tuthilltown threw in a dud last time out but that will help her odds in this spot as she drops in against maiden claimers for the first time in her career. Before that last race, she had finished in the money in all of her first four starts including a close second by a head two races ago. Her best lifetime race so far came last year when second in her only turf sprint attempt to date, so this surface switch could get her over the hump. When you’re talking about a New York turf sprint with no real standout(s) in the field, it’s never a bad idea to consider any Miguel Clement entrant in the field for your wagers. He’ll send out #12 Come Monday to make her career debut on Saturday and Clement has a 26% strike race with first-time starters with most of those wins coming on the turf. Another logical contender is #3 Garden of Grace, and she also belongs on your tickets with this drop in class versus maiden claimers after she’s already hit the board three times this year against straight maidens. She’s had plenty of chances without a victory to show for it so far, but she’s been in the money in four of her five lifetime starts in turf sprints including in her last race. She’ll have blinkers removed as well for good turf trainer George Weaver.

The Play: Bet on #8 Tuthilltown (4-1) to win and play him in exacta and trifecta boxes along with #3 Garden of Grace (7-2) and #12 Come Monday (9-2). Use all three fillies in the late double.