Thursday’s $500,000, Grade 2 Flower Bowl Stakes at Belmont Park is an important stop on the road to the Oct. 30-31 Breeders’ Cup World Championships at Keeneland Race Course.
U.S. Thoroughbred racing is the global leader when it comes to producing elite dirt sprinters, and that makes sense because sprint races on dirt have long been the meat and potatoes of the sport in this country.
Indeed, the only winner of the Breeders’ Cup Sprint who was bred or based outside of North America was Sheikh Albadou in 1991. He was bred in Great Britain and raced exclusively in Europe before the 1991 Breeders’ Cup, which he prepped for in France with a second-place finish in the Group 1 Prix de l'Abbaye de Longchamp.
The $400,000 Bryan Station Stakes, which was recently upgraded to a Grade 2 for the first time, highlights the closing-day card of the fall meet Oct. 24 at Keeneland Race Course before the track prepares to host the Breeders’ Cup the following weekend.
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.
Laurel Park hosts one of its best annual days of racing and wagering this Saturday with the 41st running of the Jim McKay Maryland Million Day – a 12-race card that includes eight stakes races with purses totaling $1 million restricted to Maryland-sired horses who are nominated to the Maryland-bred program.
