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.

Saturday, Aug. 16

Weekend Winners makes a stop north of the border this week for King’s Plate day at Woodbine – Canada’s version of Kentucky Derby day. The $1 million King’s Plate Stakes is the centerpiece of a tremendous 13-race program at Woodbine Saturday, and the feature drew a big field that is shaping up to be a great betting race. Let’s take a closer look at the King’s Plate this Saturday along with the Bold Venture Stakes on the undercard. If we can pick these two winners, we will be well on our way to a big payoff Saturday at Woodbine.

America’s Best Racing will be on-site at Woodbine for “King's Plate Live!” This action-packed show is hosted by Dan Tordjman, Rachel Miller, and Alexa Zepp and will feature special guests throughout offering gambling analysis and lifestyle commentary during Woodbine’s festive day. “King's Plate Live!” starts at approximately 3:30 p.m. ET and will stream on ABR’s Facebook, X, and YouTube channels. Additionally, all of the action from Woodbine will be broadcast on FanDuel TV. Best of luck!

Woodbine, Race 8, $150,000 Bold Venture Stakes, 4:49 p.m. ET

The Grade 3 Bold Venture Stakes drew a field of eight sprinters ready to race 6 ½ furlongs on Woodbine’s all-weather main track. There are several principal contenders in the field and at least two of them, #1 Victory Achieved and #6 Simcoe, have the same front-end running style. Even a horse like #3 Old Chestnut has been known to blaze to the lead in his good synthetic sprint efforts. All the speed entered in this field should set the race up nicely for the most likely winner, #5 Playmea Tune, a stalker who has already earned three wins and a second in four lifetime sprints on Woodbine’s all-weather track, with a near-miss second in this race last year as his only loss. Playmea Tune made his first start after a 4 ½-month layoff last time on the turf and is ready for a return to his best form on his best surface while benefitting from an ideal pace scenario. Another contender coming from slightly off the pace will be #7 I’m A Gambler with Flavien Prat aboard. He finished a close third in this race last year, owns 12 career victories, and also will benefit from a fast pace. Simcoe, meanwhile, is 2-1 on the morning line but has lost to 20-1 Old Chestnut in their head-to-head matchups thus far. Let’s include Old Chestnut to bump-up the value of our exactas and trifectas.

The Play: Bet on #5 Playmea Tune (5-2) to win and play him in exacta and trifecta boxes with #3 Old Chestnut (20-1) and #7 I’m A Gambler (8-1).

Woodbine, Race 9, $1 million King’s Plate Stakes, 5:34 p.m. ET

Woodbine Oaks winner No Time. (Eclipse Sportswire)

The 2025 King’s Plate drew a field of 13 Canadian-bred 3-year-olds set to run 1 ¼ miles on Woodbine’s all-weather track. Not only do you have to be good enough and fast enough to be able to win this race, but you also have to be able to navigate the extended distance. The most proven synthetic surface distance horse in the race is the filly, #10 No Time, based on her 1 1/8-mile win under John Velazquez last time out in the $500,000 Woodbine Oaks Presented by Stella Artois. Velazquez returns for Hall of Fame trainer Mark Casse and No Time looks like a horse who will love this 1 ¼-mile distance after pulling away from her foes in the stretch last time. In case you were wondering, there’s a long list of filly winners in the history of this race, including 2022 winner Moira and last year’s winner Caitlinhergrtness. The X-factor in the field is #7 Runaway Again, who is making only his second lifetime start after winning his career debut July 13. He’ll face a tough task stepping up against this field while also stretching out in distance in his second race, but he flashed big-time ability when winning his 1 1/16-mile debut after appearing to lose all chance when pinched back to last at the start. Maybe this assignment is too much too soon, but it’s too tempting not to use him in exactas and trifectas at 12-1 odds on the morning line with Javier Castellano aboard for Stronach Stables. Along with No Time, the other horse in this field coming in with a 1 1/8-mile win is #12 Sedburys Ghost, who rallied to win last month’s Plate Trial Stakes over several of these same horses.

The Play: Bet on #10 No Time (7-2) to win and play her in exacta and trifecta boxes with #7 Runaway Again (12-1) and #12 Sedburys Ghost (6-1).