Best Horse Racing Bets for Thursday, July 15, 2021

My three selected tracks for the Thursday racing picks are Arlington International Racecourse, Charles Town Races, and Saratoga Racecourse.

Arlington and Charles Town yielded up some good but regular allowance and claiming races. On the other hand, Saratoga delivered us two hotly contested stakes races for our entertainment, edification, and most importantly, embiggening of our bankrolls.

Before you dive in, don’t forget you can find everything you want to know about all the races at one of our recommended online racebooks.

Good luck!

We’re starting out on the turf for race four, a five-furlong grass run for three-year-olds and upward. I’m betting my money on the 2/1 morning-line favorite, Three Amigos, ridden by Christopher A. Emigh.

This four-year-old gelding finished in the money for three of his four career starts, winning one. That record and his speed figures put him well ahead of the rest of this seven-horse field.

Carlos H. Silva trains Three Amigos for owner William Granger.

Race six is a one-mile turf run for Illinois-bred fillies and mares three years old and upward. My money is on the 2/1 second-favored Summer Day, with Jareth Loveberry in the irons.

This four-year-old filly had six money finishes in her nine career starts, with two wins.

No stranger to graded stakes wins, Anthony Mitchell trains Summer Day for Richard Otto Stables, Inc.

We’re still on the turf for race eight—a one-mile run for three-year-olds and upward. I’m betting my two dollars on one of the 5/1 underdogs in this race, Policy Option, ridden by Edgar Perez.

This four-year-old gelding moneyed five of his nine career starts, winning two. His speed figures are consistently high and comparable to those of the favorite’s recent numbers.

Florida-based Cheryl Winebaugh trains Policy Option for owner Kenneth E. Fishbein.

We’re starting on the main track with race five here, a seven-furlong sprint for three-year-olds and upward. I’m calling this one for the 9/2 second-favored Dynamic Day, with Darius Thorpe aboard.

Vernon Greaves trains Dynamic Day for Nick Sanna Stables LLC. Greaves has put Thorpe in the irons for Dynamic Day’s two most recent runs.

Race six is a 6-1/2 furlong main track run for West Virginia-bred fillies and mares three years old and upward. I’m buying a two-dollar win ticket on the 9/5 morning-line favorite, Longstorylucy, ridden by veteran jockey Fredy Peltroche.

This five-year-old mare moneyed 15 of her 26 career starts, winning seven—which makes her a star in this lackluster seven-horse field. It also helps that Peltroche is having one of the best years of his career.

Ranked among the top trainers for wins almost every year for the past two decades, Ronney W. Brown works Longstorylucy for owner-breeder Kevin L. Anderson. Brown has tapped Peltroche to saddle Longstorylucy for her most recent 11 races.

In race seven—a 4-1/2 furlong main track run for fillies and mares three years old and upward—I’m liking the 7/2 second-favored Cat Lak, with top jockey Denis Araujo in the irons.

This five-year-old mare finished in the money 17 of her 27 career starts, winning seven—definitely a standout in this eight-horse field.

Eddie Clouston—one of the winningest trainers in the U.S. for the past six years—works Cat Lak for owner Michelle Helms.

We start on the turf course for race three, a one-mile run for three-year-olds and upward. If the also-eligible/MTO Wudda U Think Now—the morning-line main-track favorite at 6/5—enters the starting gate, bet him to win.

The four-year-old gelding moneyed seven of his eight career starts and won three of them. Incidentally, he placed second in the Affirmed Success Stakes (Black Type) at Belmont Park in April.

Rudy R. Rodriguez trains Wudda U Think Now for The Elkstone Group, LLC (Stuart Grant).

If Wudda U Think Now doesn’t make it to the starting gate, buy a win ticket on the 8/5 grass fave St. Joe Louis, ridden by Joel Rosario.

This four-year-old gelding finished both of his career starts in the money, finishing second at Tampa Bay in his initial maiden run in January, then graduating at Belmont Park in May.

Chad C. Brown trains St. Joe Louis for owner Peter M. Brant.

Race eight is the Quick Call Stakes (Grade III), a $120,000 purse, 5-1/2 furlong turf run for three-year-olds.

My money is on the 1/2 morning-line favorite, Golden Pal, with top jockey Irad Ortiz, Jr. in the irons.

This three-year-old colt moneyed all four of his career starts, winning two of them. The two wins were in the Skidmore Stakes (Black Type) at Saratoga last August and the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint (Gr. 2) at Keeneland in November. He’ll do.

Breeders’ Cup veteran Wesley A. Ward trains Golden Pal for owners Mrs. John Magnier, Michael B. Tabor, Derrick Smith, and Westerberg (the racing operation owned by Swiss billionaire Georg von Opel).

We move to the main track for race nine, the Schuylerville Stakes (Grade III)—a $150,000 purse, six-furlong dirt run for two-year-old fillies.

This nine-horse field is full of likely winners, but I’m still calling it for the 8/5 morning-line favorite, Happy Soul, with John R. Velazquez aboard.

This filly moneyed all three of her career starts, winning two. Her most recent win was the Astoria Stakes (Black Type) at Belmont in late June.

Wesley A. Ward trains Happy Soul for owner Gayla Rankin. Ward has tapped Velasquez to fill the irons for all three of Happy Soul’s races.