Betting the King’s Bishop on a $20 Budget
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Competitive Edge, above winning the Pat Day Mile Stakes, is a top contender for the $500,000 King's Bishop Stakes on Saturday at Saratoga Race Course. (All photos by Eclipse Sportswire)
The King’s Bishop Stakes is one of my favorite races every year, and with 11 talented 3-year-olds scheduled to contest this year’s edition, I can barely contain my excitement for the race on Saturday at Saratoga Race Course.
The NYRA.com King’s Bishop has a purse of $500,000 and has Grade 1 status, meaning that some of the very best 3-year-old sprinters in the country will be facing off in this race at Saratoga on Travers Stakes day.
In my opinion, there are many different ways you can go when handicapping the 2015 King’s Bishop, and the race could come down to who gets the best trip (avoiding getting caught in traffic, going extremely wide on the turn, etc.) on Saturday.
While I can make a case for virtually all of the entrants in this year’s King’s Bishop, the four horses below are the ones that I will be focusing on for wagering purposes:
#3 Competitive Edge: He was undefeated in the first four races of his career, but most recently has given two subpar efforts (sixth-place and fourth-place finishes in his two races leading up to the King’s Bishop on Saturday). However, I am confident that trainer Todd Pletcher and jockey John Velazquez will be able to get things right with Competitve Edge, who should also like the return to a one-turn race in the King’s Bishop.
#5 Mr. Z: He will be running in his first sprint race in nearly a year on Saturday after a steady diet of route races (races at a distance of one mile or longer), including a win in the $500,000 Ohio Derby at Thistledown. Mr. Z has run two nice races since teaming up with jockey Joe Bravo in June, and Bravo will be back aboard Mr. Z in the King’s Bishop.
#7 Holy Boss: Holy Boss most likely will be the horse to beat in the King’s Bishop. He has won four consecutive races, including the Grade 2 Amsterdam Stakes at Saratoga on Aug. 1. Holy Boss must prove that he can win at the tricky 7-furlong distance of the King’s Bishop — he has yet to compete in a 7-furlong race in his career — but I don’t envision the distance being a problem for him on Saturday.
#10 March: March ran dead last in the Amsterdam Stakes, a race in which he was soundly defeated by Holy Boss. That being said, it is encouraging that Chad Brown, currently the leading trainer at Saratoga, has not panicked and brought March right back for the King’s Bishop, in which he will be ridden by Irad Ortiz Jr., currently the leading jockey at Saratoga. The combination of the hot trainer and jockey plus March’s undefeated record at the 7-furlong distance of the King’s Bishop makes him a solid contender in my eyes on Saturday.
MARCH (inside) WINNING WOODY STEPHENS
Betting Strategy on a Budget
$1 exacta box: 3,5,7,10 ($12)
$1 exacta: 3,7 with 3,5,7,10 ($6)
Total = $18
$500,000 NYRA.com King’s Bishop StakesSaturday, Saratoga Race Course, Race 8, 3:47 p.m. ET7 furlongs, dirt, 3-year-olds
PP
Horse
Jockey
Trainer
Owner
Odds
1
Commute
Shaun Bridgmohan
Mark Casse
Gabe Grossberg and Sagamore Farm
TBD
2
Grand Bili
Javier Castellano
Gustavo Delgado
Grupo Seven C Stable
TBD
3
Competitive Edge
John Velazquez
Todd Pletcher
Nancy Favreau, Kathy Psoinos LLC and Michael Tabor
TBD
4
Watershed
Joel Rosario
Kiaran McLaughlin
Godolphin Racing
TBD
5
Mr. Z
Joe Bravo
D. Wayne Lukas
Calumet Farm
TBD
6
Limousine Liberal
Jose Ortiz
Ben Colebrook
Katherine Ball
TBD
7
Holy Boss
Ricardo Santana Jr.
Steve Asmussen
Jerry Durant
TBD
8
Classy Class
Gary Stevens
Kiaran McLaughlin
Cheyenne Stables
TBD
9
Loose On the Town
Jose Lezcano
Brian Lynch
Jim and Susan Hill
TBD
10
March
Irad Ortiz Jr.
Chad Brown
Robert LaPenta
TBD
11
Runhappy
Edgar Prado
Maria Borell
James McIngvale
TBD