Best Horse Racing Bets Today | Aqueduct, December 7

Aqueduct will be the place to be on Saturday afternoon. The card is highlighted by four interesting graded stakes races throughout the afternoon. The feature will be the $500,000 Cigar Mile, which has drawn a deep and talented field of males. After solid finishes at the Breeders’ Cup, Mullikin and Post Time should be among the favorites in the strong Grade 2 affair. In the female counterpart, Occult and Tizzy in the Sky top the Grade 3 Go For Wand Stakes.

In last year’s Grade 2 Remsen Stakes, Dornoch and Sierra Leone staged a memorable battle. Potential future stars like Keewaydin and Tux will look to emulate those stars in this year’s edition. On the distaff side, the promising Muhimma looks like a solid favorite in the Grade 2 Demoiselle Stakes.  Without further ado, let’s get to my top picks and plays for this excellent afternoon of racing from New York.

Race #4 Go For Wand Stakes (Grade 3) $200,000 1-Mile Dirt - 1:08pm EST

Most recently second behind the champion Idiomatic in the Grade 1 Spinster Stakes, Occult looms a likely favorite among a field of eight females entered in the Grade 3 Go For Wand Stakes on Saturday at Aqueduct.

A graded stakes winner last season for trainer Chad Brown, the Into Mischief filly has yet to break through in four tries in 2024. The runner-up in three of those races, she may have turned in the best performance of her career two months ago when she rallied by the classy Candied to grab second in Keeneland’s top race for older females. Saturday’s one-mile test has very little early speed which could make her task more difficult. 

Chief among her opposition here is the Aqueduct loving Tizzy in the Sky. The Sky Kingdom mare has a little more natural speed than the likely favorite and has collected all four of her career wins at the Big A. A romping winner of the Top Flight Invitational this spring locally, she has been away since finishing sixth in the Grade 1 Ogden Phipps in June.

Shidabhuti is the other Chad Brown entrant in the field and should also receive plenty of betting support. The daughter of Practical Joke is a stakes winner at Aqueduct and comes off a sharp victory at Keeneland this fall. Like her stablemate, however, she does her best running from well off the pace. Because of her love for the track and her ability to show early speed, Tizzy in the Sky is the top pick in this one.

My Play

• $20 Exacta Part Wheel - Tizzy in the Sky over Occult and Shidabhuti = $40

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Race #7 Remsen Stakes (Grade 2) $250,000 1 1/8-Miles Dirt - 2:36pm EST

Highly regarded recent maiden winners Keewaydin and Tux figure to vie for favoritism when they headline a field of seven juvenile males in Saturday’s Grade 2 Remsen Stakes at Aqueduct.

Trainer Chad Brown just missed in last year’s edition with Sierra Leone, who went on to win the 2024 Breeders’ Cup Classic (G1). He will be looking for better luck when he sends out Keewaydin in the 9-furlong test on Saturday. A son of first-crop sire Instagrand, the bay colt just missed in a highly competitive maiden race in Saratoga in his first start. He made amends last time with a decisive 7-furlong maiden score over the track eight weeks ago.

Chief among his competition here is the unbeaten Tux. Bred to be a good one, the son of Tapit looked like just that when he easily won his debut at Aqueduct last month for trainer Bill Mott. The LNJ Foxwoods homebred will break from the rail as he stretches out in distance off his 6 1/2-furlong win.

Others to consider in the Remsen include Poster and Studlydoright. The former is a Godolphin-homebred who has won both of his first two career starts on the turf. While the latter is a two-time stakes winner in New York, including the Nashua Stakes, which serves as the local prep for this. Because of his experience and his ability to pass horses, I am looking for Studlydoright to pull off an upset on Saturday. He is the top pick.

My Play

• $20 Win & Place - Studlydoright = $40

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Race #8 Demoiselle Stakes (Grade 2) $250,000 1 1/8-Miles Dirt - 3:05pm EST

An overpowering winner of her first two starts in Kentucky, Muhimma looks to be heavily favored when she makes her stakes debut against nine other juvenile fillies in the Grade 2 Demoiselle Stakes on Saturday at Aqueduct.

Trained by Brad Cox, who is having a big season with 2-year-old fillies, the grey daughter of Munnings was odds-on in her debut in September at Churchill Downs and rolled home by better than seven lengths. Next out, she was wrapped up late while cruising in a 7-furlong allowance race at the same track by 5 1/2-lengths. Her ability to handle a distance will be tested here as she stretches out to 9-furlongs. 

The second choice on the morning line is Beauty Reigns from the barn of Bill Mott. The well bred daughter of Into Mischief was well respected for unveiling last month at Aqueduct and responded with a game victory over a stubborn foe. She should appreciate the added distance and the experience she got in her first one should help here.

A possible longshot player in the Demoiselle is the Brittany Russell-trained Michelle. The daughter of Street Sense is bred to go long and looked good in her debut win at Laurel Park. Despite the jump up in class, I believe she has a big chance to outrun her 20/1 morning line odds. Still, it’s hard to look past how good Muhimma has looked in her first two starts. She is the top pick.

My Play 

• $5 Exacta Box - Muhimma, Michelle, and Beauty Reigns  = $30

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Race #9 Cigar Mile (Grade 2) $500,000 1-Mile Dirt - 3:35pm EST

Coming off very good performances at last month’s World Championships at Del Mar, Mullikin and Post Time look to be the ones to beat in a deep and strong field of eleven assembled for Saturday’s $500,000 Cigar Mile at Aqueduct.  

Mullikin was shuffled back at a key juncture in the $2 million Breeders’ Cup Sprint, otherwise he may have done better than his rally for third. Before that, the Grade 1 winning son of Violence had won his first four starts of the year in impressive fashion, including a win over the track in the Grade 2 Nerud Stakes. With other speed in the race, his ability to go the one-mile trip will be put to the test. 

With a strong early pace expected in the Cigar Mile, things could set up well for Post Time. The late running son of Frosted has never run a bad race and has proven himself for class this season. Coming off a strong second-place rally in the Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile in his most recent start, the 4-year-old is clearly a major player here for trainer Brittany Russell.

Plenty of other graded stakes winners are in with a real shot here, led by the trio of Book’em Danno, Locked, and Senor Buscador. The first two are both 3-year-olds and very talented, but I am looking more towards the late-running veteran, who ran second in this race last year. With strong value on the oddsboard, as well as serious back class, I am going with Senor Buscador as my top pick in the prestigious Cigar Mile.

My Play

• $20 Win & Place - Senor Buscador = $40

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