Poker Stakes (Belmont Park) Predictions & Betting Odds

Front Run the Fed

The third from the barn of Chad Brown, this one has put together a solid turf record while lightly raced over the past four seasons.

His prep race in the Elusive Quality, in which he just missed the win, was very solid, and of the three Brown runners, he looks like the most likely to turn the screws on Get Smokin early.

It looks like his best distance is just a little shorter than this, but I would not be surprised at all to see him right in the thick of things in mid-stretch.

Oleksandra

The lone female in the field is an accomplished Grade 1 winner, and has a perfect 3-for-3 record at Belmont Park. Unfortunately, it is hard to know if the 7-year-old daughter of Animal Kingdom is as good as she once was.

This will also be a stretch-out in distance for the late-running sprinter.

I respect her, and clearly, she is right at home at Belmont Park, but this spot might just be a little out of her comfort zone. Of the late runners, Raging Bull is the bigger threat.

Tell Your Daddy

This son of Scat Daddy exits a pair of hard trying stakes races over the Belmont Park turf course in his last two.

While he did not win either the Elusive Quality or the Seek Again, he was right there in both. He seems to be in career-best form for new trainer TomMorley, but the Poker represents his toughest test yet.

Once again, I would suspect he’ll stalk Get Smokin, but the heat will really turn up in the last quarter mile. He is in with a chance, but I prefer others.

Penalty

Trained by Bill Mott, this one does come in off a nice win over the Belmont Park turf course.

The sharp victory at 7 furlongs does give some credibility to his chances on Sunday, but it did come against allowance company.

In fact, he has never won a stakes race in his 16-race career, and this looks like a tough spot to earn his first.

Having said that, at his best, he can compete with strong horses. If you are looking for a longshot to use in the exotics, this could be one to give a second look.

Sanctuary City

This improving 4-year-old son of Temple City comes into the Poker off a three-race winning streak, including over the same course and distance last time.

None of the three came in stakes racing, however, and only the most recent came in open company.

Because of this, I am hard-pressed to like his chances despite his excellent current form.

Raased

It’s not often you see a horse who won off by more than ten lengths as the longest shot in the race, but this lightly-raced son of Tapit is making a gigantic step up in class.

He only broke his maiden two starts back at Tampa Bay Downs and in his romp, it came in a conditioned allowance race which was taken off the turf at Monmouth Park.

He may have some talent, but he’s not for me in this spot.

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