The Belmont Summer Meet continues through July 11, and one of the featured stakes races of the 59 scheduled is the $400,000 Grade II Suburban Stakes for older horses.
The two leading favorites in the six-horse field are Mystic Guide (1-1) and Happy Saver (6-5), who dueled in last fall’s Jockey Club Gold Cup, with Happy Saver the close winner. The Suburban Stakes added 1/8 of a mile and has been run at 1 1/4 miles since 2014. According to Horse Racing Radar, four of the last seven winners have won the race running closer to the pace.
However, rain is in the forecast, and a sloppy or muddy track is likely for some of Saturday’s races, including the Suburban Stakes. This makes racing more challenging, as horses can slide a bit as they stride, and have to readjust. The horses’ ability to settle can be affected, and it throws off their timing. Horse racing experts like Top Race Reports provide added insight on the races and information you can bet on for those who enjoy wagering on horse racing.
The Suburban Stakes is Race 10 from Belmont Park, with post time 5:44 p.m. EST on Saturday, July 3.
BEST HORSE RACING REBATES AND BONUSES
1 – Moretti (10-1)
- Jockey: Flavian Pratt
- Trainer: Todd Pletcher
2 – Informative (15-1)
- Jockey: Manny Franco
- Trainer: Uriah St. Lewis
3 – Prioritize (12-1)
- Jockey: Joel Rosario
- Trainer: James Bond
4 – Mystic Guide (1-1)
- Jockey: Luis Saez
- Trainer: Michael Stidman
5 – Max Player (10-1)
- Jockey: Ricardo Santana Jr.
- Trainer: Steve Asmussen
6 – Happy Saver (6-5)
- Jockey: Irad Ortiz Jr.
- Trainer: Todd Pletcher
Suburban Stakes Favorites Mystic Guide and Happy Saver
Happy Saver is undefeated in five career starts and gets to show how far he’s come from age 3 to 4. He won an Allowance race in his 2021 debut here in May and won the Grade 1 Jockey Club Gold Cup last fall at Belmont, edging by Mystic Guide in the deep stretch. Mystic Guide is the most accomplished horse in the field and has since won two races this year, including the Grade I Dubai World Cup in March. Belmont Stakes winning jockey Luis Saez rides Mystic Guide.
Happy Saver is trained by Todd Pletcher and has leading jockey Irad Ortiz Jr. riding. He’s tied with his brother Jose with 53 wins during the Belmont summer meet to lead all jockeys, with Irad’s 25% win rate the best of all riders.
Trainer Todd Pletcher also has long shot Moretti (10-1) racing, with leading West Coast rider Flavien Prat in the saddle. Moretti finished a distant second in last year’s Suburban Stakes. He covered a lot of ground when finishing a distant third in his only start this year, going 1 1/2 miles in the Brooklyn Stakes.
Max Player (10-1) finished third in last year’s Belmont Stakes and Travers Stakes.
Win and You’re In – Breeders’ Cup
The significance of the Suburban Stakes is that the winner also gets an automatic invitation to the $6 million Breeders’ Cup Classic on Nov. 6 at Del Mar. That’s part of the “Win and You’re In” Challenge Series awarding automatic fees-paid entries to winners of selected major stakes races.
