Cover photo by NYRA/Adam Coglianese.

In Spa Selections, Saratoga correspondent Joseph Aiello provides Saratoga picks for a handful of key races at Saratoga, including all of the exciting stakes action!

Follow along all meet with all the exciting action (and good betting opportunities)!

Check out our other handicapping here!

Race 7 – Alw 105000n1x

1. #9 Silly Season (4-1) – Loses Prat to Factory Setting but picks up Franco for Chad Brown and could have a tactical advantage over her stablemate even with the ability to pass tiring horses as well

2. #11 Charlottesuniverse (4-1) – Competitive speed figures and has run against better fields than the Chad Brown duo that comes from maiden wins, plus held for second on the distance stretch last time

3. #8 Factory Setting (7-2) – Top connections enter this filly off the bench following a maiden win over this track that showed clear improvement and should be a threat here

4. #4 Considerate City (9-2) – Comes out of a state bred stakes race with a solid place finish, and has a good record in the money with half of her races ending as a runner up but should be competitive here

Race 8 – Mdn 115k

1. #2 Zatopek (4-1) – First timer for Brown with Prat riding and has worked frequently this month with good upside here against this still inexperienced group

2. #4 Originality (6-1) – Debuts for Pletcher who uses Castellano for just the second time this meet and has worked well over the Saratoga track including a five furlong bullet two works back

3. #8 Spherical (6-1) – Has shown gradual improvement with his biggest jump coming on the surface change to dirt two back and can be a winner with another slight step forward here

4. #5 Summer of George (12-1) – Bogus Operandi was solid in his debut, but likely won’t be good value running against lesser while this sneaky jockey trainer combo looks to break through this meet

Race 9 – Bernard Baruch Stakes

1. #3 Pass the Hat (5-2) – A rare field where truly any runner can win, but this horse comes out of two grade III races including a win and has shown sharp speed this year

2. #5 Running Bee (9-2) – Could be one who did has done best running already, but does have the previous form that bests Uncle’s Gold and has won both tries over this turf course

3. #1 Fort Washington (10-1) – Class dropper hasn’t been winning but has run against stiffer competition than Salamis and Risk Tolerance who enter off of their best efforts into here

4. #8 Taking Candy (5-1) – Kupuna may have a stronger late kick than this first time gelding, but his recent graded tries have been competitive plus has multiple wins over the track and at the distance

Race 10 – MC 50000

1. #9 Before the Wind (4-1) – Gets much needed class relief with his strongest races coming in the fall while also running well off a layoff which he comes off of here

2. #8 Beau Cheval (8-1) – Should be making a late move into the mix here after failing as the favorite last time at the distance but has competitive races compared to this group

3. #10 Gilbane (3-1) – Trending in the right direction since dropping in class, with one of the better races in this field last time out and could be a winner building off of that try

4. #6 The Great Eight (12-1) – Gelding by Freud debuts here for Bruce Brown and gets the nod over some starters due to their lack of upside and value compared to the top contenders

CHECK OUT THE LATEST OFF TO THE RACES RADIO!