2017 Belmont Picks
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Jan 23, 2021 The Pegasus World Cup is a huge day in horse racing. It is the unofficial kickoff of the 2021 racing season.From here we will go into Kentucky Derby prep races and then, of course, the Triple. This product may only be purchased as part of a plan. See the Plans menu for available plans. The Pegasus World Cup is a huge day in horse racing. It is the unofficial kickoff of the 2021 racing season.From here we will go into Kentucky Derby prep races and then, of course, the Triple.
The Pegasus World Cup is a huge day in horse racing. It is the unofficial kickoff of the 2021 racing season. From here we will go into Kentucky Derby prep races and then, of course, the Triple Crown races of the Derby, Preakness, and Belmont Stakes. Then we head to Saratoga, Del Mar, and the Breeders’ Cup. But first, it all starts with the Pegasus at sunny Gulfstream Park down in South Florida. The Pegasus is not just the kickoff event for the racing year, no, it is a major race, with a huge purse attached to it.
2017 Belmont Picks
There are actually two Pegasus World Cup events on Saturday. The first, is the eleventh race of the day, and it is the Pegasus World Cup Turf Invitational and the purse is $1 million. The second is the twelfth race on the card and is $3 million Pegasus World Cup Invitational run on the dirt track.
For our purposes, I think it is best to look at betting these races in the form of a daily double. For those who may not bet horse racing regularly, a daily double is when you pick the winner of two consecutive races. It is kind of like a parlay, except you can add more than one horse in each race and the price of your ticket goes up correspondingly. Rather than betting the races individually, this gives you a chance for a greater payout, especially the way we are going to play it.
2017 Belmont Picks Results
If you love betting the ponies like I do, you can get some amazing odds on Kentucky Oaks futures over at Bovada (visit our Bovada Review) right now on horses like Vequist, Dayoutoftheoffice, and Millefeuille.
The Bet
In the first leg of our daily double, we are going to keep it simple. I am pressing the ALL button. This means I am using every horse in the race. The reason to do this is that I think the race is completely wide open. I don’t want to get beat by a longshot and miss out on a potentially big pay day. I don’t love the favorites in the race, Colonel Liam and Largent, nearly enough to consider using just them. For that reason, we use all twelve runners and hope for a price.
In the second leg of the double, we are doing the exact opposite. We are using one horse. That’s right, just one horse. That horse is (11) Mr. Freeze. The Dale Romans trainee has Hall of Famer Johnny Velazquez aboard and is suited perfectly for this race. If we are being honest, this is not the most dangerous field of runners in Pegasus history. Mr. Freeze was my pick last year in this race and ran a solid second. Now he returns this year with a couple of Grade 2 stakes wins under his belt in 2020, including one here at Gulfstream Park. I think the favorite, Knicks Go, will go the lead and set a pace that allows Mr. Freeze to rate in third or fourth, which is just where he wants to be heading into the final turn. He also has the benefit of a little rest coming into this race, which should put him in a prime position to run his best.
$5 Daily Double: ALL/11–$60 with Bovada
If you are interested in a longshot type bet for the main event of this card, the Pegasus World Cup Invitational, I think there is value on betting the (1) Sleepy Eyes Todd and the (3) Independence Hall across the board. This means bet them to Win, Place and Show. If the horse finishes in one of those top three positions, you will get paid and if they finish first or second, you’ll get paid more than once. At their current odds of 8-1 and 20-1, I think there is good value on both of them. Sleepy Eyes Todd has been an accomplished horse of lesser renown this year, winning at multiple tracks with multiple riders. Independence Hall a year ago was a top Kentucky Derby contender before needing time off and is now returning to the scene.
2017 Belmont Results
Longshot bet: $5 WPS (1), (3) with Bovada