By Matt Shifman and Bob Ehalt

1^st race – [Md Sp Wt, 7F] - (8) My Sherrona (D) was bet down from 5-1 to 5-2, finished fourth, and now comes back from a six-month layoff and changes to the barn of Bill Mott. (4) Cold Spell was second in her debut at 7-2 in April for Wesley Ward in what was a very fast race in which the third-place horse came back to win her next start. (3) Pippa Adds set the pace in her second race in April and ended up second at 2-1 for Todd Pletcher. (5) Fusion finished in a dead heat for second in her first start in March as an odds-on favorite.

2^nd race – [OC 80k/N2X, 7F] - (3) Life and Times did not run until he was a 4-year-old last year and won his first two races by combined 12 lengths and then finished third in a pair graded stakes this year. (4) Incentive Pay ran twice at Saratoga as a 2-year-old and was third in the Hopeful (G3) in 2024. He returned to racing this spring at Aqueduct and won an allowance. (7) Contrary Thinking ran in the Breeders’ Cup Classic and in April set the pace and finished third in an allowance and now changes barns to Amelia Green. (9) Senior Officer ran twice in 2024 and then came back in March of 2026 to win an allowance at Keeneland in April.

3^rd race – [OC 80k/N2X, 1 1/16 mi TURF] – (8) Intellect finished second in four races in a row including three Saratoga graded stakes races. (6) Tenacious Leader was second in a Grade 3 at Saratoga as a 2-year-old and last year at Keeneland. He has one start this year in a very salty allowance. (9) Candytown returns from a winter layoff with stakes experience. (2) Signator moves to the Brad Cox barn and is a past stakes winner on the Laurel Park grass.

4^th race – [OC 55k/N1X), 6 ½ F] – (2) Naïve Melody came back from a year layoff and won the second-level allowance for NY-breds. Last year she beat a field of boys by almost six lengths. (7) Helen’s Revenge won 5 out of her last 7 starts including both NY-bred allowance conditions. (4) Speightful Lily has been away for a year and was stakes-placed in a NY-bred stakes race and changes barns with first-time Lasix. (3) Steer Clear broke her maiden at Saratoga last year and then finished fourth in the Frizette (G1) after setting the pace.

5^th race – [Alw 120000 N1X, 1 1/16 mi TURF] – (2) Eponine was second in a Group 2 race at Chantilly in France and was third in the Lake Placid (G2) at Saratoga last summer. (10) Imperatrice moved from dirt to turf and finished second in the Memories of Silver in April at Aqueduct after setting the pace. (1) Etawa was a maiden winner at Dundalk in Ireland and then had a pair of top three finishes in American allowances. (9) Marketplaceofideas ran her best race to break her maiden following a three-month layoff at the Big A for Chad Brown.    

6^th race – [Alw 120000 N1X, 6 ½ F] – (5) Local Knowledge debuted at Keeneland in October at 5-2 and rallied from the back of a 12-horse field to be a clear winner. (8) Sea Strike won his only race as an odds-on favorite in April when he closed from last to win by more than two lengths and sold for $650,000 as a 2-year-old son of a $15,000 stallion. (1) Playa Del Mar has worked his way up from a $50,000 N2L claimer to a starter allowance with a pair of wins by a combined margin of more than 16 lengths. (7) Brigantine Bullet broke his maiden in his second start by almost six lengths in April at Aqueduct after a first race at Monmouth Park in August.

7^th race – [Just A Game (G1), 1 mi TURF] – (3) Segesta won her last two starts in Grade 1 races at Del Mar and Keeneland. Overall she has four graded stakes victories for Chad Brown. (1) Classic Q made his first start in 2026 on the Kentucky Derby undercard and won the Distaff Turf (G2). (4) Mandanaba won a Group 3 in 2025 and a stakes at Longchamp in France in April. (2) Sandtrap was second in a Group 3 at Deauville in France in 2024 and came back in April to win an allowance by more than four lengths for Chad Brown.

8^th race – [True North (G3), 6 ½ F] – (3) Bentornato won the 2025 Breeders’ Cup Sprint (G1) and then was second in the Dubai Golden Shaheen (G1) in March. In 12 starts he only finished in the top three. (6) Book’em Danno won four times at Saratoga including three times last year and this race also. He missed by a neck in 2026 debut in April in the Carter (G2). (2) Imagination won the Riyadh Dirt Sprint (G2) in Saudi Arabia in February and was second behind Bentornato in the Breeders’ Cup. (8) Illuminaire won his last two races for Todd Pletcher.

9^th race – [Jaipur (G1), 5 ½ F TURF] – (9) Twenty Six Black (A) was second in the Elusive Quality at Aqueduct following a six month layoff when he scraped the rail trying to move through tight quarters. (6) Ag Bullet won this race last year when this mare beat the boys. Since then she won the Ladies Turf Sprint (G2) at Kentucky Downs, was second in the Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint (G1), got third in the Matriarch later in November. (5) Reef Runner won the Turf Sprint (G2) in February in Saudi Arabia. (3) Litigation ran in a series of very fast races and won twice at Gulfstream in the winter.

10^th race – [Woody Stephens (G1), 7F] – (6) Crude Velocity began his career in March and is undefeated in three starts. Most recently he won the Pat Day Mile (G2) by almost four lengths. He cuts back to seven furlongs which should be his ideal distance. (5) Solitude Dude won his first three races combined by more than 20 lengths and then they tried the Kentucky Derby trail and ran third. He cut back to seven furlongs in the Bay Shore in April and won again. (2) Obligation will get plenty of speed to set up his closing style which he used to win on the dirt four times. (7) Englishman is another one of the fast front runners in this field.

11^th race – [Met Mile (G1), 1 mi] - (1) Nysos moves back to his best distance and has never run a bad race with 7 wins and a pair of seconds. In February he was second behind Forever Young in the Saudi Cup (G1) after having the lead. (3) Antiquarian is in top form as a 5-year-old following a series of excellent works in Florida and a win in the Westchester (G3) which is the local prep race. (7) Journalism makes his second start of the year after battling with the top two horses in the older male division. (6) Knightsbridge threw in a clunker in the Churchill Downs (G1) after three graded stakes wins in a row at Gulfstream.

12^th race – [Manhattan (G1), 1 3/16 mi TURF] - (5) Deterministic won 6 out of his last 8 starts with wins in his last four in a row including this race last year. (6) Bright Picture comes from France where he had Group 2 and 3 victories and a second in a Group 1 at Longchamp in April. (7) Rhetorical won the Turf Classic (G1) at Churchill last month and the Turf Mile (G1) at Keeneland in October. (8) One Stripe was second in a pair of Grade 1 races in January and April.

13^th race – [Belmont Stakes (G1), 1 1/4 mi] – (8) Emerging Market was up too close to the pace in the Kentucky Derby and as a result tired down the stretch. He and his rider should benefit from that experience. He was my pick then and I will give him another chance here. (4) Renegade got forced too far back in the Derby after a rough trip and still got to the lead before a close second-place finish. (3) Chief Wallabee faced the best of the 3-year-old division in all four starts and was a very good fourth in the Derby. (9) Golden Tempo raced from last to first to become the Kentucky Derby winner and is expected to be far back again which is not ideal in the Belmont.

14^th race – [Alw 120000 N1X, 1 mi TURF] – (10) Outrunner comes back from a winter layoff and shows a pair of third-place finishes in graded stakes amongst five top three placings. (5) Favorable Scenario has three turf performances that are good enough to win this race as he returns from a January layoff. (9) Griffin’s Wharf was second in April in a first-level allowance at Aqueduct. (8) Elnajd moves from three fast dirt sprints to the turf and is from the family of a Kitten’s Joy mare.