HorseCenter: Saratoga opening weekend top picks

This week on HorseCenter, Brian Zipse and Matt Shifman celebrate opening weekend at Saratoga. Your hosts handicap and offer top picks for a loaded edition of the Grade 1 Diana and take a look at the 2024 juvenile class with the historic Sanford Stakes (G3).

The Diana, which is the traditional first Grade 1 race at the Saratoga meeting, drew a top-notch field of older female turf runners. Included in the field are five $1 million earners and five horses from the barn of Chad Brown. Brown has eight victories in the Diana, including seven of the last eight editions of the prestigious race. Chili Flag, who leads the Brown group, will vie for favoritism with Didia.

The Sanford will follow the Diana on the first Saturday card of the meeting. Eight 2-year-olds will race six furlongs, led by the probable favorite Mentee who is trained by Todd Pletcher. The Hall of Fame trainer won the Sanford eight times, and jockey John Velazquez has seven victories.

Matt and Brian take turns with long-shot selections in this weekend’s featured races. Stayed tuned for more Saratoga features on HorseCenter, and thanks for watching the show.