Saturday At 'The Spa': Saratoga Race Course Picks For 'Diana Day,' July 12

Ignore the Belmont's July 4th Racing Festival held at Saratoga Race Course because the official start of Saratoga's 2025 summer meet is July 10. Saratoga is on my Mount Rushmore for "Favorite Places in the World." The nightlife is raucous, the energy is infectious, and the restaurant scene is robust. 

I grew up in Saratoga County and went to the track with my late grandma, who was my favorite person ever. My high school graduation was at Saratoga Performing Arts Center. My graduation party/banger was at Saratoga State Park. And, for the second straight summer, my family is getting a VRBO in Saratoga and heading to the track. 

For the next eight weeks, the sacred grounds of the Saratoga Race Course are the center of the horse racing world, and I'll be betting on the ponies every Saturday this summer. Unfortunately, since four turf races have been moved to the dirt due to rain, leading to a bunch of scratches, I'm only betting three races on Diana Day. 

2025 ‘Diana Day’ Betting Card 

• Race 8: $20 Win on #7 Far Bridge and $5 Exacta (7,2).
• Race 10: $10 Win on #7 Illuminare and $1 Trifecta Box (4,7,10) for a $6 total bet.
• Race 11: $25 Win on #5 Dynamic Pricing.

Race 8: Grade 2 Bowling Green Stakes, 4:29 p.m. ET post time 

Seven horses on the one-and-three-eighth-mile inner turf track for 4-year-olds and upward with a $200,000 purse. 

#7 Far Bridge (6-5). Trainer Miguel Clement took the reins for his legendary father and Saratoga regular, Christophe, who died earlier this year. Far Bridge finished third in the Grade 1 Manhattan in Saratoga last month in her first race for Miguel. That said, there is a "sports-y, feel-good" reason to back Far Bridge on The Spa turf. 

More importantly, she is by far the fastest and most accomplished horse in the field. Far Bridge has three 100+ Beyer Speed Figures, and no other horse has run that fast. She’s been the top betting choice seven times and has won four of them. I hate taking the favorites at Saratoga, but I don’t like any other horse in this race. 

Underneath Far Bridge, I'm using #2 El Rezeen in my Exacta. Jockey Dylan Davis is mounting El Rezeen again, and they won back-to-back races together in Saratoga last summer before trainer Todd Pletcher turned to jockey Irad Ortiz Jr. for his last two races, which were a third and a second. 

Race 10: Optional Claiming Race, 5:36 p.m. ET post time 

Ten horses on the seven-furlong dirt track for 3-year-olds and upward with a $120,000 purse. 

#7 Illuminare (8-1). He won his first two races in Saratoga last year at seven furlongs and is tied for the second-best Beyer Speed Figure (98). Illuminare has won all three of his races on Lasix, and he’s running on Lasix Saturday. Also, this is a sprint, and he has the third-fastest early speed (104) in this race. 

The Pletcher trainee has been the top betting choice in three of his five career races, and this is the best price to date because he left a bad taste in bettors’ mouths, finishing eighth out of 10 rivals in the Grade 3 Mr. Prospector in December 2024, his last time out. 

I'm using him in a Trifecta box with #4 General Partner and #10 Concrete Glory. General Partner has the best jockey-trainer (Flavien Prat and Chad Brown) combo in this field. He's won three times in four career starts at The Spa, and his two fastest speeds have been at Saratoga, including a victory here last month. Concrete Glory has the fastest early speed in this race (125) and is 4-0 at this distance. 

Race 11: Grade 1 Diana Stakes, 6:14 p.m. ET post time 

Five horses on the one-and-one-eighth-mile inner turf track for 4-year-old fillies and mares and upward with a $500,000 purse. 

#5 Dynamic Pricing (9-2). Trainer and Saratoga native Chad Brown "prints money" on The Spa’s turf. Brown has won eight of the previous nine Dianas, including three straight. Dynamic Pricing is peaking as a four-year-old, winning both races this season: Grade 3 Beaugay and Grade 1 Just A Game. 

Her latter win was on the Saratoga turf, where she ran her fastest race ever, a 100 Beyer. Another Saratoga native, jockey Dylan Davis, rides Dynamic Pricing, so her local connections help her at The Spa. Lastly, she has made the Trifecta in five of her seven career Graded races, with three wins and two shows. 

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Follow me on X (or Twitter, whatever) @Geoffery-Clark, and check out my OutKick Bets Podcast for more betting content and random rants. Track my Saratoga Race Course picks during the 2025 summer meet here.