Belmont Park gives us nine races today with a mix of turf and dirt, and this is definitely a card for the route handicappers with eight routes and just one sprint. Throw in a handful of maiden races and there are plenty of opportunities for the betting public to disagree about who belongs on top. Rich and Terry will put Smart Sheets to work breaking down pace, SIM Odds, speed, C-Zone, improvement patterns and race shape as we search for vulnerable favorites, overlooked contenders and value hiding in some of the day’s more ambiguous races.
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Smart Sheets Explanations: https://horseracingtoday.net/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/HRTSmartSheetsExplanations.pdf
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Rich’s Belmont Ranks
Race 1: 1 Mile – Early Speed, Outside In
6 – GUNS OF ROSES – aggressive EP edge and lone E as standout C ZONE
5 – FULL OF TACT – SIM FAV and best SIM SP# – consistent
2 – MOONLIT – most upside so far
1 – HEDGE BOOK – tough call over the 3 – Brown and Franco – better Smart Stats
$2 Double: 6/1,5,6
Race 2: 1 1/8 Miles Inner Turf – 2 Races – Outside Closers
1 – PAY THE PIPER – TLRSP# +6 – with the most upside
6 – MAJORITY INTEREST – $400k firster – vs a lot of YESes – Brown and Franco
5 – OLD TIME ROCKNROLL – Longie with the top TOTAL PACE
4 – DONNADOYAWANNA – tough call over many others – best chance to go w2w
$0.50 Pick 4: 1,6/1,5/3,4,6,8/1,2,3,9
Race 3: 1 1/16 Miles – Early Speed, Strong Rail and 8+
5 – NUANCED – pacesetter +5 ES with the most upside – top C ZONE
1 – GET A JOB – will be rolling at the end +7 LS and Top TOTAL PACE +6
3 – EZ ROLL – super consistent and drops
6 – SIDEARM – a little more upside than other considerations – best published work since
Race 4: 1 1/16 Miles Turf – Stalkers – Outside In
3 – TIZIO – 2nd race Parability puts him past the rest
6 – KOTLIKOFF – closer that popped big in lone 2nd up –
8 – PROFESSOR PROTON – YES Horse with TLRSP# +6 in July – improved every start
4 – BEFORE THE WIND – most upside and the last of the YESes – distance 5/0-4-0
$0.50 Tri Key: 3/4,6,8
Race 5: 1 Mile – Early Speed, Outside In
1 – SALVATION – SIM FAV, Top SIM SP# and TOTAL PACE
9 – FIGHTFORALLEGIANCE – class dropper for Linda Rice – consistent YES horse
2 – KNOWLEDGE SHARING – last of the YES horse at a solid price – Brown and Prat
3 – CHILI PALMER – 3rd race bounce back potential to PAR – biggest class dropper
Race 6: 1 1/8 Miles Inner Turf – 2 Races – Outside Closers
4 – CRESCENDO’S REIN – standout C ZONE with the most Upside
8 – HONOREE – SIM FAV and Top SIM SP# with best PAR+ by a decent margin
2 – COACH RYAN – ML FAV – Brown and Franco with strong run last out
1 – WILLPOWERED – Top TOTAL PACE horse – better EP and drops
$0.50 Pick 4: 2,4,8/2,3,6,8,10/2,3,5/6,9
Race 7: 1 1/16 Miles Turf – Stalkers – Outside In
2 – HETCH HETCHY – 2nd race Parability way Past Par
8 – GEORGE ST. – Only YES horse = Must Have
6 – HUNTING GOODWILL – Top Rated 1ster and the rest are noes and 1 Maybe
10 – PROPER JACK– was the 4/5 FAV in his debut at Monmouth – Brown and Prat
$3 Exacta Key Box: 2/3,6,8,9
Race 8: 6 Furlongs – Early Speed, 3/9 w2w – PP: 4-7 Dominant so Far
3 – VEKINDA – TLRSP# +5 – 5 Ways Better and Top TOTAL PACE
2 – PARTY IN THE ARMY – super consistent – ITM 6/6 on Fast – Distance 4/0-3-1
5 – RADIO RED – SIM FAV with most upside and Top C ZONE
4 – GRAND OPENING – Best SIM SP# and top Closer
$2 Double: 2,3/6
Race 9: 1 Mile – Early Speed, Outside In
6 – LEXINGTON PIKE – the only SIM SP+ >5 on the card today – TLRSP#+9
9 – THE OBLITERATOR – most upside in an wide open race
10 – WHITBY – lots of upside too – better ATB and drops in 2nd up – top C ZONE
1 – MENTOR – tough call over a lot of others – going to be closing and drops a little
$3 Exacta Key Box: 6/1,2,9,10
