Delmar has similar premier racing on the west coast.

Saratoga has a wonderful mountain climate that horses seem to love.Trainers come from across the country to try for large purses and national attention.

That being the case,how do we factor in horses, trainers and jockeys that we don't see on a regular basis at NYRA tracks?

Todd Pletcher is usually the leading trainer at Saratoga, but Linda Rice won the training title last year with much less racing stock. Both will be dangerous again.

William Mott is back to his winning ways. He was fortunate to inherit some of Bobby Frankel's horses and has done a remarkable job with them.

Winning Combinations: Kent Desormeaux / Bill Mott are particularly effective on the grass and that combo has proven over the years to produce winners and at very nice prices. They succeeded many times at the current Belmont meet.

Barclay Tagg is a turf specialist and often teams up with Cornelio Velasquez to win races.Tagg has his runners sharp and ready for the spa.

Todd Pletcher continues to prove he is the leading trainer in the country rolling out some very impressive 2 year olds, as well as winning major stakes at the meet. Look for Super Saver, the Kentucky Derby winner, to run at the spa.

I will continue to update you with more information and useful handicapping tools during the next weeks as the Saratoga Spa season gets underway.

Michael Todd