Longshot of the Day: Race 6 at Saratoga
Track: Saratoga Racecourse
Race 6: $75K optional claimer going 1 3/8 miles on the turf for 3+
Post Time: 4:06 PM ET
Horse: #3 Freedom’s Way (6/1 morning line) use as a win bet at 9/2 or higher.
Going long on the turf is typically an opportunity for value as the fields tend to be evenly matched and there are rarely dominant horses within this class level. Freedom’s Way is a hard-knocking horse who has hit the board in half of his 20 career starts. The biggest knock on this Eddie Kenneally trainee is that he does not win enough given his 2-20 record, but he also is coming up to New York and Saratoga for the first time after running at Fair Grounds, Keeneland, and Churchill Downs for the vast majority of his career. He’s run against some solid company like Tucson, Noises Off, and What Say Thee. He is remarkably consistent as well having run between 79-88 Beyer Speed Figure (BSF) in every start dating back to 2022. Additionally, his last three races have shown improved speed as he nearly got the job done last time out at this distance and level having lost by a head at the wire. The son of Declaration of War also holds a key attribute for today, which is tactical speed. While the turf course has played more fairly the last two weeks, you still have seen horses do well that are forwardly positioned, and jockey Luis Saez should have Freedom’s Way near the front of the field going around. Kenneally does not ship up to Saratoga often, but over the last five years he has been 3-12 (25%) winning at The Spa with 50% of his runners hitting the board. When drilling down to just his turf starters, he’s 2-6 (33%) ending up in the winner’s circle. While the sample size is small, it is promising to see that when he ships up to New York, he typically does so with a horse that has a real chance. The fact he is opting to run here over keeping the horse at Kentucky and finding a spot for him to run at Ellis Park is encouraging as the horse is in the best form of his career, has a top-class jockey, and should sit an ideal trip at a respectable price.