2011 Whitney Handicap: Horse Racing Picks from Saratoga

Written by Jake Thompson
Friday, 05 August 2011 22:39

It’s time for Saratoga horse racing picks on the entries in the 2011 Whitney Handicap.

You can catch the 2011 Whitney Handicap at Saratoga live on the Versus channel with a 5:45 PM ET post time, and our horse racing picks should help you figure out the field.  We’ve already spent some time giving out horse racing tips on the Whitney Handicap, and we hope that our betting picks will keep the hot streak going that we’ve built up in the last few months.

The Whitney Handicap is an extremely difficult race to breakdown this year because there honestly isn’t a horse in the entire field that I feel comfortable tossing from the betting picks.  Ultimately, the job of a handicapper is to figure out the likely pace and the horses that will finish on top, and I think we’ve done just that.  We’ll discuss some of the more interesting horses in the Whitney Handicap field before making horse racing picks on both the winner and the trifecta.

The first horse I need to include in my Whitney Handicap trifecta is the race favorite Flat Out at 4-1 odds.  I’ve been hearing incredible things about how this guy is training and he’s coming off a nice win in the Suburban Handicap.  He’s been inconsistent in the past but he’s finally healthy and the added maturity is going to make him tough to beat in the Whitney Handicap.

Giant Oak is another one to include in our picks, and he’s available at 5-1 odds.  The Whitney Handicap is going to be a race with mostly speed or pressing horses, and Giant Oak’s ability to close fast in the later furlongs will benefit him if the pace is as quick as I expect it to be.  He’s a wild card as to what version of Giant Oak shows up on race day, but his post position and style have me including him in the top 3.

Two Whitney Handicap entries that I won’t be including in my picks are Apart (6-1 odds) and Tizway (5-1).  Apart is starting from the #10 spot in the gate and his style just isn’t made for having to cross over the entire field in the early going.  He’ll lack positioning and will likely tire.  Tizway is showing lots of improvement but the fact of the matter is that he’s never won at longer than a mile.  There are simply too many question marks to back him at those horse racing odds.

The last horse to include in your Whitney Handicap trifecta picks came down to Rail Trip (12-1), Mission Impazible (6-1), and Morning Line (10-1).  Morning Line hasn’t been consistent lately, but still looks good at 10-1.  Mission Impazible has the stalking style to figure into exotics, but I just don’t see any value in using him in what is already a favorite-loaded trifecta.  Rail Trip is the 3rd horse I’m going with and he’s easily the most undervalued of the Whitney Handicap entries.  He’ll be racing for just the 2nd time this year and the 3rd time over his career on dirt, making a big jump in improvement likely.  He’s looked strong in these conditions before and should only continue to improve.

Whitney Handicap Picks – Trifecta Box:

Flat Out (4-1)

Giant Oak (5-1)

Rail Trip (12-1)

Whitney Handicap Picks – Winner:

Flat Out (4-1)