Woodbine Racetrack Odds & Picks – Woodbine Mile, Summer Stakes & More
- Three turf races Saturday in Toronto include berths to November’s Breeders Cup
- The $1 million Woodbine Mile highlights four graded stakes races on the card
- Is there an opportunity to find wagering value in Canada this weekend in your Woodbine picks?
Near Toronto’s Pearson International Airport, Woodbine Racetrack is the biggest and most prominent horse racing venue in Canada. Saturday they have three Breeders Cup Win and You’re In qualifying races, including the lucrative Woodbine Mile to handicap in your Woodbine picks.
Breeders Cup winner Modern Games will be the favorite in the Woodbine Mile, but will be challenged by an international field. Meanwhile, the $500,000 Summer Stakes and Natalma Stakes feature top turf two-year-olds.
In addition to the three grade one turf races with Breeders Cup odds ramifications, the $150,000 Grade 3 Seaway Stakes has a nice field of 10 fillies and mares going seven furlongs on Woodbine’s synthetic main track
Where can we find betting value on Saturday with our Woodbine picks? Let’s dive in.
Woodbine Picks
| Race | Pick | Odds |
|---|---|---|
| Summer Stakes | Mysterious Night | +120 |
| Seaway Stakes | Souper Sensational | +300 |
| Woodbine Mike | Modern Games | +140 |
| Natalma Stakes | Adora | +600 |
See our top Woodbine picks above from the biggest races in Toronto this weekend.
Weather in Toronto, Canada on Saturday is expected to be beautiful, in the 70’s with only a very small chance of rain. The four stakes races will be run between 4-6:30 pm ET.
Each of the three Breeders Cup Win and You’re In races are one mile challenges. The Summer leads to an expense-paid trip to the BC Juvenile Turf, the Natalma provides entrance to the BC Juvenile Fillies Turf, and the Woodbine Mile punches a ticket to the BC Mile.
Let’s look at the quartet of stakes contests.
Summer Stakes Prediction
Mysterious Night (+120) ships in from Europe for the hard-to-beat combination of trainer Charlie Appleby and jockey William Buick. He is one of only two horses in the field with multiple wins, and did so last time out against Group 3 competition in France.
Mysterious Night has won in Great Britian and France, going six and seven furlongs. The seven-furlong victory last time out is the longest anyone in the field has raced at.
Appraise (+500) won his first time out for trainer Chad Brown and top owner Klaravich Stables. He finished fourth against stakes company at Saratoga last month. Both races were at five-and-a-half furlongs.
Philip My Dear (+200) was bred for $7,500 and re-sold at auction for $100,000. It seems the second price was more accurate, as he won first time out at Woodbine, and then repeated last month against stakes horses in Toronto. His two races were six-and-a-half furlongs.
Pick: Mysterious Night (+120)
Seaway Stakes Prediction
Lady Speightspeare (+200) loves Woodbine. She has won all six of her races at the track, including each of her two tries on the main track.
Lady Speightspeare beat Dreaming of Drew (+500) last month. In fact, she has beaten that rival three times. Last time out Dreaming of Drew got out of the gate slowly. All three of their matchups have been at Woodbine, which is good for Lady Speightspeare, since she has not won in five races outside Toronto.
Like the favorite, Souper Sensational (+300) is two-for-two on Woodbine’s synthetic surface. She ran a strong second on the turf course in June, and then just missed on the Saratoga sod against Grade 3 competition last time out.
Pick: Souper Sensational (+300)
Woodbine Mile Prediction
Applebee and Buick team up with Breeders Cup Juvenile Turf winner Modern Games (+140). This is only his second race in North America, and a likely prep for the Championship’s at Keeneland the first weekend in November. Modern Games finished second to Europe’s top horse, Baaeed last time out.
Modern Games lost as the favorite in France twice this summer. That said, those were top horses he was facing and is worth a bet for your Woodbine picks this weekend.
Ivar (+400) has run in the Breeders Cup twice, finishing third and fourth. The deep closer is a Grade 1 winner, and off a long layoff beat lesser horses on July 9 in Indianapolis.
Finest Sound (+1000) is a mystery horse. He was bred in Ireland and is owned by the family that rules Dubai. He has been running competitively in good but not top-tier races across the pond.
Wakanaka (+1000) was also bred in Ireland and ran in Italy before coming to North America. His first four races in the US were against strong competition, and he produced solid performances, though no victories. He won in his Woodbine debut on July 24.
Pick: Modern Games (+140)
Natalma Stakes Prediction
Going six-and-a-half furlongs on August 20 at Woodbine, Cairo Consort (+200) beat Adora (+600) and Wickenheiser (+300).
While Cairo Consort was much the best, she got a pretty clean trip. Adora and Wickenheiser both were forced very wide on the turn. That day Wickheneiser was the +260 favorite, with Cairo Consort at +460, and Adora +915.
Adora dealt with poor racing luck better than Wickenheiser, and Adora was bred for $450,000, the most in this field. It is not clear which horse will relish the extra distance most.
G Laurie (+400) is the only horse in the field to run a mile or more. She is also the only entrant shipping in. G Laurie beat maidens at Colonial Downs in her only race. She is trained by the excellent Graham Motion, and owned by high end Madaket Stables.
Pick: Adora (+600)
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Dave Friedman has covered professional and college sports for two decades. From ESPN to the Associated Press, Regional Sports Networks, Metro Networks, and many local outlets, he has written about and broadcast major and minor events throughout the country.
