by ITM Staff
ITM Telegraph — Saturday, May 30, 2026
Your daily briefing on what to watch, read, and bet from In The Money Media and the world of horse racing.
🐎 Today’s Racing
Stephen Foster Preview Day with Chris Cupples — Presented by the Kentucky Thoroughbred Development Fund. Mikee P and Chris Cupples go race-by-race through all seven graded stakes at Churchill. Chris’s strongest play: Indigo Woods in the Regret (G3). Hit Show on top in the Blame. Gates open 11:30 AM ET, coverage on FS1/FS2 from 12:30 PM.
Woodbine Saturday with Drew Coatney — PTF and Breeders’ Cup Betting Challenge champ Drew Coatney preview the Bel Mahon (G3), Eclipse (G2), and Jacques Cartier (G3). Don’t miss the $5 minimum, 15% takeout Woodbine Stakes Pick Three (races 6-7-9, listed as a separate card on your ADW). Drew’s bankroll play: Mayox Bay to win in the Eclipse, rolled into the Jacques Cartier.
Monmouth Saturday with Eric Solomon — PTF and Eric examine the late Pick 5, the Cliff Hanger Stakes, and the Jersey Derby on the turf. Eric’s top play: Neat in the Cliff Hanger. Full written analysis also at inthemoneypodcast.com.
👉 Santa Anita Selections & Analysis (Saturday) — Dean Keppler
Dean locks in on a deserving 5-year-old maiden in Race 6 who’s hit the board in six of seven lifetime starts — and finds a sharp bullet worker returning from seven months off in the same race. Full selections and commentary for all nine.
👉 Laurel Park Tips and Trips (Saturday) — Will Humphrey
Will’s trip notes flag three significant upgrades on Saturday’s Laurel card — including a front-runner who deserves a pace upgrade after setting closer-friendly fractions and still holding on. Selections, trip notes, and Horses to Follow for all nine.
👉 UK & Ireland Weekend Preview — Steven Bonnick
Low-key weekend across the water with the Epsom Derby casting a long shadow. Steven Bonnick finds the angles worth playing at stiff, right-handed tracks.
🏇 Belmont Week Begins
Golden Tempo completed his final Belmont breeze this morning at Keeneland with Jose Ortiz aboard, per FanDuel Racing. Full clocker details pending. DeVaux told the NTRA teleconference Thursday that she wants to see GT more forwardly placed in the Belmont after sitting 18¼ lengths back at the first call in the Derby. “If there’s not a contentious pace, he should be closer in theory.” Jose Ortiz can now “get him closer earlier or start his run earlier” with the blinkers that were added before the Derby. GT ships to Saratoga Sunday and arrives Monday morning. (Paulick Report) DRF’s David Grening notes the lack of early speed in the Belmont field could be a negative for both GT and Renegade, who closed from deep in the Derby — which makes DeVaux’s desire to position GT more forwardly all the more significant. (DRF)
Pletcher banking on contrasting styles. Pletcher told Paulick Report that the lack of early speed could actually benefit Powershift, who showed front-running ability in his maiden win on Derby day, while Renegade is “adaptable” enough to handle a slower pace. The two entries could complement each other tactically. (Paulick Report) PTF and Nick Tammaro discussed exactly this possibility earlier this week — watch their Early Belmont Thoughts here.
Post-position draw is Monday, June 1 at 5 PM ET. Post time for the Belmont Stakes is 7:04 PM ET on Saturday, June 6, live on FOX.
Latest overseas odds via Oddschecker:
| Horse | Jockey | Best Price |
| Renegade | Irad Ortiz Jr. | 7/4 |
| Chief Wallabee | Junior Alvarado | 9/2 |
| Golden Tempo | Jose Ortiz | 13/2 |
| Commandment | John Velazquez | 13/2 |
| Emerging Market | Flavien Prat | 10/1 |
| Growth Equity | Manny Franco | 12/1 |
| Ocelli | Tyler Gaffalione | 20/1 |
| Powershift | TBA | 20/1 |
| Ottinho | Dylan Davis | 25/1 |
| Vitruvian Man | Antonio Fresu | 50/1 |
Also Around the Sport
Napoleon Solo sold, will stand at Lane’s End upon retirement. The Preakness winner changes hands; breeding future secured at one of Kentucky’s premier stallion farms. (Paulick Report)
Stephen Foster purse doubled to $2 million. Churchill’s June 27 showpiece is now the summer’s biggest dirt race, with Sovereignty, Magnitude, and White Abarrio all expected. (Turf Diario)
Elmont/Belmont Parade this morning. Steps off at 10 AM from Gate 5 at Belmont Park. Nassau County Police Officer Patricia Espinosa posthumously honored as Grand Marshal. (NYRA)
DeVaux joins TRF Belmont Pledge alongside Tom Morley and Graham Motion, committing a portion of Belmont Festival earnings to retired racehorses. (TDN)
🎙️ From ITM: Legends of Broadcasting Week
Tom Durkin: “A Life’s Calling” — Tom Durkin sits down with PTF to talk about his new book, A Life’s Calling: The Voice Behind the World’s Greatest Horse Races (Bloomsbury, 2026). Among the highlights: the gigantic lie his buddy Jim Forret told a stranger on Highway 41 that launched his entire career, the 1987 Breeders’ Cup Classic that nearly made him quit, the hypnosis technique that used the Twin Spires as a mental trigger, how agent Sandy Montag got him “Rolls Royce money” from NBC on the back of the John Madden negotiation, and his all-time favorite call — the first Breeders’ Cup Classic in 1984. Durkin speaks at the National Museum of Racing on June 3, free and open to the public. The book is available now on Amazon and at Northshire Books in Saratoga Springs.
Watch the full conversation and drop your favorite Tom Durkin race call in the comments — we’ll be doing a follow-up.
Donna Brothers: Embrace the Belmont III — Donna Brothers rejoins PTF for her first visit since retiring from NBC after 26 years and all 26 of the network’s Kentucky Derby broadcasts. Donna previews the third and final Embrace the Belmont event — Tuesday, June 2, 5:00–7:30 PM at Universal Preservation Hall, Saratoga Springs. She talks about what drove her to create the event for the year-round Saratoga community, the work of charity partner Therapeutic Horses of Saratoga — which gives retired racehorses second careers in equine-assisted psychotherapy — and what Cherie DeVaux’s historic Derby win means in light of her own mother being one of the first half-dozen women licensed as a jockey in 1969. VIP guests include DeVaux and Jenna Antonucci, the first woman to train a Belmont Stakes winner. Tickets: THSaratoga.org — $58 GA / $158 VIP.
🎯 ITM Plus — Belmont + Saratoga Deal
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