In The Money Telegraph
Sunday, August 2, 2026 · By ITM Staff
What a Saturday that was. Before we get to a stakes-packed Sunday, a look back at a day that went about as well as we could have hoped.
Saturday, Recapped: A Very Good Day
The one we’d circled came home. In the Grade 1 Arlington Million at Colonial Downs, Burnham Square — the horse JK singled on our show and PTF picked in his At The Races guide — settled early, launched a wide rally on the far turn, and wore down Gran Oriente late to win by a half-length in 2:00.80 over firm turf. Ian Wilkes summed up his gelding simply: “This is my John Henry.” The win came with an automatic Breeders’ Cup Turf berth, and it headlined a day when Colonial set a record handle of nearly $10.8 million.
Up at Saratoga, the Grade 2 Jim Dandy went to Renegade — JK’s pick — who dropped nearly a dozen lengths off the pace and came flying under Irad Ortiz Jr. to run down Commandment by a half-length. It was Todd Pletcher’s ninth Jim Dandy and one of five wins on the card. And in the Grade 2 Beverly D, Michael Domabyl’s top pick Gimme a Nother got up late for another ITM winner. Three of the day’s features, three of our strongest ideas right on the money.
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The Bet Share Cashed at Colonial
Saturday was a good day to be in the ITM Inner Circle bet share. Our members’ Pick 5 at Colonial came home with the Arlington Million as the payoff leg — a $496 group outlay that returned $3,696, a profit of just over $3,200. The key was the Van Clief in leg 8, where the play caught a 6-1 winner in My Boy Prince. We pressed the right horses and ended up with $9.50 worth of winning tickets.
Sunday at the Spa: the Curlin, Rescheduled
Sunday’s Saratoga card is loaded, in part because it absorbed stakes postponed by Wednesday’s washout. The headliner is the rescheduled Curlin Stakes (Race 9, 5:44 p.m. ET), where Bill Mott’s Chief Wallabee drops in for a confidence-builder as the heavy favorite — but on the show, PTF and Joe Migliore are willing to stand against him and lean to Blackout Time, the McPeek-trained colt who romped in a Churchill allowance last out. The card also features the Grade 2 Glens Falls on the turf and the Grade 3 Adirondack for juvenile fillies, plus the presentation of the Mike Venezia Award — a moment with special meaning for Joe, whose father Richard rode with the award’s namesake.
Turf-Stakes Sunday at Ellis Park
If you’re a turf fan, Ellis Park is the place to be today: a Kentucky Downs Preview Weekend built around five straight turf stakes on Sunday, feeding a late Pick 5 and offering an early look at horses pointing to the rich Kentucky Downs meet next month. Mikee P and Chris Cupples go through the whole sequence, hunting prices across the deep fields.
Around the Board: Colonial, Monmouth, and Del Mar
Michael Domabyl wraps his week of Colonial coverage with a Sunday card highlighted by a pair of juvenile stakes, the Hickory Tree and the Keswick. His strongest opinion, though, comes in Race 6, where he tops Regalo, a Brittany Russell runner he thinks controls the pace on the slight cutback. Read the Colonial card →
At Monmouth, Eric Solomon has an eight-race Sunday card — and there’s a reason to show up early: a $49,000 carryover in the Win-Early Pick 5 that starts with Race 1 (first post 12:50 p.m. ET). His top pick in the opener is Gaborone. He also flags next week’s $500 Whitney Day Monmouth/Saratoga contest, which carries a 25% on-site bonus. Read the Monmouth card →
And out west, Dean Keppler closes his week at Del Mar — his best bet is Dea Matrona in Race 10, a mare making her first start off the Doug O’Neill claim, and there’s a $2 Pick Six that kicks off in Race 5. See the Del Mar card →
And for a Change of Pace: Walk the Shed with Chad Brown
Fresh off his 11th Diana Stakes win, Chad Brown sat down with PTF from the Saratoga shedrow for the latest Walk the Shed, presented by Keeneland Sales. It’s a relaxed one — his Dunkin’ order, his perfect meal (spaghetti with white clams, naturally), and a good-natured riff on whether they’ll one day have to rename the Diana after him.
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Your Daily Edge at Saratoga and Del Mar
Nick Tammaro brings his Saratoga notebook to ITM Plus every day of the meet, and Adam Discepolo joins with full-card Del Mar analysis — detailed written selections, a play of the day, exclusive podcasts, and the members’ bet share, right through to the Breeders’ Cup.
More all week at inthemoneypodcast.com, with daily previews on the ITM YouTube channel and premium tips on ITM Plus.
