In The Money Telegraph
Friday, July 31, 2026 · By ITM Staff
Twenty dollars, a good cause, and a real shot at the big dance — that’s Tour Friday. Then it’s on to one of the best cards of the summer.
Play the Tour Today — $20 to Chase a Breeders’ Cup Seat
It’s Friday, which means the ITM HorsePlayers Tour is live — and it remains the most affordable on-ramp to the Breeders’ Cup we know of. Just $20 to enter, a simple Pick & Pray format across a card of Saratoga and Del Mar races, and all proceeds go to Breeders’ Cup Charities. Entries close at 4:34 p.m. ET.
And there are two ways to win your way in: finish in roughly the top 10% and you earn a seat into Saturday’s BCBC Qualifier; finish in the top four in any Tour feeder this season and you punch a ticket to the ITM Tour Playoffs, which award their own $10,000 Breeders’ Cup Betting Challenge seat at no extra cost. PTF and Matt Bernier preview the contest races to get you started.
Tomorrow: a Loaded Arlington Million
Saturday brings one of PTF’s favorite cards of the year: the Grade 1 Arlington Million, run these past few seasons at Colonial Downs as the centerpiece of the track’s Festival of Racing. He and JK dig into a deep renewal — and both land on the same headliner. Burnham Square, who chased Sovereignty home in last year’s Triple Crown races before blossoming into a grass star with graded wins at Keeneland and Churchill, is JK’s clear top choice, chasing a first Grade 1 on turf.
The knock is the mile-and-a-quarter trip, but the crew makes the case that his big graded dirt form at shorter distances says the class and speed will carry — the concern you’d have with a long-winded European doesn’t apply here. He’ll need to answer it against a serious field, including last year’s winner Fort Washington, the near-three-time Grade 1 winner Test Score, and Integration. It anchors an All-Stakes Pick 5 that also features the Grade 2 Secretariat and the Grade 2 Beverly D.
Michael Domabyl is on the ground for the whole Colonial meet, too. He has a Friday card up to build a little bankroll before the big day — his standout is Yo Adrian in Race 5 — and his full Festival of Racing card for Saturday is already posted. Read Friday’s card →
Today’s Cards: Monmouth and Del Mar
Eric Solomon is back with his Friday Monmouth Park card — a six-race program to close out July, first post 2:00 p.m. ET. His top pick in the opener is Wicked Sweet, and there’s a $3 Jersey Shore-6 wager on the program for the multi-race players. Read the Monmouth card →
And out west, Dean Keppler has his Del Mar Friday selections up. His best bet is Her Names Charlie in Race 3, a Golden Pal filly he makes the deserving favorite off a sharp turf debut second, expecting the normal second-out step forward. See the Del Mar card →
And Don’t Forget Saturday’s Challenge
Today’s Tour feeder rolls right into a huge Saturday at Saratoga, where NYRA Bets’ rejuvenated contest program returns with the Jim Dandy Challenge — NHC seats back in the fold, and a seeded BCBC seat on the line. If you’re chasing a seat this weekend, there’s more than one road in. Here’s how it works →
ITM Plus
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, and exclusive podcasts 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.
