Dan’s Double of the Week, featuring handicapping analysis from America's Best Racing's New York correspondent Dan Tordjman, is brought to you by Horseplayers.com, the official online qualifying site of the Breeders' Cup Betting Challenge (BCBC) and National Horseplayers Championship (NHC). Horseplayers.com offers low-cost feeders every day and BCBC and NHC qualifiers every weekend, and it’s the only site where you can qualify for the $1 million BCBC. It’s free to sign up – click here to get information about registering and how to enter contests.

When it comes to making money when handicapping races and betting on horse racing, it’s all about picking winners. Tordjman – @DanonymousMan to those who follow him on Twitter – is one of the sharpest horseplayers around.

Each Week, Tordjman will provide readers with his two best bets of the weekend and strategies for how to bet them. Good luck! 

Saturday, Sept. 26

Santa Anita Park, Race 7, $300,000 Rodeo Drive Stakes, 6:30 p.m. ET

#7 Catch the Eye: Despite not picking up any wins in her three most-recent races, she seems to be getting better with each start. Last out in the Grade 2 John C. Mabee Stakes, she sat second to last for most of the race while a loose pacesetter enjoyed an easy trip up front. When she was finally asked for run, Catch the Eye made up a significant amount of ground and finished within a length and a half of the wire-to-wire winner. Catch the Eye also galloped out nicely ahead of the field. If you go back to her race prior, she made another really nice move to close within a length of Maxim Rate despite being positioned well off a very slow pace. One other positive sign here is that she gets an upgrade in jockey to a more experienced rider in Victor Espinoza.

Strategy on a $10 Budget 

$5 to win, place on #7 Catch the Eye ($10)

Strategy on a $25 Budget 

$8 to win, place on #7 Catch the Eye ($16)

$1 trifecta: 6,7 with 1,6,7 with 1,3,6,7 ($8)

Strategy on a $50 Budget

$15 to win, place on #7 Catch the Eye ($30)

$8 exacta: 7 with 6 ($8)

$1 trifecta: 1,6,7 with 1,6,7 with 1,3,6,7 ($12)

Santa Anita Park, Race 8, $300,000 American Pharoah Stakes, 7 p.m. ET

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#2 Rombauer: This colt won his career debut on the turf. Rombauer then came back to run a better race than it would appear that he did based on the final result (sixth in the Del Mar Juvenile Turf) in his most recent start. He didn’t break all that well in that race and was left with way too much work to do while sitting far off a very slow pace. Yet, he lost by only two lengths in the end. It’s Interesting to see Mike Smith land on him here after not riding him previously. Additionally, there’s a wild stat that I uncovered for trainer Michael McCarthy. In the past five years, when he’s gone turf to dirt with a 2-year-old, he’s won with eight of his 13 starters and 10 of the 13 have hit the board. We could get an inflated price here on a horse who has every right to improve in his third career start.  

Strategy on a $10 Budget 

$2 win, place, show on #2 Rombauer ($6)

$1 exacta: 1,8 with 2,5,8 ($4)

Strategy on a $25 Budget

$4 win, place, show on #2 Rombauer ($12)

$1 exacta box: 2,5,8 ($6)

$1 exacta key box: 2 with 4,5,8 ($6)

Strategy on a $50 Budget

$8 win, place, show on #2 Rombauer ($24)

$1 exacta box: 2,5,8 ($6)

$5 exacta: 2 with 5,8 ($10)

$3 exacta: 2 with 1,4 ($6)

$1 exacta: 1,4,5,8 with 2 ($4)

Last Week’s Earnings: $0

2020 Earnings: $4,021.68