In his regular gambling blog, John Piassek presents his top picks for the upcoming weekend in horse racing, offering betting options at different budget levels. Piassek’s Plays 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.

Piassek has contributed to the horse racing sites The Racing Biz and Danonymous Racing and worked at Tioga Downs, Monmouth Park, and Saratoga Race Course. He joined America’s Best Racing in January 2021.

Belmont Park, Race 5, $400,000 Brooklyn Stakes, post time 1:47 p.m. ET

#1 Lone Rock: A field of seven older horses will race 1 1/2 miles on the dirt main track in this one. Lone Rock has established himself as the country's top long-distance horse over the past year. One of his most high-profile wins came in last year's Brooklyn, when he won by 11 lengths in a dominant performance. Since then, he's won five stakes races, with four of them coming at 1 1/2 miles or longer. He has lots of early speed and a perfect draw for his running style. If he breaks cleanly, he can protect rail position and open up a long, lonely lead. From there, he'll coast to another Brooklyn Stakes win.

Strategy on a $10 Budget

$5 to win on 1

$5 exacta: 1 with 3 

Strategy on a $25 Budget

$10 to win on 1

$9 exacta: 1 with 3

$2 trifecta: 1 with 3 with 2, 4, 7 ($6 total)

Strategy on a $50 Budget

$20 to win on 1

$18 exacta: 1 with 3

$4 trifecta: 1 with 3 with 2, 4, 7 ($12 total)

Belmont Park, Race 11, $1.5 million Belmont Stakes Presented by NYRA Bets, post time 6:44 p.m. ET

Click image to purchase shirt.

#1 We the People: This year's "Test of the Champion" drew a field of eight as we bring down the curtain on this year's Triple Crown series. We the People attracted plenty of buzz after his last start, when he won the Peter Pan Stakes by 10 1/4 lengths in a dominant gate-to-wire effort. Some have said that he won't get as easy a trip in the Belmont; however, I'm not sure that's the case. There's no one else in here who has much early speed. As such, We the People should be able to get to the front and set a very leisurely early pace. If he can turn down the fractions enough, no one will be able to catch up and he'll cruise down the stretch. He's the slight morning-line favorite, so I'm not expecting a great price on him. However, I see him as the most likely winner and I'm anticipating a repeat of his Peter Pan performance.

Strategy on a $10 Budget

$6 to win on 1

$4 exacta: 1 with 5

Strategy on a $25 Budget

$18 to win on 1

$7 exacta: 1 with 5

Strategy on a $50 Budget

$35 to win on 1

$15 exacta: 1 with 5

Belmont Park, Race 13, post time 8:05 p.m. ET

#4 Shamalamadingdong: The finale on the card is a New York-bred allowance race at six furlongs on the grass. Nine of the 12 horses in the main body of the field have already lost a race at this level, and only one has both won on grass and never lost against winners. That's Shamalamadingdong, who races for Christophe Clement and Joel Rosario. She broke her maiden in her second career grass start and first start of the year last out, stalking the pace and drawing off to win handily. She's shown great tactical speed and has lots of room for improvement in the second start of her 3-year-old season. At a 6-1 morning line, she's very likely to make a great bet.

Strategy on a $10 Budget

$7 to win on 4

$3 exacta: 4 with 12

Strategy on a $25 Budget

$15 to win on 4

$10 exacta: 4 with 12

Strategy on a $50 Budget

$28 to win on 4

$15 exacta: 4 with 12

$1 trifecta: 4 with 12 with 1, 2, 5, 6, 7, 9, 11 ($7 total)

Year-To-Date Statistics

45 starts: 8 wins, 7 seconds, 7 thirds

$10 Budget Plays: $450 bet, $368.20 returned

$25 Budget Plays: $1,125 bet, $1,030.95 returned

$50 Budget Plays: $2,250 bet, $2,073.14 returned