Bovada

With the recently announced retirement of Triple Crown winner Justify, the odds have suddenly improved for a number of other horses to capture big races leading up to the 2018 Breeders' Cup Classic. One of those goes on Saturday at Monmouth Park with the running of the $1 million (G1) Haskell Invitational Stakes. Justify was once expected to be in the field, but the door is now open for his main rival.

A group of old foes will be meeting up again on Saturday afternoon to battle it out at Saratoga Race Course in the $600,000 (G2) Jim Dandy Stakes. The compact field of five features four three-year-old colts that were involved in the chase for the Triple Crown this past spring, all of them looking for a measure of redemption.

The two fastest three-year-old fillies in North America will renew their rivalry on Sunday when Monomoy Girl and Midnight Bisou go head-to-head in the $300,000 (G1) Coaching Club America Oaks at Saratoga Race Course. Between them, they have won eight of their last nine races and last met in the 2018 Kentucky Oaks in May, where Monomoy Girl prevailed.

The first weekend of the 2018 Saratoga race meet includes the first Grade 1 race on the Saratoga schedule with the running of the $500,000 Diana Stakes on Saturday afternoon. Open to fillies and mares running 1 1/8 miles on the Saratoga turf course, the Diana has drawn a competitive international field of seven horses loaded with previous Grade 1 racing success.

One of two 'Win And You're In' qualifying events on Saturday for the 2018 Breeders' Cup World Championship, the winner of the (G2) Princess Rooney Stakes will grab an automatic starting spot in the BC Filly & Mare Sprint. Eight have drawn into the Princess Rooney, where they'll run for a purse of $250,000 racing seven furlongs on the Gulfstream Park dirt track.

On the undercard of Saturday's Queen's Plate at Woodbine, the (G1) Highlander Stakes is a 'Win And You're In' qualifying race for the 2018 Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint. The race has drawn an eclectic mix of 10 runners, representing four countries and four different US states. They'll race six furlongs in the Woodbine turf course, chasing the Breeders' Cup berth and a total purse of $250,000. 

A couple of weeks after Justify claimed the US Triple Crown, the Canadian Triple Crown kicks off on Saturday with the 159th Queen's Plate from Woodbine Race Track in Toronto. Open to Canadian-bred three-year-old colts and fillies, they'll race 1 1/4 miles on the tapeta surface for a total purse of $1 million. The race has drawn a field of 16, all trying to become the first Canadian Triple Crown winner since 2003.

Starting June 19 and continuing over the next four days the historic Royal Ascot race meet hosts 30 flat races on turf offering up almost $10 million in purse money. Four of those races should be of particular interest to North American horseplayers, as they are 'Win And You're In' qualifying races for the 2018 Breeders' Cup Championships at Churchill Downs this coming November.

As part of the 2018 Breeders' Cup World Championships qualifying series, the (G1) Stephen Foster Handicap from Churchill Downs on Saturday night is a 'Win And You're In' Event for the BC Classic. Whichever of the nine colts that hits the finish line first will gain an automatic entry to the 2018 Classic, right back on the Churchill dirt this coming November.