The last time Bookies.com horse racing handicapper posted picks he nailed the Belmont Stakes trifecta, resulting in a massive $500 win on a $3 wager for those tailing his choices. 

Now he’s circled the 2024 Haskell Stakes, the main event of a full card of racing at Monmouth Park in New Jersey. Post time for the Haskell is 5:45 p.m. ET The Haskell stakes is the top race before the Travers Stakes, known as the Midsummer Derby, on Aug. 24. 

Thompson has been crushing horse racing for the last three years. Last year he cashed on eight of the 13 races at the Belmont Stakes Saturday, and won more than half the races at this year’s Preakness Stakes before cleaning house at the Belmont. 

Now he has set his sights on the 2024 Haskell Stakes. 

2024 Haskell Stakes At Monmouth Park

When: Saturday, July 20 at 5:45 p.m. ET

Where: Monmouth Park in New Jersey

Where To Watch It: NBC

There are a modest eight horses in this $1 million, Grade 1 stakes race. Three of them, based on the odds, are non-factors, and I agree with those odds. So we’re down to five to really consider. 

Our top choice is FIERCENESS (#5, 5-2 morning line odds as of July 19), who was last seen running a disaster of a race at the Kentucky Derby in May. He finished a distant 15th with a speed score of 74, way below the 107 speed he ran at the Florida Derby in his previous run, and 106 in winning the Breeders’ Cub Juvenile last fall. 

Despite that, horse racing odds on top sportsbook still favor FIERCENESS based on his past performances.

There were 22 horses in the Derby, and eight here, giving Fierceness a chance to run his race again. When he does, he can burst by the competition. 

Fierceness is one of three horses in the race for trainer Todd Pletcher. Another is MINDFRAME (#7, 9-5 odds), who we’re including in our wagers. Mindframe has just three career races; the first two were dominant victories against lesser competition; the third was taking second at the Belmont Stakes. 

We’ll be playing both Pletcher horses with TIMBERLAKE (#4, 8-1), who is seemingly always in contention in his race, but has not finished the job too often to rely completely upon. In his last five races, Timberlake has finished fourth on two occasions and won the other three, including the G1 Champaigne last fall and the G2 Rebek Stakes in February. 

It’s been a long layoff (his last race was in March), which keeps us from pushing for a win here. But he’s been trained by the legend Brad Cox and will be ridden by Flavien Prat, a solid combo. 

That means we’re fading DORNOCH (#1, 5-2), who won us a lot of money by taking the Belmont Stakes at 15-1 odds, and TUSCAN SKY (#3, 9-2), the other Pletcher horse. 

Here’s how we’re betting the race and every race at Monmouth Park on Saturday. 

Haskell Stakes Picks

• $10 To Win: 5 ($10)
• $3 Exacta Box 4,5,7 ($18)
• $2 Trifecta Box 4,5,7  ($12)

Monmouth Park Saturday Picks

• RACE 1: 1 To Win
• RACE 2: Exacta Box 1,5,7
• RACE 3: 13 To Win
• RACE 4: 9 To Win; Exacta 9 with 5,7
• RACE 5: 1 To Win
• RACE 6: 6 To Win; Trifecta Box 3,4,6
• RACE 7: 2 To Win
• RACE 8: Exacta 2,5 with 2,4,5,8
• RACE 9: 5 To Win
• RACE 10: 8 To Win; Exacta Box 3,4,8
• RACE 11: 3 To Win; Exacta Box 3,9,10
• RACE 12: Haskell Stakes (see above)
• RACE 13: Exacta Box 2,4,10
• RACE 14: Exacta Box 1,3,9