The Chad Brown-trained Serve the King will try to win his first career graded stakes race when he leaves the starting gate in the 2021 Red Smith Stakes on Saturday at Aqueduct Racetrack. Bred in Great Britain, Serve the King has four wins, two seconds and one third in 10 career starts. He is coming off a runner-up finish in the Joe Hirsch Turf Classic at Belmont on Oct. 9. Serve the King has been installed as the 3-1 favorite in the 2021 Red Smith Stakes odds.
The Jack Sisterson-trained Channel Cat is the 4-1 second choice in the 10-horse 2021 Red Smith Stakes field. Post time is 3:43 p.m. ET. With a well accomplished field set to enter the starting gate on Saturday, you'll want to see what racing insider and Beyer Speed Figure maker Bob Weir has to say before making any 2021 Red Smith picks.
A Saratoga Springs-based racing insider and Beyer Speed Figure maker, Weir is a two-time qualifier for the prestigious National Horseplayers Championship in Las Vegas. He has produced multiple five-figure days at the track over the years, including a $60,000 Pick 6 at Del Mar in 2014. This year, he has been on fire. He hit the exacta in the Sam F. Davis Stakes, Tampa Bay Derby and Peter Pan Stakes, the trifecta in the Risen Star Stakes, Blue Grass Stakes and Pennsylvania Derby and the superfecta in the Belmont Stakes, with the Tampa Bay score returning $1,414. Those are just some of his scores in 2021.
Now, he has handicapped the 2021 Red Smith Stakes field, made his picks and constructed his bets. You can only see them here.
Top 2021 Red Smith Stakes predictions
One surprise: Weir is completely tossing Channel Cat, even though he's the second choice on the morning line at 4-1 and the expected early pacesetter. A six-year-old son of English Channel, Channel Cat has six wins, three seconds and five thirds in 29 career starts. He is coming off a sixth place finish in the Grade 2 Turf Cup at Kentucky Downs on Sept. 11.
Since the beginning of 2020, Channel Cat has only one win and one second in nine starts. "That lone win came in this year's Grade 1 Man O' War Stakes, which has the feeling of his last hurrah," Weir told SportsLine. Weir prefers eight horses over Channel Cat and is not using him in any wagers.
How to make 2021 Red Smith Stakes picks
Weir's top pick is a long shot who "could be a good value." He also is high on an even bigger long shot who is "continuously overlooked." Weir is including these horses in his 2021 Red Smith Stakes bets, and so should you. He's sharing which horses to back only at SportsLine.
So what long shot wins the Red Smith 2021? What even bigger long shot is a must-back? And how has Weir constructed his wagers? Check out the latest Red Smith odds below, then visit SportsLine to see Weir's picks for the Red Smith Stakes.
2021 Red Smith Stakes odds
| Program # | Horse | Odds |
| 1 | Tide of the Sea | 15-1 |
| 2 | Value Engineering | 8-1 |
| 3 | Soldier Rising | 5-1 |
| 4 | Serve the King | 3-1 |
| 5 | Shamrocket | 6-1 |
| 6 | Corelli | 12-1 |
| 7 | Channel Cat | 4-1 |
| 8 | Sanctuary City | 20-1 |
| 9 | No Word | 8-1 |
| 10 | Price Talk | 8-1 |