2023 Jim Dandy Stakes predictions, odds, post time, lineup, horses: Surprising picks from horse racing insider

Bob Weir has studied the 2023 Jim Dandy Stakes field and locked in his picks for Forte and others at Saratoga Race Course

By CBS Sports Staff

Jul 29, 2023 at 10:09 am ET • 2 min read

Trainer Todd Pletcher can add to his record number of wins when he sends out the favored Forte in the 2023 Jim Dandy Stakes on Saturday at Saratoga Race Course. The 56-year-old Pletcher has won the Jim Dandy a record six times, most recently in 2013 with Palace Malice. On Saturday, he'll go for No. 7 with Forte. The reigning two-year-old champion and Belmont Stakes runner-up is the 7-5 favorite in the 2023 Jim Dandy Stakes odds. Arkansas Derby winner Angel of Empire and the brilliantly fast Saudi Crown are the co-second choices among the 2023 Jim Dandy Stakes contenders at 5-2. Disarm and Hit Show round out the five-horse 2023 Jim Dandy Stakes field at 6-1.

Post time for the $500,000 Jim Dandy Stakes 2023 is 5:45 p.m. ET. With several accomplished horses set to enter the starting gate on Saturday, you'll want to see what Saratoga Springs-based racing insider and Beyer Speed Figure maker Bob Weir has to say before making any 2023 Jim Dandy Stakes picks.

A member of the Beyer Speed Figure-making team, 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.

Last year he was red-hot in the Triple Crown prep races, hitting the superfecta in the Blue Grass Stakes for $1,678 and exactas in the Fountain of Youth Stakes and Tampa Bay Derby. He also hit the 19-1 winner of the Man o' War Stakes, the trifecta in the Pegasus World Cup, the superfecta in the Met Mile and multiple Pick 4s.

In April of this year, he hit a Pick 4 at Gulfstream Park for $641, the exacta in the Florida Derby, a Pick 5 at Keeneland and the exacta in the Lexington Stakes. He smashed the trifecta in the Belmont Stakes for $532.96, and later in June he crushed the Pick 4 at Belmont for $555. Those are just some of his scores this year.

For Saturday, he has handicapped the 2023 Jim Dandy Stakes lineup, made his picks and constructed his bets. You can head to SportsLine now to see them.

Top 2023 Jim Dandy Stakes predictions

One surprise: Weir is completely fading Forte, even though he is the 7-5 morning-line favorite. A $110,000 purchase two years ago, Forte has earned more than $2.6 million in his career. He is coming off a runner-up finish in the Belmont Stakes, his first race since winning the Florida Derby in April.

However, Weir does not like that Forte's Beyer Speed Figures in 2023 are no better than his 2022 figures, suggesting he was just a precocious two-year-old. "He hasn't really moved forward from his two-year-old races," Weir told SportsLine. Weir is not using Forte in his 2023 Jim Dandy Stakes betting strategy. You can see all of Weir's 2023 Jim Dandy Stakes bets here.

How to make 2023 Jim Dandy Stakes picks

Instead, Weir's top pick is a horse whose recent races "might be better than they looked." He also is high on another horse who has been "slowly improving." Weir is including these horses in his 2023 Jim Dandy Stakes bets, and so should you. He's sharing which horses to back only at SportsLine.

So who wins the Jim Dandy Stakes 2023, and what slowly improving horse is a must-back? Check out the latest Jim Dandy Stakes odds below, then visit SportsLine to see Weir's picks for the Jim Dandy Stakes, and find out.