2021 Fourstardave Handicap morning-line odds, picks: Racing insider offers bet strategy for Saturday's Grade 1 race

Some of the country's top turf milers square off when the starting gate opens in the 2021 Fourstardave Handicap on Saturday at Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs, N.Y. The Chad Brown-trained Raging Bull is the 9-5 morning-line favorite in the Fourstardave odds. Post time for the Grade 1 race is 6:13 p.m. ET. (Check out SportsLine's extensive horse racing coverage.)

Saratoga Springs-based racing insider and Beyer Speed Figure maker Bob Weir has studied the race and formulated trifecta and superfecta wagers in his analysis below. A two-time qualifier for the prestigious National Horseplayers Championship in Las Vegas, Weir has produced multiple five-figure days at the track. Earlier this year he hit the exacta in the Tampa Bay Derby for $1,414, and on July 18 he hit the late Pick 4 at Del Mar for $594.60. Those are just some of his scores in 2021.

One of the country's most prestigious one-mile turf races, the Fourstardave has a storied history. Seven winners of the race have gone on to win the Breeders' Cup Mile, the most recent being World Approval in 2017. And four winners have gone on to earn Eclipse awards at the end of the year, including Wise Dan who was named Horse of the Year in 2012 and '13 after winning the Fourstardave.

Saturday's race features an intriguing pair from Brown. In addition to saddling the favorite, Raging Bull, who finished second in this race two years ago and fifth last year, Brown also will send out Blowout (6-1), who has three wins and four seconds in seven starts at the distance. A frontrunner, Blowout is expected to set the early pace, which could benefit the late-running Raging Bull.

Weir has handicapped the Fourstardave field, made his picks and constructed his bets. 

One surprise: Weir is low on Set Piece, who's the 5-2 second choice on the morning line. "He's a stone cold closer, and though there should be pace to set up his late run, the mile distance may be a tad short for his best," Weir tells SportsLine. Weir likes two horses better than Set Piece. 

Weir's top pick is a horse who is "as good as ever." He also is high on a double-digit long shot who "has been reportedly working well" and could surprise. Weir is including these horses in his 2021 Fourstardave bets, and so should you. You ABSOLUTELY need to see his picks before locking in any of your own!

Based in Saratoga Springs, N.Y., Weir has been handicapping and following horse racing since reading Andy Beyer's landmark handicapping book "Picking Winners" in the late 1980s. Weir is highly invested in the Beyer Speed Figure, a number assigned to every race run by a horse that measures how fast the horse ran. He uses the figure as the backbone of his handicapping. In fact, thanks to his proficiency with speed figures and top-tier handicapping, he landed one of just eight spots on Beyer's figure-making team in 2017, a position he holds to this day.

Weir's methodology has produced multiple five-figure days. In 2014, he hit a $60,000 Pick 6 at Del Mar. The following year, he nailed a $31,000 Pick 6 at Gulfstream Park. In 2016 and 2017, Weir qualified for the prestigious National Horseplayers Championship in Las Vegas!

Last year, his first for SportsLine, Weir was on fire. In June, Weir hit a $2 superfecta in the Ogden Phipps Stakes that paid a whopping $1,039. He crushed the exacta and trifecta in the Forego Stakes in August for $1,134.50. He hit the late Pick 4 at Belmont Park on June 18, June 19, June 25, July 2 and July 5, with the June 25 score returning a whopping $2,159.50.

This year, he has hit the exacta in the Sam F. Davis Stakes, Tampa Bay Derby and Peter Pan Stakes, the trifecta in the Risen Star Stakes and Blue Grass Stakes and the superfecta in the Belmont Stakes, with the Tampa Bay Derby score returning $1,414! Those are just some of his scores in 2021.

Who wins the 2021 Fourstardave? What double-digit long shot is a must-back? And how has Weir constructed his wagers?... Join SportsLine right now to get the top 2021 Fourstardave picks and bets, all from the racing insider who has been on fire!