2021 Manhattan Stakes morning-line odds, picks: Racing insider offers bet strategy for Saturday's race

Some of the country's top turf horses square off in the 2021 Manhattan Stakes on Belmont Stakes Saturday at Belmont Park in Elmont, N.Y. The Todd Pletcher-trained Colonel Liam is the 5-2 morning-line favorite in the 2021 Manhattan Stakes odds. Post time is 5:38 p.m. ET. 

Before you make any Manhattan Stakes picks, you NEED to see what racing insider Bob Weir has to say.

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 hit the exacta in the Sam F. Davis Stakes, Tampa Bay Derby and Peter Pan Stakes and the trifecta in the Risen Star Stakes and Blue Grass Stakes, with the Tampa Bay Derby score returning $1,414! On May 16, he also hit the Pick 6 at Santa Anita Park. Those are just some of his scores in 2021.

Now, he has handicapped the Manhattan Stakes field, made his picks and constructed his bets. 

One shocker: Weir's top pick is not Colonel Liam, even though he is the favorite at 5-2. "Colonel Liam has been the top East Coast turf horse this year, but this will be his fifth start since Dec. 26," Weir tells SportsLine. 

Instead, Weir's top pick is a horse "who is most likely to improve" on Saturday. Weir also is high on a long shot who "has had a steady diet of graded stakes races." Weir is including these horses in his 2021 Manhattan Stakes bets, and so should you. You ABSOLUTELY need to see his picks before locking in any of your own!

Who wins the 2021 Manhattan Stakes? What long shot has a chance to surprise? And how has Weir constructed his wagers?... Join SportsLine right now to get the top 2021 Manhattan picks and bets, all from the racing insider who has been on fire!