Saratoga is one of the best horse race betting meets of the year, and one of the opening-weekend features is the Grade 1 Diana Stakes! The race will be run Saturday, July 16, and it drew a field of six of the best older turf mares in the world to go a mile and an eighth. The race is always a strong preview of the best turf races through the summer, and often has Breeders’ Cup implications as well!
Chad Brown had a lock on the Diana Stakes from 2016 through 2020, winning it with stars like Dacita, Lady Eli, Sistercharlie, and Rushing Fall. Charlie Appleby broke that streak when his shipper Althiqa won in 2021. These titans will clash again in 2021, as Appleby sends G2 winner Creative Flair out to face a four-strong contingent from the Brown barn.
Who will take the crown in 2022? Keep reading to find out the best contenders, and the best places to bet the Diana Stakes online!
As fun as a trip to the Spa to bet the Diana in person sounds, we cannot all make that journey right now. Fortunately, you can bet the Diana stakes online from anywhere with an internet connection! Our expert online sportsbook reviews will help you make a quick and informed decision about the best places to bet horse racing online this weekend, and all year long!
Every recommended sportsbook offers real Vegas odds, trusted deposit and cash-out functions, and smooth user interfaces. Online sportsbooks also offer lucrative bonuses that you will never find at the track. Each one offers a different structure, so it is worth it to compare your options and find the site with the best online sports betting bonuses for your wagering style!
Choosing the site with the right bonus structure for the bets and stakes you like to play matters. From sign-up and deposit bonuses to horse racing rebates, to referral incentives, different structures benefit different stakes and betting styles. Taking a few minutes to read our reviews and choose the right ones now can mean hundreds or even thousands of dollars added to your bankroll.
This is the official field for the 2022 Diana Stakes including post positions, trainers, jockeys, and morning lines:
Leading into the race, you will be able to bet the Diana Stakes online at a trusted online sportsbook. Betting at a sportsbook is better than betting at the track because online sportsbooks offer bonuses that racetracks don’t. They also offer fixed-odds betting, meaning you can lock in the best odds on your Diana Stakes pick as soon as you place your wager.
 |  |  |
|
|---|---|---|---|
| Bleecker Street | TBA | TBA | TBA |
| Creative Flair | TBA | TBA | TBA |
| Rougir | TBA | TBA | TBA |
| Technical Analysis | TBA | TBA | TBA |
| In Italian | TBA | TBA | TBA |
| Dalika | TBA | TBA | TBA |
Now that you have signed up for your online betting account, it is time to get ready to bet the race. Read on to get to know the contenders in the 2022 Diana Stakes:
Bleecker Street will probably go off the favorite in the Diana, and for good reason. She is an undefeated seven-for-seven. Though this field only has six horses, four of the six like to be on or near the lead, meaning the pace should be honest and set up well for her. Even so, she has proven she does not need a sharp pace to win, making her a rock-solid win candidate.
Creative Flair, the lone international raider, makes her first start since winning a Group 2 at this distance in Dubai in February. Though she was beaten in her pair of American starts last year, both of those were over a longer distance and this one suits better. Though she won’t make the top against US-based horses, she has proven tactical enough to run a winning race from just off.
Rougir should be fairly well bet, both because she is the other real off-pace type in the race and because she will probably have some residual backers after going off odds-on against Bleecker Street last out. The turnback in distance might help her somewhat. However, the last race is a concern, and she might be just a little more potent over a rain-affected footing, something she will not get here.
Dalika will probably be the longest shot in the field because she’s trained by Al Stall — the lone one not from the Brown or Appleby barn. She was well beaten in a Grade 1 two back, but had a poor start and may improve with a better one. Dalika has tactical speed and has won her only start over the Diana distance, and her speed figures are good enough to make her competitive at her best.
The other two from the Chad Brown barn, and the rest of the field, are Technical Analysis and In Italian. They should be the real speed horses in the race. In Italian, with ownership in common with both Rougir and Bleecker Street, may be in the race to keep Technical Analysis (under different ownership) going quickly.
Both have something to prove at this level — in a short field it would not be a huge surprise to see them get minor awards, but others are more exciting to bet.
Now that you have made your betting account and gotten to know the contenders, it is time to place your bets in the Diana Stakes! These are the expert bets for the race:
About the Author
For a decade, Rowan Ward has been making horse race predictions and wagers in Chicago, and has been writing about horse racing for nearly just as long. Understanding the various factors that influence a race's outcome, they often find that the age-old saying "the pace makes the race" can uncover worthwhile betting opportunities. When it comes to handicapping, their favorite races are those held locally in Chicago, major stake races across the country, and two-year-old maiden races with intriguing bloodlines.
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