Hal's Hope S. & Fort Lauderdale S. headline Gulfstream Saturday

Las Vegas, NV -- Gulfstream Park on Saturday will offer a pair of $100,000 Grade 3 stakes races with Jackson Bend favored in the Hal's Hope while Mutual Trust is favored in the Fort Lauderdale.

Hal's Hope Stakes

The $100,000 Hal's Hope Stakes should be very competitive with four horses listed with single-digit betting odds at OffTrackBetting.com. The favorite is the 5-year-old Jackson Bend who is the 2-1 morning line favorite followed by Successful Mission at 3-1, defending champion Soaring Empire at 4-1 and Sangaree at 6-1.

Gulfsteam Park horse betting - Hal's Hope Stakes and Fort Lauderdale Stakes this weekend at OffTrackBetting.com

Jackson Bend 2-1
The horse that will likely get the most attention on Saturday is Jackson Bend. He is coming off a solid third place finish in the Breeders' Cup Sprint for trainer Nick Zito. Top jockey John Velazquez will again be in the irons for Saturday's race.

"He looks tremendous," said Zito. "I just hope it's not too tough a race first time back. It's good race to come back in, and that's what he needs. He's best at seven furlongs."

Soaring Empire 4-1
The defending champion of the Hal's Hope is Soaring Empire who is trying to become only the second horse to win the race in consecutive years.

"We're looking for a good race from him," said trainer Cam Gambolati. "It's not an easy race, with Jackson Bend in there, but we hope he runs a good race."

The field for the $100,000 Hal's Hope Stakes, Saturday at Gulfstream.

Fort Lauderdale Stakes

A wide open field is set to go a mile and an eighth on Saturday in the Fort Lauderdale with seven of the 14 horses listed with single-digit odds. This should shape up to be a great race to bet the exotics and get a big Rebate.

The morning line favorite at 3-1 in is Mutual Trust. Also getting attention is Teaks North who is coming off a disappointing eighth in the Breeders' Cup Turf, and Flat Out who was fifth in the Breeders' Cup Classic. It will be the turf debut for Flat Out for trainer Scooter Dickey.

"We've thought about trying him on turf for some time," said Dickey. "We worked him on turf at Churchill last spring, and he handled it just fine."

Another contender should be Todd Pletcher's Silver Medallion who won the Tropical Turf Handicap last time out. The field will likely be just 12 unless the race is moved to the main track as Cool Blue Red Hot and Flatter This would not run on the turf.

The field for the $100,000 Fort Lauderdale Stakes, Saturday at Gulfstream.