The Metropolitan Handicap – G1 (BC)
$1,000.00 – For Three Year Olds And Upward
1 Mile – Dirt
Saratoga – June 6, 2026

The Metropolitan Handicap has always been a prestige race and that is reflected by the spoils that will go to the victor this coming Saturday at Saratoga, the race’s temporary home. The purse is $1,000.00 but the winner of the race is also guaranteed a spot in the Breeder’s Cup this coming November. Gaining that guarantee gives the winner’s connections a lot of freedom for the remainder of the season in terms of scheduling, training and rest etc.. This year’s running of The Metropolitan has drawn a field of ten horses from seven barns hoping to become the twenty-second winner of the race. As this is a handicap the weights matter. The weights assigned range from the low of 117 pounds to the high weight of 122 pounds which will be carried by Criminal Law. As of this writing the forecast calls for a 66% chance of precipitation so wet track form could be a factor on race day.

1. Obi Wan (Mb Stables/P. Lopez) The first of three entries from this barn draws the rail and comes into the race with four races this year that have yet to result in a win for this classy four year old who has multiple Grade 1 wins to his credit. His last three starts have been graded contests at the mile distance and he has hit the board each time so has been knocking on the door despite the zero in the win column for 2026. Assigned 119 pounds here which is lower than he has been carrying recently. Obi Wan won the G1 Blue Grass Stakes last year on a good track as a three year old and was second in his other wet track start so he will handle the surface rain or shine. 

2. Dont Fear The Reaper (TwinTowersRacing/S.X. Bridgmohan) The first of two entries for TwinTowersRacing shares the lowest weight assignment of 117 pounds and he will need that lower impost if he is to threaten a field that includes some much more accomplished horses. His stakes experience is limited with only three previous stakes attempts where he has yet to hit the board. Has speed but has to prove he can compete on this level. Has no wins on a wet track but has hit the board four times in five off track starts. 

3. Tube (Spankys Barn/J.L. Ortiz) He gets into the race with a shared low weight assignment of 117 pounds. Was the winner of The Jerome last year as a three year old and was placed on the Derby trail where he did not make much impact and in fact finished off the board is five subsequent races that were all in graded stakes. Was purchased for $200.00 last July and has been given his chance in four graded stakes since. The first three continued to be unsuccessful and he was given a rest after the G2 Pincay Stakes last December. He returned after a four month break to hit the board third in the G3 The Fleet Sprint Handicap fading to third after leading early. Is asked to stretch out to a mile after that seasonal debut. Has one win in four wet track starts which was his maiden breaking score on debut. He finished outside of the placings in the other three. 

4. Criminal Law (D J C Racing Stables/D.E. Centeno) Drew the high weight assignment of 122 pounds which is due to his being very much the in form horse having won two of his three races in 2026 including his last race which was a dead heat win in the G2 OP Handicap. That race offered a purse of $1,250.00 so it drew a top field so he beat a quality field. One of those behind him that day was Edward The Good who he will face off against today. Criminal Law beat that rival that day by less than a length but today’s race is a furlong shorter which is not an obvious advantage to either in the rematch but the draw again favors Criminal Law who drew much better again for two horses that like to be forwardly placed. He is a multiple graded stakes winner looking to add a first G1 to his collection. Wet track would be a welcome site as he has won 2 of six starts on wet tracks. He was on the board in five of those six and he has earned over $1,000.00 of his $1.296.13 career earnings on off tracks.

5. Agent Zero (Mb Stables/A. Fresu) The second entry from Mb Stables is a graded stakes winner sprinting on the grass who now looks to stretch out a bit on dirt and repeat that success. He seems very capable of that given his last two races which were impressive efforts on dirt. He missed winning the mile and a sixteenth G3 Essex Handicap by a half length and he was a fast closing fourth in the seven furlong G1 CD. The extra furlong of the Metropolitan would likely be welcome and it is worth noting that his last two dirt races both yielded triple digit SRF speed figures. He gets assigned 118 pounds. Agent Zero has raced twice on wet tracks winning one and off the board in the other. 

6. Nationalist (TwinTowersRacing/J. Lezcano) The second entry for TwinTowersRacing gets the co-low weight assignment of 117. There is nothing that jumps out of his past performances that says he belongs here or is a threat but you have to think the barn found some encouragement from his sub :58 bullet work on May 11. He has two prior stakes starts and he did not do very much running in either of them. His last race was the G2 Alysheba where he went off at almost 44-1 and finished ninth and last. In one wet track start he finished off the board. Major uptick in form is needed. 

7. Gaffigan (Mo Mentum Farm/R.M. Hernandez) He has good 2026 form and looks to take a big step up with his appearance in this grade one. He gets assigned the shared low weight of 117 pounds while not being worse than second in four starts this season including a loss by a scant nose in the Army Mule which would have made him a stakes winner. Very fast five furlong work at Saratoga shows that he is sharp and likes the track but he will have to show he can be fast for a full mile and this will be his first race this year stretching out beyond seven furlongs. Is an undefeated one for one on wet tracks. 

8. Louisiana Asset (Big Jd Racing/B. Curtis) Has to carry 120 pounds as reward for his win in the G3 Westchester just one month ago but he is still getting spotted two pounds from Criminal Law. It is worth noting that the horse that finished third in The Westchester was Obi Wan who drew the rail today and gets a one pound advantageous weight shift today. Like Gaffigan he has a very fast local work having worked a bullet :57.2 on May 27. Recent good form makes him a threat. Barn might be doing a rain dance as he has an impressive four wins from nine wet track starts finishing in the top three in eight of those nine. 

9. Edward The Good (Mb Stables/J.R. Velasquez) Chestnut five year old gelding was a graded stakes winner already when he was purchased for $550.01 at auction in December of 2024. Spent most of 2025 establishing himself as a top sprinter at one point winning three straight graded sprints which earned him a start in the G1 BC Sprint where he finished a solid fast closing fourth. He has stretched out very successfully in his five year old year winning the G3 Razorback Handicap and a near miss third most recently in the G2 OP Handicap behind winner Criminal Law. Edward The Good carried one pound more than Criminal Law that day and now carries two pounds less and three pounds is a significant shift which can easily make up that three quarter of a length differential with all things being equal. The track that day was good and it may very well rain again which would not bother Edward at all as he has won three of his four wet track races. 

10. Salah (Royalty Stables/T. Gaffalione) He was a very good three year old last year winning the G3 Lexington and finishing a close second to Obi Wan in the G2 The Dandy last summer. He was third in the BC Dirt Mile, losing by a length. He has spent his last three races trying to establish himself on the grass but returns to the dirt after not hitting the board in those attempts. He needs to find his old form to be a contender here. Finished off the board in his one wet track race. Assigned 118 pounds and is showing good works on the dirt. 

This race could very well end up being an MB Stables 1-2-3 finish with three solid contenders. I think the change in weights gives Edward The Good the edge over Criminal Law in their rematch from the G2 The OP Handicap. Agent Zero is sharp and gets a break in the weights as well so place him second. Criminal Law will be the third pick under his 122 pounds with Obi Wan turning the tables on Louisiana Asset for fourth with a favorable shift of weights for him in their own rematch. 

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