Some of the best grass route horses in the country square off on Saturday when the starting gate opens in the 2021 Del Mar Handicap on Saturday at Del Mar. The Richard Mandella-trained United is the 2-1 morning-line favorite in the Del Mar Handicap odds. Post time is 10:03 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.

Saturday's race features a West Coast versus East Coast battle. Based in California, United has nine wins in 20 career starts. All but one of his nine wins have come at either Del Mar or Santa Anita. Since moving to California in 2018, he has raced outside of the Golden State only once.

One of United's main rivals on Saturday figures to be the well traveled Arklow, who is the 5-2 second shot on the morning line. Based in Kentucky, this Brad Cox trainee has raced at 12 different tracks in 33 career starts. He has nine career wins, including a victory in the Grade 1 Joe Hirsch Turf Classic at Belmont Park.

Weir has handicapped the Del Mar Handicap field, made his picks and constructed his bets. 

One surprise: Weir is high on Say the Word, who is the third choice on the morning line, at 6-1. "The connections may have realized that the marathon distances are best at this stage of his career," Weir tells SportsLine. Weir will be using Say the Word prominently on all of his tickets.

However Weir's top pick is a horse who "may have more upside than anyone else in this race." He also is high on a double-digit long shot who "showed his talent" recently and could surprise. Weir is including these horses in his 2021 Del Mar Handicap 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 Del Mar Handicap? 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 Del Mar Handicap picks and bets, all from the racing insider who has been on fire!