Arguably the most exciting horse in training returns to the track on Saturday when Flightline leaves the starting gate in the 2022 Metropolitan Handicap, also known as the Met Mile, in Elmont, N.Y. A $1 million purchase three years ago, Flightline is undefeated in three career starts and has won by more than 37 combined lengths. He is the 3-5 morning-line favorite in the 2022 Met Mile odds. Flightline’s biggest challenger is the Grade 1-winning Speaker’s Corner, who is getting 8-5 odds in the five-horse Met Mile field. Reigning Breeders’ Cup Sprint winner Aloha West (6-1), Happy Saver (8-1) and Informative (50-1) round out the field.
Post time is 4:43 p.m. ET. With an accomplished field set to enter the starting gate on Saturday, you’ll want to see what racing insider and Beyer Speed Figure maker Bob Weir has to say before making any 2022 Met Mile picks of your own.
A Saratoga Springs-based racing insider and Beyer Speed Figure maker, Weir is a two-time qualifier for the prestigious National Horseplayers Championship in Las Vegas. He has produced multiple five-figure days at the track over the years, including a $60,000 Pick 6 at Del Mar in 2014. Last year, he was on fire. He hit the exacta in the Sam F. Davis Stakes, Tampa Bay Derby and Peter Pan Stakes, the trifecta in the Risen Star Stakes, Blue Grass Stakes and Pennsylvania Derby and the superfecta in the Belmont.
This year, he has been red-hot in the Triple Crown prep races, hitting the superfecta in the Blue Grass Stakes, the trifecta in the Louisiana Derby and exactas in the Fountain of Youth Stakes and Tampa Bay Derby. He also has hit the 19-1 winner of the Man o’ War Stakes, the trifecta in the Pegasus World Cup and multiple Pick 4s, including May 14’s at Belmont for $1,851. Anyone who has followed him is way up.
Now, he has handicapped the 2022 Met Mile lineup, made his picks and constructed his bets. You can only see them at SportsLine.
Top 2022 Met Mile picks
One surprise: Weir is down on the chances of Speaker’s Corner, even though he is coming off a 4½-length victory in the Grade 1 Carter. Trained by Bill Mott, Speaker’s Corner is in his best career form, winning all three starts this year. His Carter victory earned a career-high Beyer Speed Figure of 114.
But Weir has doubts about that Carter performance. “The last race may be a little better on paper than in reality as four of the five horses to return from that race have regressed,” Weir says. Weir prefers two horses over Speaker’s Corner on his primary wager.
How to make 2022 Metropolitan Handicap picks
Weir’s top pick is a horse who “has run extremely fast on every scale.” He also is high on a long shot who “should sit a perfect trip.” Weir is including these horses in his 2022 Met Mile bets, and so should you. He’s sharing which horses to back only at SportsLine.
So who wins the Met Mile? What long shot is a must-back? And how has Weir constructed his wagers? Check out the latest Met Mile odds below, then visit SportsLine to see Weir’s picks for the Met Mile, and find out.
2022 Met Mile odds
George is Digismak’s reported cum editor with 13 years of experience in Journalism