The coronavirus pandemic has wreaked considerable havoc throughout the world this year. But in a year in which it seems there have been so many more lowlights than highlights, a ferocious equine tussle all the way down the stretch in the 145th Preakness Stakes became a welcome diversion for Thoroughbred racing fans during these troubled […]
Read moreIt’s nice to know that throughout this pandemic-infested, dumpster fire of a year one thing remains constant: Bob Baffert has the horse to beat in the Preakness. It’s been that way often over the last two and one-half decades and it’s that way again as he saddles Kentucky Derby winner and Preakness favorite Authentic and […]
Read moreTrends or angles sometimes can grab one’s attention when it comes to sports in general or horse racing in particular. How about this trend? Prior to last Saturday’s game between the Los Angeles Lakers and Denver Nuggetts, whenever the Lakers had the lead going into the fourth quarter in a playoff game, their win-loss record […]
Read more“He’s the real deal.” That’s what Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert wrote in response to my text congratulating him for his record-tying sixth Kentucky Derby victory last Saturday with Authentic. Come to think of it, how could a horse with the name Authentic be anything but the “real” deal, right? Baffert has now won […]
Read moreBob Baffert is probably best known for training two Triple Crown winners. He won the three races in 2015 with American Pharoah, who ended an excruciatingly long 37-year Triple Crown drought, and again in 2018 with Justify. The legendary “Sunny Jim” Fitzsimmons is the only other trainer to have won the Triple Crown twice. His […]
Read moreDel Mar racing is cancelled this weekend because of a rash of jockey COVID 19-positives and a spectator-less Saratoga season is underway. So, what else is new? It’s just another crazy weekend in a pandemic world. No worries. There are numerous opportunities nationwide for players to cash Saturday and Monmouth’s Haskell-day card looms as most […]
Read moreComing off his first defeat when second in the Grade I Santa Anita Derby on June 6, Authentic seeks to regain his winning ways in Saturday’s Grade I Haskell Invitational at Monmouth Park. The 1 1/8-mile affair has attracted a field of seven. Monmouth oddsmaker Brad Thomas has installed Authentic as the Haskell morning-line favorite […]
Read moreSaturday is Derby Day. Ok, not that one. This derby will be in Arcadia, Ca, at Santa Anita instead of at Churchill Downs, in Louisville, KY. We’ve got to wait a bit longer for that showdown. At this point, as bat-excrement crazy as 2020 has been, we’ll settle for handicapping and wagering on any derby […]
Read moreIs this Saturday’s Grade I Santa Anita Derby a two-horse race between Authentic and Honor A.P.? Many no doubt are going to see it that way. But viewing a race that way sometimes can backfire. CAUTION: There are times when neither horse wins what many perceive to be a two-horse race. One need only go […]
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