Unconventional as it may be, Saturday is Belmont Stakes Day, which means a full palate of stakes action! Below is my Pick 5 ticket for races 6 through 10. This economical ticket comes in at just $18. Good luck to all! Race 6 Highland Glory (#3, 2-1) has recency, which is something that most of […]
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Below is an economical late Pick 4 ticket for a solid 4th of July card at Belmont Park. As always the ticket is $20 or less. Good luck to all! Race 6 Ghosting (#3, 5-1) offers upside in this spot as she makes only her second career start and first in the barn of Jason […]
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The highly anticipated confrontation between undefeated Eclipse Award winner Game Winner and undefeated Grade I winner Improbable will not be taking place this Saturday. Game Winner, who is No. 1 on my Kentucky Derby Top 10, and Improbable, ranked No. 2, were scheduled to clash in Saturday’s Grade II San Felipe Stakes at Santa Anita […]
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Below is how I am planning to fill out my official Eclipse Award ballot for 2018, with the caveat that my decisions will not become absolutely final until the entire year is over. That is why I will not be submitting my ballot until after racing this Monday (Dec. 31) is completed. TWO-YEAR-OLD MALE: […]
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In the debate surrounding whether Accelerate or Justify should be voted a coveted gold statue as Thoroughbred racing’s 2018 Horse of the Year, count this writer squarely in Justify’s camp. He’s just the best. And here’s why… Accelerate had an outstanding season February until November. He raced 7 times, once each month, except for […]
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There is no thing as a sure thing, a reality that was reaffirmed when Audible finished second as a 1-10 favorite to 25-1 Sir Anthony in last Saturday’s Harlan’s Holiday Stakes. The Grade III Harlan’s Holiday was contested on Gulfstream Park’s sloppy main track. Audible went into the 1 1/16-mile race having won five […]
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Are you ready for 2019? You’d better be. It’s coming. Like it or not. And, as they say, ‘Time, like the subway, waits for no one.’ This past season was a good one. We had Justify, a Triple Crown winner, only the 13th in history. What’s that you say? Not a big deal? OK. […]
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Is Maximus Mischief another Smarty Jones? Smarty Jones won his first two career starts as a 2-year-old in 2003, both at Philadelphia Park, the track now known as Parx Racing. He won those races by 7 3/4 and 15 lengths. Smarty Jones then made it three for three with a victory at Aqueduct. He took […]
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Can you answer the following trivia question? From the first Daily Racing Form poll in 1936 and continuing on through the Eclipse Awards era that began in 1971, just one 3-year-old male champion has not been sent away as the favorite in at least one of his races at 3. Who was it? It’s […]
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VENUE: Churchill Downs on Nov. 2-3. Main Track: dirt, fast Friday and Saturday; Turf Course listed as yielding by Equibase on Friday; Turf Course listed as yielding by Equibase for Saturday’s Turf Sprint; Turf Course listed as good by Equibase for Saturday’s Filly & Mare Turf, Saturday’s Mile and Saturday’s Turf. $6 MILLION CLASSIC (NOV. […]
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If you think now is too early to begin handicapping Breeders’ Cup races then you’re horribly mistaken. While post positions haven’t been drawn yet, we’ve got a decent idea about which horses will be in what races. And if you’ve scanned that starting roster at all, you know how challenging picking winners Nov. 2 & […]
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What if the last 11 winners of the Breeders’ Cup Classic were to meet in a race? Who would win it? That was the interesting subject for a recent podcast conducted by Jared Welch and Aaron Halterman of Racingdudes.com. According to Welch, this hypothetical race was to be based on each horse’s winning BC […]
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According to bettors participating in pool two of the Breeders’ Cup Classic Future Wager, Accelerate is the one to beat in the Grade I, $6 million Classic at Churchill Downs on Nov. 3. Trained by John Sadler, Accelerate was the 3-1 favorite in the second BC Classic future pool that closed last Sunday. Interestingly, the […]
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Don’t look now but Breeders’ Cup is approaching faster than Winx in the stretch. Those two wonderful watch-and-wager days are less than a month away. That means now is the time to make like a squirrel and gather nuts. Not actual nuts. We’re talking Breeders’ Cup notes, gems, tidbits. They’ll come in handy in less […]
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It certainly was fitting that a grandson of Awesome Again won the Awesome Again Stakes. That’s what happened last Saturday at Santa Anita when Accelerate proved a punctual favorite for owner Hronis Racing and trainer John Sadler. Accelerate wowed observers with his record 12 1/4-length victory in Del Mar’s Pacific Classic on Aug. 18, but […]
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