Each week on the Kentucky Derby trail things get ‘interestinger’ and ‘interestinger.’ March 13, the Bob Baffert-trained Concert Tour dominated the Rebel Stakes and leapfrogged nearly everyone else toward the pinnacle of Kentucky Derby top ten lists. For most, the colt’s stock ranked just below that of defending 2-year-old champ Essential Quality and San […]
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I grew up in Spokane, Wash. Known as the Lilac City, Spokane once was the home of Playfair Race Course, where Thoroughbreds raced for decades until it closed for good in 2000. On Monday, Spokane’s Gonzaga University basketball team reached the Sweet 16 in March Madness when defeating Oklahoma by 16 points (87-71). It […]
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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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Pool 4 of Churchill Downs’ Kentucky Derby Future Wager (KDFW) gives us a snapshot of how bettors currently view the picture for the 146th running of the Kentucky Derby. This year’s Run for the Roses, originally scheduled for May 2, has been moved to Sept. 5 due to the coronavirus crisis. Pool 4 of the […]
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This is what grandparents warned us about: a rainy day. Remember, they’d say, ‘Save your pennies for a rainy day.’ Never quite got it. I do now. That ‘rainy day’ has arrived. It’s today and tomorrow and the day after, at least for the foreseeable future. They should have cautioned that the downpour could last […]
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Below is my economical late Pick 5 ticket for a big day of racing at Gulfstream Park on Florida Derby Saturday. As always the ticket is $20 or less. Good luck! Race 10 Mean Mary (#6, 3-1) stretched out to 1 1/2 miles last time out and absolutely crushed a similar field at Gulfstream Park. […]
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As a California resident, I have been one of the 39 million or so in the Golden State mandated to stay at home due to the coronavirus pandemic in an order issued last Thursday by Gov. Gavin Newsom. As this health crisis wreaks more and more havoc on our lives, it’s becoming harder and harder […]
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Making amends for his defeat as a 3-5 favorite in his final start as a 2-year-old, Tiz the Law proved a punctual 13-10 favorite in Gulfstream Park’s Grade III Holy Bull Stakes last Saturday while making his 3-year-old debut. Off his sparkling Holy Bull victory, Tiz the Law moves all the way up to the […]
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The tournament director sheepishly approached the podium, cleared his throat and adjusted the microphone, eliciting a screech of feedback in return. “Ladies and gentlemen, it’s my duty to inform you and the handful of competitors still out on the course that, in an unprecedented occurrence, the leader in the clubhouse, somehow, has just registered a […]
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The first strikes for the May 4 Kentucky Derby can now be revealed. Back in 1999, I developed my Derby Strikes System. The system consists of nine key factors. When a horse does not qualify in one of the nine categories, the horse gets a strike. The nine key factors (or categories) are explained at […]
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Below is the late Pick 4 ticket for March 2nd, 2019 at Gulfstream Park on an $18 budget. Race 11 La Signare (#4, 6-1) is looking to get back to her best form after two subpar starts. If she can replicate either of her first two starts in this country, then she will win this race. The presence of […]
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Gulfstream Park has a blockbuster Saturday card that includes 9 graded stakes races and an assortment of guaranteed wagering pools certain to make any horseplayer’s mouth water. Of course, top draw is an unusually deep, competitive Grade 1 $400,000 Xpressbet Fountain of Youth Stakes. Below, we’ve included a pair of suggested $1 Superfecta moves that […]
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“An undefeated racehorse has an aura of invincibility.” That phrase, written many years ago by the fabulous turf writer Charles Hatton, came to mind when I happened to notice that No. 1, No. 2, No. 3 and No. 4 on my Kentucky Derby Top 10 list this week are all undefeated…so far. Here is my […]
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City of Light’s dominating Pegasus World Cup Invitational score Saturday puts him alongside previous race winners in what ultimately could become an equine pantheon. As the third winner of the fledgling event ‘Light joins previous Pegasus champs Arrogate and Gun Runner, both considered the best active dirt horses in the world when they won the […]
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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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