In the days leading up to the Travers, Shug McGaughey expressed his confidence that Code of Honor was going to run a biggie in this important 1 1/4-mile event. And the chestnut colt did not let his Hall of Fame trainer down. Ninth early in the field of 12, Code of Honor charged to the […]
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Can Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert in 2019 extend his streak to five consecutive 3-year-old male champions? I posed that question back in January. Daily Racing Form first conducted voting for champions in 1937. The Eclipse Awards were born in 1971. Going back to 1937, Baffert is the only person who has trained four […]
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When I found out the news via a text message from a friend, I had trouble breathing. No, I did not have an entrapped epiglottis. But I did have trouble breathing because I felt as if somebody had just punched me in the gut really, really hard. I was so much looking forward to Omaha […]
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1. War of Will 20-1 M. Casse/Gafflione A misstep just after the start of the late-March Louisiana Derby resulted in a ninth-place finish at less than even-money. That darkened the form of this otherwise attractive runner. He was sore for a day or two after the race, but soon returned to training. Following 4 reasonable […]
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The field for the upcoming $3 million Kentucky Derby has taken shape. With that in mind, it seemed this would be an appropriate time to calculate projected odds for the 20 horses to have earned enough points and are currently listed as intended starters in the 1 1/4-mile classic Ever since Churchill Downs instituted the […]
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It was 10 weeks ago that Omaha Beach debuted on my Kentucky Derby Top 10. All he had done at that point was win a maiden race. But his Feb. 2 maiden performance impressed me to such an extent that, even though he had not even run in a stakes race yet, I decided to […]
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Warning: Underestimate Maximum Security at your own peril. No doubt plenty of people are going to scoff at him in the Kentucky Derby. Many will view Maximum Security’s front-running 3 1/2-length victory at 9-2 in Gulfstream Park’s Grade I Xpressbet.com Florida Derby last Saturday as something of a fluke. There will be those who will […]
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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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Talk about a major detour on the Kentucky Derby trail. Game Winner, who is No. 1 on my Kentucky Derby Top 10, and Improbable, ranked No. 2, were supposed to have clashed in the Grade II San Felipe Stakes at Santa Anita Park on March 9. However, Santa Anita on March 5 announced that it […]
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As the once popular Billy Idol song reminds, “With a rebel yell she cried, more, more, more.” Someone with ‘weight’ at Oaklawn Park must have been listening because this year we’ve got two divisions of the Grade 2 Rebel Stakes with 19 total runners, including unbeaten 2-year-old champ Game Winner and 3-for-3 stablemate Improbable. Turns […]
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