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Winter Series Launch In Canada; Selected Features Present Promising Plays, Exotics Excite Across The Board
Our selected features are overnight races again, including those in our Power Plays. We are also covering Woodbine-Mohawk (WoMo) series’ first legs—the Blizzard and the Snowshoe.
More action is suggested in the weekly H2W (horses-to-watch) list, o ...
Racing
Dick Powell’s Dubai Pick of the Week Jan. 16, 2019
Race 4 at Meydan on Thursday morning is the $250,000 Cape Verdi Stakes (G2) for older fillies and mares going one mile around the sweeping left-hand turn.
The even-money favorite is POETIC CHARM (#2) (1-1) . She was a developing juvenile in 2017 ...
Racing
How to bet the Fair Grounds Stakes on 2019 Road to the Derby Kickoff Day
The $200,000 Lecomte Stakes (G3) is one of six stakes races to be held at Fair Grounds on Saturday as part of the track’s 2019 Road to the Kentucky Derby Kickoff Day. Talented runners and competitive races await us on a fine betting card at the N ...
Racing
Dick Powell’s Australian Pick of the Week Jan. 16, 2019
Race 8 at Australia A (Geelong) Wednesday night is a handicap going 5 1/2 furlongs around a left-hand turn. I'm a sucker for well-bred horses, even all the way down under, and one sticks out here.
#8 MORE SUNDAYS won a barrier trial 13 months ag ...
Racing
Kentucky Derby Update: Mind Control, Gunmetal Gray, Mihos Impress
The Grade 3 Lecomte Stakes at Fairgrounds takes place this Saturday, January 19. The Lecomte, like it does every year, should produce the favorite for the Louisiana Derby in March. Pay attention to what happens in the Lecomte. Before the race even g ...
Racing
Pegasus World Cup Update: New Shooters Take on Accelerate, City of Light
Although it's unlikely that impressive Grade 1 Malibu winner McKinzie's supplemented to the January 26 Pegasus World Cup, 4 new shooters will join. All 4 have an outside shot to win the lion's share of the world's richest horse race. 2-of-3 might be ...
Racing
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Handicapping Tips for Betting in January
January. Winter racing on cold days.
You can’t get much farther removed from the glorious summer days at Saratoga and Del Mar , can you?
While some tracks in warmer climes provide some semblance of the summer sport even during the doldrums ...
Racing
Parx Racing Pick of the Week for January 15
Trainer John Servis has a powerful duo in #4 LIGHTS DOWN LOW and #6 BOURBON IN BED in Tuesday's second race at Parx, a $20,000 maiden claimer for three-year-old fillies going seven furlongs. Both fillies exit placings at this level, with Bourbon in B ...
Racing
Yonkers and Meadowlands offer solid Saturday night cards
During the weekend in which the National Football League determined its final four teams for the conference championship games next weekend, both Yonkers Raceway and the Meadowlands offered solid Saturday cards during an area spared much of the same ...
Racing
Should You Bet Deep Closers in the Pegasus World Cup?
2018 Pegasus World Cup won by Gun Runner Similar support for closers can be found by examining the results of the Florida Derby (gr. I), the other major nine-furlong dirt race held each year at Gulfstream Park. The perceived speed-favoring nature ...
Racing
Pegasus World Cup: Accelerate, City of Light on course but McKinzie unlikely
While much of the Pegasus World Cup (G1) news has involved key contender workouts, the biggest development to emerge in recent days is the increasingly questionable status of McKinzie .
Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert didn’t sound overly ent ...
Racing
Double-Digit Winners Pad The Pocket; $20 Features Hit At Miami Valley Tops Selected Overnight Action
Week two of 2019 (we won’t be counting every week’s review blog, promise) was the usual attack on overnights selected by their promise for value as we predict; and the horses-to-watch list starts the season off productively.
Let’s go over our succ ...
Racing
How to Bet the Rego Park Stakes
When a lightly-raced horse fires off a huge effort, particularly over a wet track, it can be difficult to know if it’s a fair representation of their talent or a fluke that they’re unlikely to repeat.
That’s one of the challenges facing handicappe ...
Racing
Singling the ‘other’ Lynch trainee in Gulfstream Park’s Pick 4
A competitive four-race sequence closes the strong Saturday card at Gulfstream Park and I am focusing on the late Pick 4. I think there is an opportunity to get a price to kick things off which could make this a lucrative payoff.
RACE 9
Se ...
Racing
Fair Grounds Pick of the Week for January 12
The form of #6 LOUNGE ACT (6-1) has blown hot and cold through her brief five-start career, but there some things to like about her when she returns from an extended layoff Saturday in Race 7 at Fair Grounds , an about 1 1/16-mile turf allowance/o ...
Racing
Picks and Plays for Saturday Stakes at Laurel Park
The fields might be a bit on the small side, but four interesting stakes races are among the highlights of an action-packed day of racing scheduled for January 12th at Laurel Park .
The card kicks off at 12:30 p.m. Eastern, with the first stake ...
Racing
Picks and Plays for the Tropical Turf and Marshua's River Stakes
Gulfstream Park is doing their best to keep us entertained while we wait for the eagerly-anticipated Pegasus World Cup (gr. I) and Pegasus World Cup Turf (gr. I) on January 26th.
The Florida racetrack has packed their upcoming weekend stakes s ...
Racing
Picks and Plays for the Las Cienegas and La Canada Stakes
Although most of the attention at Santa Anita this time of year is focused on three-year-olds and Kentucky Derby prep races, the upcoming Saturday card is a bit different, aimed at showcasing older mares on both dirt and turf.
The 6.5-furlong ...
Racing
Winter Wins Loom Boldly In Selected Features; Power Plays, Exotics Aim At Triple-Digit Prices
In the first few months of 2019, bettors could be pumping up their TwinSpires account bankrolls with overnight races every bit as valuable as the season’s later stakes. The TwinSpires harness blog selects overnight races on various weekend programs a ...
Racing
Baffert is Loaded in Quest for Record-Equaling Sixth Kentucky Derby Win
Trainer has already swept the Triple Crown twice among 15 victories in Triple Crown races, record totals that have established Baffert as the all-time leading trainer in the spring classics.
Five of those classic wins have come in the Kentucky D ...
Racing
Accelerate Fits Profile of Past Pegasus World Cup Winners
The will be held for the third time on January 26th, and while two previous renewals isn’t much of a sample size for identifying race trends, already we’re seeing that it takes a special kind of horse to win North America’s richest horse race.
On ...
Racing
Breeders' Cup Depth Runs Deep in Third Pegasus World Cup
For the third straight year, the top two finishers from the Breeders’ Cup Classic (gr. I) are set to contest the at Gulfstream Park , but this time around the Breeders’ Cup representation will extend well beyond just the Classic.
Accelerate ...
Racing
Dick Powell's Dubai Pick of the Week Jan. 9, 2019
Race 2 at Meydan on Thursday morning is the $100,000 Dubai Trophy Stakes for three-year-olds going seven furlongs on the turf. It will be run around one wide, sweeping, left-handed turn and a field of 16 is entered.
The bulky field will make trips ...
Racing
Dick Powell's Australian Pick of the Week Jan. 9, 2019
Race 1 at Australia A (Muswellbrook) is a maiden handicap for three-year-olds going 1250 meters (just over six furlongs). Numbers 6, 12 and 17 are early scratches, and the ground is supposed to be a Good 4 for the one run around a right-hand turn. Fi ...
Racing
Gingras reaches milestone on Yonkers 2019 opener
While many sports enthusiasts might have been initially enthralled to the start of the NCAA College Football Championship game on Monday evening, serious harness racing fans were keen to watch the first card of the 2019 Yonkers Raceway season that ni ...
Racing
Trainerspeak a tip-off on beaten favorite Coliseum
About 30 years ago, a friend of mine had a horse with a very famous trainer. I talked to my friend and he told me that the horse had a chip removed from his knee arthroscopically that morning. Later in the day, I had to speak to the trainer and in a ...
Racing
Kentucky Derby Pedigree Profile: Gunmetal Gray
West Point Thoroughbreds et al’s Gunmetal Gray picked up 10 points on the Road to the Kentucky Derby series with his last-to-first score in Saturday’s Sham Stakes (G3) at Santa Anita. The three-year-old son of Exchange Rate picked up his first ...
Racing
Meadowlands Saturday night card proved noteworthy
During the opening weekend of the National Football League playoffs and amid the brief hiatus at nearby Yonkers Raceway across the Hudson River, the Meadowlands offered a solid Saturday night card in which driver Andy Miller and a trio of Winbak Farm ...
Racing
Analyzing the Strength of the 2018 Breeders' Cup Juvenile Field
So far, eight of the thirteen Juvenile starters have come back to run again, with a mixture of success and disappointment. Let’s take a quick look at how each horse fared in their first post-Breeders’ Cup start: Knicks Go (2nd in the Juvenile) W ...
Racing
Keeler Johnson's Kentucky Derby Top 10: Major Changes to Kick Off 2019
For the first time in more than a month, there’s been a major shake-up in my .
Following disappointing efforts in Saturday Derby preps from Code of Honor (previously ranked #6) and Coliseum (ranked #8), I have elected to remove both colts from ...
Racing
Using Trainer Angles in Handicapping, Part 5
You’ve probably heard the talk—the talk of how trainer has become essentially unbeatable with his two-year-olds.
Maybe “unbeatable” is a bit of a stretch, but it isn’t far from the truth either. In 2018, Baffert’s two-year-olds compiled an otherw ...
Education
Parx Racing Pick of the Week for January 8
Tuesday's feature at Parx Racing (Race 9) is a second-level allowance with a $25,000 claiming option for four-year-olds and up at seven furlongs. #2 IT'S GOOD TO BE US (6-5) makes an awaited return from a layoff of more than six months for trainer Jo ...
Racing
2019 Kentucky Derby Contender Profile: Gunmetal Gray
But then again, we already know that Gunmetal Gray is capable of running faster, and favorable setup or not, he deserves credit for picking up the first graded stakes victory of his career. Perhaps Gunmetal Gray’s greatest asset is his consistency; h ...
Racing
Pegasus World Cup Turf prospectus: Internationals add needed depth
As the field for the $9 million Pegasus World Cup (G1) crystallizes, its newly minted companion event for January 26, the $7 million Pegasus World Cup Turf (G1), is still in the assembly stage.
Unlike the dirt contest that offers a terrific rem ...
Racing
Gunmetal Gray Rallies to Victory in Sham Stakes
Gunmetal Gray, coming off of a fifth-place finish in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile (gr. I) , was the clear second choice in the wagering, though his backers must have surely been feeling antsy halfway through the race, when Gunmetal Gray was disconnect ...
Racing
Feature Winners’ Topper Is $20.30; Exacta, $34, Trifecta $71 In Power Plays Event; Four Partner Perfectas
Welcome to 2019’s first TwinSpires Weekend Update harness blog. We take all the good elements that gave us great results last year (and the year before that and so on) and apply them to Y2K+19 events with all TwinSpires harness bettors in mind. Let’s ...
Racing
Sham runs through Coliseum for January Road to the Derby Bonus Cash
Players that opted in to TwinSpires.com 's January Road to the Derby Bonus Cash offer earlier this week and backed the winning favorite Mind Control in Tuesday's $150,000 Jerome at Aqueduct will receive a $10 bonus after placing $20 Win wagers on ...
Racing
Dover Downs offers solid Thursday card
With the opening round of the National Football League playoffs just around the corner, Dover Downs offered its first Thursday card of 2019 and several pacers delivered powerful performances. In one of the early races on the card, Casino Bags Carlo ...
Racing
Keying Coliseum in the Sham Stakes
Remember 2017, when Gormley “upset” American Athem in the Sham Stakes (gr. III) at Santa Anita and paid a whopping $5.20 to win? Remarkably, that modest payoff has been the highest in the Sham since the one-mile event became a Road to the Kent ...
Racing
Features From Five Tracks Available For Win, Place, Show And Power Plays As 2019 Harness Racing Opens For Business
In our first preview blog of the New Year, we wish a Happy Birthday to all racehorses. On Jan. 1, every division of standardbred racehorse introduced new members of both sexes and gaits. In the coming months, the stakes season will ensue for all of t ...
Racing
Why I'm Betting Well Defined in the Mucho Macho Man Stakes
When six horses head to the starting gate for Saturday’s $100,000 Mucho Macho Man Stakes at Gulfstream Park , most handicappers will have their eyes on #4 Code of Honor , and understandably so.
Although the Mucho Macho Man is not an official ...
Racing
2019 Kentucky Derby Contender Profile: Mind Control
There will be plenty of additional tests for Mind Control as he continues down the Road to the Kentucky Derby . Technically he still hasn’t won around two turns, which is the next logical obstacle to tackle, and in terms of speed figures he still ne ...
Racing
Mind Control Rebounds in Jerome Stakes
"I wanted to put him in the race and make sure that I was in a good position where if someone was going crazy, I could just sit off the speed," Velazquez told the New York Racing Association after the race. "I broke well and got the position I wanted ...
Racing
Jockey Eclipse Award belongs to Ortiz...but which one?
The Eclipse Award for jockeys is almost as tough as it was for trainers . The winner will definitely be named Ortiz but the question is, which one? Irad Jr. or Jose?
At first glance, Irad is the leader in total earnings and wins. That combinati ...
Racing
Dover Downs and Northfield Park help usher in New Year for harness racing fans
One night after harness racing fans bid of fond farewell to the legendary Foiled Again following his final start at the Meadows near Pittsburgh, standardbred fans kicked off the New Year with a bevy of good efforts from trotters and pacers at Dover D ...
Racing
Powell: A vote for Baffert and other Eclipse Award thoughts
With over two full days to spare, I submitted my 2018 Eclipse Awards ballot. That is an upset in itself. The last Grade 1 stakes race of the year was run on Saturday so there was no more reason to wait, and this year's late season stakes races did ha ...
Racing
Foiled Again fails as the favorite in career finale
While millions of Americans were making their final plans for the New Year's Eve celebrations centering around the famous ball drop in Manhattan, Foiled Again, harness racing's all-time richest horse of either gait, faded to fifth as the 6-5 favorite ...
Racing
Keeler Johnson's Kentucky Derby Top 10: The Calm Before the Storm
Just as we’re on the verge of entering 2019, we’re also on the verge of entering a new stage on the Road to the 2019 Kentucky Derby .
Things have been quiet over the last couple of weeks, but that will change when the two-year-olds of today tur ...
Racing
2019 Racing Preview: 5 Wishes for the New Year
Happy New Year, racing fans!
Maybe my greeting is a tad premature—2019 is still a few hours away—but I can’t help myself. I’m already thinking ahead to the new year and pondering an interesting question: If I could make five racing-related wishes, ...
Racing
Our Braintrust the Jerome pick for January Road to the Derby Bonus Cash
The new year brings many things, most significantly for racing fans a ratcheting up of the Road to the Kentucky Derby series.
To coincide with the four Derby preps that will be held in January, TwinSpires.com will be offering January Road to ...
Racing
Charles Town offers lucrative Pick 6 pool
While many sports fans were focused on watching the College Football Playoff semifinals and gearing up for the last day of the NFL season one day later, thoroughbred racing fans turned their attention in an unlikely direction on Saturday night as Cha ...
Racing
2019 Racing Preview: 5 Horses I Can't Wait to Watch
Which horses are you excited to see race in 2019? ...
Racing
2019 Racing Preview: 5 Races You Won’t Want to Miss
With 2019 on the horizon, I’m already looking forward to another sensational year of racing and anticipating some of the exciting showdowns and matchups that we’ll witness across the globe.
Five races in particular are already on my radar as intri ...
Racing
Why I'm Betting Mind Control in the Jerome Stakes
Judging from recent history, it takes a very specific type of horse to win the $150,000 Jerome Stakes at Aqueduct , the first of four Road to the Kentucky Derby prep races being held at the New York track this year.
Since the race was m ...
Racing
Why the Preakness is my 2018 Race of the Year
When first thinking about the “Race of the Year” topic, I couldn’t settle on just one. Enable ’s historic victory in the Breeders’ Cup Turf (G1) was on the short list, for the reasons pointed out by Vance Hanson – and I’d add for the intrigue of ...
Racing
TwinSpires 2018 Harness Players’ Horse Of The Year Leads Parade Of Profits
Each December the TwinSpires harness-racing department studies the 12-month archives of suggested contenders posted in the exclusive weekly harness blog. From that review, we categorize all of the winners that have paid at least two digits (4-1 and u ...
Racing
Laurel Park hosts stakes-filled Saturday card
During the weekend between Christmas Day and the various New Year's Eve celebrations leading up to 2019, many racing fans still have a thirst for quality action and several of them turned their attention to Laurel Park on Saturday afternoon as the Ma ...
Racing
Top 5 ‘what-ifs’ of 2018
Playing the “what-if” game is endemic to a sport featuring innumerable variables, from troubled trips and adverse conditions to ill-timed setbacks. The counterfactuals I find most compelling are the ones that revolve around deliberate choice – the fo ...
Racing
Get Ready for the Pegasus World Cup Turf Invitational
The Stronach Group has decided to add a turf race to it's Pegasus World Cup program. Starting on January 26, Gulfstream Park will not only showcase the best horses in the world on dirt, it will also showcase the best horses in the world on turf. Wit ...
Racing
Trainer Profile: Edward Plesa Jr.
The name Edward Plesa Jr. isn't known to horseplayers that don't bet on races at Gulfstream or Monmouth. That's where Plesa Jr. saddles most of his runners. He rarely saddles a horse outside of Gulfstream or Monmouth, only occasionally putting the sa ...
Racing
Classy John’s my favorite backstory of 2018
Horse racing is replete with great stories on and off the track, and the tale of Louisiana-bred juvenile Classy John sticks in my mind as a favorite from the past year.
Trained by Dallas Stewart for Valene Farms, Classy John was the modestly bre ...
Racing
Top 4 Baffert Runners That Should Have Won the Crown
Bob Baffert's top 3-year-old, soon to be 4-year-old, in training dominated his competition in the Grade 1 Malibu Stakes on Santa Anita's Opening Day. McKinzie looked unbeatable when he took down a solid field of runners. He should challenge Accelerat ...
Racing
Enable's Breeders' Cup Turf a worthy 2018 Race of the Year
When you think about choosing a "Race of the Year," the default choice is often a) something historic, or b) a thrilling, spine-tingling finish. Maybe something in combination, if you're lucky to find one.
Justify 's Triple Crown-sweeping Belmo ...
Racing
Foiled Again set to make career finale on New Year's Eve
While many Americans will be looking to wring in the New Year in style late on Monday night waiting for the ball to drop on 2018 and usher in the beginning of 2019, numerous harness racing fans will be looking to bid a fond farewell to Foiled Again a ...
Racing
Variety of Distances On Tap for Saturday Stakes Races at Gulfstream
Whether you’re a fan of dirt racing or grass racing, there are plenty of quality betting options available on the final weekend of racing in 2018.
In terms of listed stakes races (of which there are many on the agenda), Laurel Park has the dirt r ...
Racing
Jockey Profile: Jersey Joe Bravo
Horseplayers on the west coast might not know the name of one of the top jockeys in the United States, Joe Bravo. Bravo owns Monmouth Park, winning 13 riding titles. He's known as having great success on front runners, but riding early types isn't Jo ...
Racing
The Great Gary Stevens Hangs Up His Tack
On Dec. 26, 2018 some of the best jockeys in the world took a leg up on some of the top horses in North America at the Great Race Place, Santa Anita Park. One jockey that didn't take a leg up was the great Gary Stevens. Stevens, George Woolf to those ...
Racing
Potential Derby Contenders Face Off on Stakes-Packed Day at Laurel Park
The last weekend of racing in 2018 offers somewhat slim pickings in terms of graded stakes races, but if you find non-graded stakes races appealing—and if they have large fields, who doesn’t?—there will be plenty of action to keep you entertained.
...
Racing
Canadian Tracks Present Profit-Motive Events; Power Plays A-Plenty; Hunting Scores In Last Efforts For 2018 Divisions
This is the final 2018 preview blog. Our final review blog for the year, on Monday, Dec. 31, is the annual opening of the books and the crowning of our TwinSpires Players’ Horse of the Year for 2018. Here, we go for selected features and Power Plays, ...
Racing
Keying a juvenile in deep maiden race on Santa Anita Opener
Race 5 on the 10-race card on opening day at “The Great Race Place” is a maiden special weight event for juveniles. A field of 11 will go postward in a race that looks loaded to me. The 6 1/2-furlong dash is among the top betting races on the card.
...
Racing
Stakes spot plays for opening day at Santa Anita
Ten races are on tap for a fine opening day at Santa Anita on Wednesday. The December 26 staple will play host to five stakes races with some marquee names among the entrants.
Here's a look at some horses of interest to me:
Malibu (G1)
Ove ...
Racing
How to Bet Santa Anita's Opening Day Late Pick 4
The traditional December 26th Opening Day card at Santa Anita is filled with stakes races and horizontal wagering opportunities, including a late Pick 4 that starts in Race 7 with the Mathis Brothers Mile (G2) and includes the San Antonio (G2) and th ...
Racing
Keeler Johnson's Kentucky Derby Top 10: Thoughts, Insights, and Fun Facts
Merry Christmas, racing fans!
Today might be Christmas Eve, with the holiday itself just a day away, but it’s also Monday, which means it’s time to share my latest Kentucky Derby Top 10 rankings. For the second straight week, I don’t have any ch ...
Racing
2018 Year in Review: In Remembrance of Racing's Departed Stars
With 2018 winding down, the following is a brief remembrance of equine and human stars who passed away during the course of the year.
Though hardly a complete list, we hope to shine a spotlight on some of these memorable figures and their unforget ...
Racing
Tough Feature And Power Plays Contenders Strike, Assist Exotic Prices, Including $23 Surprise; $19 Tops ‘Watch’ Winners
Our suggested contenders were very much in the thick of all the exotic action this week.
Here is how the week panned out:
Thursday, Dec. 20
This week’s selected features began with a Power Plays Late Daily Double (DD) at Pompano. Each race a ...
Racing
Malibu Stakes Could Produce Next Dirt Star
Like every year, Santa Anita's Opening Day is on Dec. 26. For most people, the day after Christmas is exactly that. It's nothing more and nothing less. For horsepalyers, Dec. 26 is Christmas. It's the start of a new thoroughbred racing season, one ...
Racing
Betting Exactas in the La Brea Stakes
While handicapping the $300,000 La Brea Stakes (gr. I) on opening day at Santa Anita , it’s not hard to conclude that the race runs through the barn of Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert.
Baffert will be represented by two of the nine entrants ...
Racing
Why I'm Betting Nero in the Malibu Stakes
Get ready, everyone! Racing in North America will be taking a one-day hiatus on December 25th to celebrate Christmas, but we’ll be right back in the thick of things on December 26th when the annual winter/spring meet at Santa Anita kicks off wit ...
Racing
2019 Racing Preview: Who Will Get Hot, Who Will Get Cold?
A new year of racing is on the horizon, and in preparation, it can be a useful exercise for handicappers to project which jockeys, trainers, and horses are poised for banner years or quiet years compared to 2018.
Having an idea of what to expect d ...
Racing
Thoughts on Santa Super Saturday Pick 4 at Fair Grounds
A premium will be on sharp handicapping throughout the terrific 14-race Santa Super Saturday card at Fair Grounds, where many of the races are devoted to up-and-coming two-year-old talent.
We'll try and build up the bankroll on the front half o ...
Racing
Tis the season...
With the Christmas Day and New Year's Day holidays rapidly approaching, voting members of the National Turf Writers Association and United States Harness Writers Association have been busy filling out their respective ballots for divisional champions ...
Racing
Juveniles to watch on Santa Super Saturday at Fair Grounds
A huge day of racing will take place on Saturday at Fair Grounds . Fourteen races will be contested in total, with six of those of the stakes variety. Juveniles will also have a strong presence on the card as eight of the 14 are for two-year-olds.
...
Racing
2018 Year in Review: Horse Racing's Top 5 Biggest Upsets
Country Chick Posts 123-1 Upset at Kentucky Downs
She had finished last in her lone previous start over the tricky turf course at Kentucky Downs . Her lone win had come at Belterra Park, and she was entering off a fourth-place fi ...
Racing
Why I'm Betting Aqueduct Specialists in the Gravesend Stakes
Aqueduct can be a bit of a tricky racetrack—slow, tiring, and distinctly different from the other tracks in New York—which is why I’ll lean toward proven Aqueduct specialists when handicapping Sunday’s $100,000 Gravesend Stakes .
First and fo ...
Racing
2018-19 Road to the Kentucky Derby Year-End Review
With the running of the Zen-Nippon Nisai Yushun in Japan on December 19th, the final Kentucky Derby prep race of 2018 entered the history books, giving us an opportunity to look back on the season before the calendar turns over and we continue h ...
Racing
Profit Perspective For Quartet Of Tracks With Power Plays; Across-The-Board Features Aim High In Prices
Here is the penultimate preview blog of 2018 as our winter campaign for profits ensues with selected features and Power Plays, including horses we have been pinpointing for positive trips. The options for high-paying contenders are never certain (we ...
Racing
Year in Review: Who Was the Top Jockey in 2018?
It seems like a simple question: Who was the top jockey in North America in 2018?
By basic metrics such as overall wins and earnings, the answer is similarly simple: Irad Ortiz, Jr. As of December 17th, the 26-year-old rider leads all jockeys by ...
Racing
Year in Review: My Favorite Moment (That Wasn't a Race)
For the most part, the most memorable moments in any given year of horse racing will be individual races that stand out as exciting, brilliant, or competitive. That’s understandable, right? It’s called horse racing, and the races are bound to take c ...
Racing
Keeler Johnson's Kentucky Derby Top 10: No Changes (For Now)
As the racing year winds down, the final Kentucky Derby prep races of the season are wrapping up.
On Sunday, Long Range Toddy forged to a narrow victory in the Remington Springboard Mile , earning 10 qualification points toward the 2019 Der ...
Racing
Derby, Oaks Contenders Star on Stakes-Packed Saturday at Fair Grounds
Up-and-coming two-year-olds with an eye on the 2019 Kentucky Derby and Kentucky Oaks are among the many talented horses entered in the six stakes races scheduled for December 22nd at Fair Grounds .
It’s yet another action-packed Saturda ...
Racing
Rating the First Round of 2019 Kentucky Derby Preps
Remington Springboard Mile
The Clever Trevor Stakes winner Long Range Toddy held off the Sleepy Hollow Stakes winner Bankit to win by a head and record his third straight victory . Meanwhile, the Spendthrift Juvenile Stallion Stakes winner Dunp ...
Racing
2019 Kentucky Derby Contender Profile: Long Range Toddy
If you’re looking for a 2019 Kentucky Derby contender with the pedigree to excel running 1 ¼ miles on the first Saturday in May, then you’ll be excited to check out Long Range Toddy , who burst onto the Derby scene with a hard-fought victory in ...
Racing
Long Range Toddy Hangs On in Remington Springboard Mile
In a race packed with traffic-filled trips, big middle moves, and dramatic late rallies, Long Range Toddy managed to defy the overall race trends and emerge victorious in the $400,000 Remington Springboard Mile on December 16th at Remington P ...
Racing
Kentucky Derby Pedigree Profile: Long Range Toddy
Willis Horton's Long Range Toddy angled out at the top of the stretch and gamely held late to take the $400,000 Springboard Mile at Remington Park on Sunday evening. The two-year-old colt earned his second straight black-type tally while ear ...
Racing
Rosecroft offers solid Sunday card on closing night
While two days of steady rains may have left the racing surface "good" for Sunday's closing night card at Rosecroft Raceway on Sunday, the departure of inclement weather before post time allowed onlookers to avoid having the enthusiasm surrounding th ...
Racing
Year in Review: The Best Horse of 2018
Already I’m looking ahead to 2019, when Almond Eye is expected to take on the world in races like the Dubai Sheema Classic (UAE-I) and the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe (Fr-I). In the latter race, Almond Eye could even square off against the two-time Arc ...
Racing
Power Plays’ Contenders Contribute To Exotic-Winning Tickets; Exacta Partner Pumps Up $46 Payoff
Our suggested contenders were very much in the thick of all the exotic action this week.
Here is how the week panned out:
Thursday, Dec. 13
Another extended Power Plays at Philly presented a single, low-priced winner, included in four of fiv ...
Racing
Year in Review: The Best Race of 2018
From start to finish, the Preakness was exciting, dramatic, and contested. Pre-race downpours had left the Pimlico main track sloppy and sealed, and as post time approached dense fog settled in, making it difficult to discern the horses even on telev ...
Racing
How to play the all-stakes Pick 4 Sunday at Remington Park
The closing day card of the 2018 Remington Park season is Sunday, and it concludes with a $100,000 guaranteed all-stakes Pick 4. Leg three is the $400,000 Springboard Mile , the final point-scoring opportunity of the year in the 2019 Road to the K ...
Racing
Graded stakes plays for Gulfstream Park
A big day of stakes action will be held at Gulfstream Park on Saturday. Five graded events in total will be held, and I have some opinions on each of them.
H arlan’s Holiday (G3)
AUDIBLE (#1) (2-5) is obvious for Todd Pletcher in the 1 1/1 ...
Racing
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