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Horse Racing This Weekend: Key Races, Top Horses & Best Bets [Jan. 31]
Scully: Pick 3 Play at Tampa Bay Downs Saturday
Spot Plays for Tampa, Gulfstream Jan. 31, 2026
Hong Kong: Selections for Sha Tin night of Jan. 31
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Tips and Trends for Handicapping Marathons
Marathon horse races held over 1 ¾ miles or farther aren’t all that common in North America, and when they are on the agenda, some handicappers find themselves puzzled by the unusual challenge of handicapping such long-distance races.
What do you ...
Education
Sundays offer plenty of harness action
While many sports enthusiasts remained glued to the television sets on Sunday afternoon and evening watching the numerous NFL games available, harness racing fans were eager to catch the action at a trio of five-eighths mile ovals in three different ...
Racing
Mendelssohn poised to be a good thing in the breeding shed
If any horse this year has earned his retirement and a subsequent lifetime of "work" in the breeding shed, it's MENDELSSOHN . He made six cross-Atlantic trips to America this year and one to Dubai, which is as long as his trips to America. And t ...
Racing
Santa Anita Park Preview
Like I wrote in an earlier blog, Frank's a people person. He engages with fellow horseplayers because like us, he has a passion for the sport. He loves horse racing, which is why from his first day on the job he should be an instant success. Don't ...
Racing
Keeler Johnson's Kentucky Derby Top 10: Game Winner Challenged By His Stablemate?
For the first time this season, a horse has emerged to challenge Game Winner for the top spot in my Kentucky Derby Top 10, a position that the son of Candy Ride has tenaciously held since September.
Ultimately, Game Winner narrowly retained ...
Racing
Baffert's Got Another Strong Derby Hand
It's almost become a foregone conclusion that the great Bob Baffert heads into the New Year with the top 3-year-olds on the planet. No exception to 2019. Bob's stable has at least 4 Derby contenders already with more on the way. Just as a reminder t ...
Racing
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Kentucky Derby Pedigree Profile: Improbable
Improbable moved his sterling mark to three wins from as many outings with an impressive, five-length score in the Los Alamitos Futurity (G1) on Saturday.
Racing
2019 Kentucky Derby Contender Profile: Improbable
That tremendous move, coupled with a final sixteenth in :06.39, carried Improbable to a five-length victory and elicited praise from Baffert and WinStar Farm representative Elliot Walden. “Improbable has a long stride like Justify,” Baffert told Los ...
Racing
Watch Out, Game Winner: Improbable Impresses in Los Alamitos Futurity
Mucho Gusto, himself a promising colt with a victory in the Bob Hope Stakes (gr. III) under his belt, stayed on well to finish clearly second best, three lengths clear of the late-running Extra Hope . Coming home fourth was the Bob Hope runner-up S ...
Racing
Yonkers and Meadowlands hosts solid Saturday night cards
While much of the northeast and Mid-Atlantic region was spared the premature winter storm that made its presence known throughout the midwest before trekking east, Yonkers and the Meadowlands both hosted solid programs that were filled with overnight ...
Racing
Yonkers $83 Winner Best Of Year To Date; $25 Cold Exacta Strike; Favorites Sour Features
In the final days of 2018 our horses-to-watch list (H2W) came up with another huge winner. The huge priced winner came on a slow-wagering weekend otherwise, with the best of our results, including a cold exacta, partner-exactas with crowd favorites a ...
Racing
Grass Championships Wide-Open at the 2018 Eclipse Awards
Aside from Stormy Liberal, Oscar Performance won the Woodbine Mile (gr. I) and the Poker Stakes (gr. III) but was soundly beaten in the Breeders’ Cup Mile; Robert Bruce won the Fort Marcy (gr. III) and the Arlington Million (gr. I) but finished m ...
Racing
Savagery an intriguing prospect in Los Alamitos Futurity
The American Graded Stakes Committee announced recently that the Los Alamitos Futurity (G1) would be downgraded next year to Grade 2 status. Trainer Bob Baffert has won the 1 1/16-mile event 10 times and has two of the strong choices in Saturday’s ...
Racing
Dover Downs offers another solid Thursday card
One week after it hosted the last major stakes race for three-year-iold colt pacers on the calendar, Dover Downs offered a solid card filled with over night races and presented while many local racegoers were watching with a heavy heart. Longtime Do ...
Racing
Betting a Cold Exacta in the Louisiana Champions Day Sprint Stakes
While some handicappers understandably shy away from betting heavy favorites, under the right circumstances, I’m more than happy to back a short-priced contender if I think I can make a nice score in the exotic wagers.
Such is the case in Saturday ...
Racing
How to Bet the Valedictory Stakes
Want to take on a difficult handicapping challenge this weekend? Then come join me in analyzing Sunday’s $125,000 Valedictory Stakes (gr. III) at Woodbine .
The uncommon (and very testing) 1 ¾-mile distance would make this race tricky to hand ...
Racing
Exotic Philly Power Plays; Money-Makers At Meadowlands; Pushing Northfield’s ‘Button’
So goes the 2018 stakes season on all levels. Still, harness racing through the holiday season is chock full of opportunities, some that contribute greatly to bankrolls on the brink of red ink. So our campaign for profits continues through the New Ye ...
Racing
Betting a Baffert Exacta in the Los Alamitos Futurity
Just how many times has the Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert won the $300,000 Los Alamitos Futurity (gr. I) , which will be renewed for the 38th time on December 8th?
Well, technically, Baffert has never lost the Los Alamitos Futurity. Since th ...
Racing
Keying Mother Mother in the Starlet Stakes
At first glance, the December 8th $300,000 Starlet Stakes (gr. I) at Los Alamitos isn’t the most appealing race from a betting perspective—with just six starters, payoffs could be on the small side.
But then again, the 1 1/16-mile Road to th ...
Racing
Six Juvenile Stakes Races Scheduled for December 8th at Gulfstream Park
As part of an action-packed afternoon of racing on December 8th, Gulfstream Park will host not only the Clasico Internacional del Caribe series (showcasing some of the best horses from Latin America and the Caribbean), but also a half-dozen st ...
Racing
Hong Kong does it right
Recently, I was added to the media mailing list of the Hong Kong Jockey Club (HKJC). With their four big international races coming up this weekend, my mailbox is being filled up each day. Keep them coming!
What is striking about their media missi ...
Racing
Betting Regional Class Advantages, Part 2
In a recent article here on TwinSpires, we discussed how regional class advantages can exist throughout the sport of horse racing and produce to profitable wagering opportunities.
Education
Multiple Breeds Take Center Stage on Louisiana Champions Day
The upcoming Saturday race card at Fair Grounds offers something for everyone, whether you’re a fan of dirt or turf races, sprints or route, juveniles or older horses, and Thoroughbreds or Quarter Horses.
On a day billed as “Louisiana Champion ...
Racing
Keeler Johnson's Kentucky Derby Top 10: Maximus Mischief On the Rise
Although no new names have joined my Kentucky Derby Top 10 following the weekend of December 1-2, that doesn’t mean my rankings have gone completely unchanged.
To the contrary, Maximus Mischief has moved up following an eye-catching victo ...
Racing
2019 Kentucky Derby Contender Profile: Maximus Mischief
Understandably, some handicappers will continue to point toward Maximus Mischief’s pedigree as a reason why he won’t excel running 1 ¼ miles on the first Saturday in May. But rare is the two-year-old who can run a pair of sub-:24 quarters during the ...
Racing
Rosecroft Raceway hosts third annual Potomac Pace
Amid balmy, misty conditions on Sunday evening, Rosecroft Raceway hosted the third edition of the $100,000 Potomac Pace on a stellar card that also included a $25,000 Maryland Invitational and a special invite featuring Foiled Again as part of his fa ...
Racing
Kentucky Derby Pedigree Profile: Maximus Mischief
Although Maximus Mischief stayed 1 1/8 miles to win the Remsen (G2), pedigree suggests that could be his maximum trip.
Bred by Martha Jane Mulholland in Kentucky, the $340,000 Fasig-Tipton Midlantic juvenile is a son of Into Mischief, a top ...
Racing
Jockey Profile: Joe Talamo
Horseplayers who play Southern California tracks Santa Anita Park and Del Mar know that one of the most reliable jockeys on the grounds is Joe Talamo. Joe almost never rides the best horse, but he always does a great job. Unless Talamo's mounts have ...
Racing
Trainer Profile: Rudy R. Rodriguez
Many horseplayers still aren't aware that Rudy Rodriguez's one of the top trainers in the nation. Rudy has saddled plenty of graded stakes winners. But because most of horses win claiming, allowance, and non-graded stakes, he doesn't get the attentio ...
Racing
Maximus Mischief Handles Class, Distance Tests in Remsen Stakes
Trained by Robert “Butch” Reid, Jr. and owned by Cash is King LLC and LC Racing, the victory earned Maximus Mischief $137,500 and 10 Kentucky Derby qualification points, but seeing him run such a professional race while stretching out in distance was ...
Racing
Glamour-Boy Pacers’ Season Fizzles; Pair Of $10 Winners Best Of Few
It’s that time of the year when we pick and choose races for features and offer promising prices from all pools, win, place, show and exotics. Here is how the first week of the last month of this year panned out:
Thursday, Nov. 29
The Progres ...
Racing
Rosecroft set to host solid Sunday card
Tomorrow evening while many sports enthusiasts are still watching the action from across the National Football League, harness racing fans will turn their attention to Rosecroft Raceway as the Maryland five-eighths mile oval hosts the $100,000 Potoma ...
Racing
Thoughts on Saturday’s stakes at Aqueduct
Aqueduct offers four stakes with the potential for odds-on favorites -- Enliven, Marley’s Feedom, Maximus Mischief and Mendelssohn – in the Demoiselle (G2), Go for Wand (G2), Remsen (G2) and Cigar Mile (G1). I won’t be surprised to see any win, but ...
Racing
Horses to watch on 2018 Claiming Crown Day at Gulfstream
The 20th Claiming Crown highlights Saturday's opening of the 2018-19 Gulfstream Park Championship Meet. The fields are huge and the betting opportunities plentiful.
Don't forget to opt in to TwinSpires.com's $10,000 Place Payout . Bet $5 to Pl ...
Racing
Dover Downs offers lucrative Thursday card; field set for Sunday program at Rosecroft
Thursday evening Dover Downs offered a lucrative card that featured the last major open stakes race of the schedule for three-year-old colt pacers in addition to four finals for Delaware-bred two-year-olds of both gaits and genders. That afternoon th ...
Racing
Why I'm Keying the Favorites in the Hollywood Derby
With relatively few opportunities remaining for horses to compete against Grade 1 company before the end of 2018, fourteen three-year-olds have turned out to contest Saturday’s $300,000 Hollywood Derby (gr. I) at Del Mar .
But while the huge ...
Racing
Will Mendelssohn Prevail in the Cigar Mile?
More often than not, the $750,000 Cigar Mile Handicap (gr. I) at Aqueduct is won by a horse exiting a Breeders’ Cup race, whether it’s the Classic, the Dirt Mile, or even the Sprint.
It only makes sense. With its Grade 1 ranking, its hefty p ...
Racing
How to Bet the Exotics in the Remsen Stakes
If you’re among the many handicappers who figure to place their betting dollars on #5 Network Effect in Saturday’s $250,000 Remsen Stakes (gr. II) at Aqueduct , I certainly can’t blame you.
What’s not to like? He’s got the powerful team of ...
Racing
Seven Maiden Winners Face Off in Demoiselle Stakes
Looking for a wide-open race to handicap this weekend? Well, considering that none of the seven entrants in Saturday’s $250,000 Demoiselle Stakes (gr. II) at Aqueduct have won more than a maiden race, it could take a bit of skill to determine ...
Racing
Delaware’s Best Fight In Finals; Progress Pace Pick Defies Public; Power Plays
Dover’s signature Progress Pace Final for soph-colt pacers and some state-breds highlight our features this time around, then we head for “Overnight Land,” where exotics and particular events loom profitable. Our first Power Plays combo of the off-se ...
Racing
Claiming Crown Kicks Off Gulfstream Park 2018-2019 Championship Meet
The 2018-2019 Championship Meet at Gulfstream Park will kick off with a bang on December 1st with the 20th running of the Claiming Crown, a series of nine races restricted to current or former claiming race competitors.
With total purse money ...
Racing
Dover Downs set to host solid Thursday card
One week after the Thanksgiving Day holiday weekend and the coinciding 'Black Friday' mad dash to the mall for early Christmas shoppers, Dover Downs will offer a solid card on Thursday evening as good blend of talented invaders and local trainees bat ...
Racing
Girls will be Girls
By DICK POWELL
It’s a big deal when females beat males in American horse racing but barely noticeable around the world. Enable won the Breeders’ Cup Turf (G1) and Magical was right behind her with a huge gap back to the boys. Coming off her w ...
Racing
Kentucky Derby Pedigree Profile: Signalman
If Kentucky Jockey Club (G2) winner Signalman has a blue-collar pedigree up front, you don’t have to go far to find influential players along with the Rasmussen Factor.
Signalman was bred by Dr. Gary Knapp’s Monticule, the Kentucky farm respon ...
Racing
Santa Anita’s New Race Caller is Frank Mirahmadi
On Monday, Nov. 26, Santa Anita announced that their new race caller starting on Dec. 26 was Frank Mirahmadi. Frank's a Southern Californian through and through having been born in Beverly Hills and spending plenty of time at the place of his new job ...
Racing
Make Happy dominant, Romantico one to watch in Cattleya Sho
The Cattleya Sho was run on Saturday at Tokyo Racecourse for two-year-olds going 1,600 meters (about one mile) on the dirt. It is a left-handed race around one turn and is part of the Japan Road to the Kentucky Derby with points being awarded on ...
Racing
Keeler Johnson's Kentucky Derby Top 10: Signalman Moves Up
The action on the Road to the Kentucky Derby picked up over the weekend with Signalman claiming a gutsy victory in the Kentucky Jockey Club Stakes (gr. II) and the filly Make Happy powering to a decisive win in the Cattleya Sho in Japa ...
Racing
Rosecroft and Pompano host solid Sunday cards
One week before the Maryland oval will host the third edition of the $100,000 Potomac Pace for older pacers, Rosecroft Raceway offered a solid Sunday evening program and Pompano Park contributed to the five-eighths mile features with a trio of stakes ...
Racing
‘All Others’ bet down as favorites in Pool 1 of the Kentucky Derby Future Wager
KENTUCKY DERBY SIRE FUTURE WAGER ...
Racing
Game Winner Heads First 2019 Kentucky Derby Top 5 Power Rankings
Game Winner's a solid choice to win the 2019 Kentucky Derby. The Bob Baffert trainee that easily handled his opponents in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile offered 6/1 odds to win the Run for the Roses in the first Kentucky Derby Futures Pool. Makes sense ...
Racing
2018 Break Out Year for Trainer Mike McCarthy
Not many horseplayers know the name Mike McCarthy. The man who trained City of Light to the most impressive victory on this year's Breeders' Cup Champions Saturday hasn't trained for long. While some of his peers have put saddles on horses for 30 yea ...
Racing
2019 Kentucky Derby Contender Profile: Signalman
Million-dollar yearlings make headlines from the moment they change hands at auction. But what about $32,000 yearlings? They have to wait and let their racing exploits make headlines instead, and suffice to say, Signalman is already making plenty ...
Racing
Betting Regional Class Advantages, Part 1
While the old saying “a good horse can come from anywhere” is certainly true, it’s also true that good horses are more likely to come from some places than others.
A great example comes from California, where a greater emphasis is placed on dirt r ...
Education
Signalman Digs Deep in Kentucky Jockey Club Stakes
You can argue that luck played a significant role in allowing Signalman to reach the wire first in Saturday’s $200,000 Kentucky Jockey Club Stakes (gr. II) at Churchill Downs . But luck merely put Signalman in the position to win, and it was un ...
Racing
Captain Crunch Devours Frosh Pacers With Delicious Price; Shartin N Soars In The Slop; McWicked With Ease
Stakes season ends but harness racing never ends. Here are the results and some brief notes on our successes and failures from the last stakes weekend of 2018.
Saturday, Nov. 24
The Meadowlands was a mushy mess for the special ...
Racing
Meadowlands, Yonkers offer solid Saturday night cards
A series of steady rains may have left the racing surfaces at both the Meadowlands and Yonkers Raceway sloppy, but they could not dampen the enthusiasm surrounding both cards. In one of the early races on the Meadowlands program, Emoticon Hanover (D ...
Racing
Filly Make Happy Earns Derby Qualification Points in Cattleya Sho
Nevertheless, Make Happy’s victory in the Cattleya Sho brought her record to a perfect 2-for-2; she had previously won a one-mile newcomers race at Tokyo by a staggering ten lengths. Sold for $650,000 earlier this year and now racing for owner Kazuko ...
Racing
Restless Rider the key in Fleur de Lis Pick 4 and Churchill's late Pick 4
Saturday's Golden Rod (G2) and Kentucky Jockey Club (G2) at Churchill Downs are part of the inaugural Fleur de Lis Pick 4 and Churchill's own Late Pick 4, both of which are intriguing sequences. Here's how we'll be playing both wagers, starting wi ...
Racing
How to Bet the 2018 Kentucky Jockey Club
by SCOTT SHAPIRO
The final graded stakes event of the year in Kentucky drew a full field of two-year-olds in search of 10 “Road to the Kentucky Derby ” leaderboard points to the winner.
The Kentucky Jockey Club Stakes (G2) attracted the sec ...
Racing
What constitutes a race foul needs to be more properly defined
by DICK POWELL
The newly-minted Thoroughbred Idea Foundation (TIF) came out with their second report titled "Changing the Rules." It recommends that North American racing adopt the International Horse Racing Federation's Category 1 interference ...
Racing
Bessarabian Stakes Offers Rematch of Ontario Fashion Stakes Rivals
If the field for Sunday’s $175,000 Bessarabian Stakes (gr. II) at Woodbine seems a bit familiar, that’s because the seven-furlong all-weather sprint is essentially a rematch of last month’s Ontario Fashion Stakes (gr. III) over the same track. ...
Racing
2019 Kentucky Derby Sire Future Wager Pool: Who Offers the Best Value?
If you’re planning to play Kentucky Derby Future Wager Pool 1 this weekend—and let’s face it, if you’re a Derby fan, how can you skip it?—you might also want to take a look at the lesser-known Kentucky Derby Sire Future Wager Pool that will ...
Racing
2019 Kentucky Derby Future Wager Pool 1: Three Longshots to Consider
On a busy weekend with two Kentucky Derby prep races in the United States and Japan, bettors will have an opportunity to lock in early value on some of the top Derby contenders thanks to Kentucky Derby Future Wager Pool 1.
This special wageri ...
Racing
Taking a swing at the Fleur de Lis Pick 4
by JOHN MUCCIOLO
The inaugural “Fleur De Lis Pick 4” will be held on Saturday. This cross-track wager will feature a pair of races from both Churchill Downs and Fair Grounds , with a pair of graded races in the sequence.
I feel as though th ...
Racing
How to Bet the 2018 Clark Handicap
by SCOTT SHAPIRO
The Clark Handicap (G1) headlines a strong 12-race card on the final Friday of live racing in 2018 at historic Churchill Downs . The $500,000 event conducted at 1 1/8 miles drew a field of eight headlined by the runner-up in the ...
Racing
Playing Against the Favorites in the Kentucky Jockey Club Stakes
Full field? Check. Competitive betting race? Check. Official Kentucky Derby prep race? Check again.
The 2018-19 Road to the Kentucky Derby will resume on Saturday with the $200,000 Kentucky Jockey Club Stakes (gr. II) at Churchill Downs, a ...
Racing
Restless Rider Stands Out in Golden Rod Stakes
There are some very promising young fillies entered in Saturday’s $200,000 Golden Rod Stakes (gr. II) at Churchill Downs , but by pretty much any metric you choose, #5 Restless Rider is the horse to beat.
Already the daughter of Distorted H ...
Racing
Fall Final Four At Meadowlands Overture; Marion Marauder’s Money Shot; A Moot McWicked Mile
This is it. After this blog and our weekly review (a day short this week due to the U.S. holiday that is dark for racing on Nov. 22), we return to our winter schedule, with selected features and strikes at single- and multi-race exotics. Th ...
Racing
Churchill Downs, Fair Grounds to offer Fleur de Lis Pick 4 on Saturday
Churchill Downs and Fair Grounds have teamed to offer horseplayers the cross-track "Fleur de Lis Pick 4" on Saturday with a minimum wager of 50 cents.
Here's the sequence for the inaugural Fleur de Lis Pick 4, which features 40 entries ( ...
Racing
Will Chicago Style Upset the Hollywood Turf Cup?
In my opinion, one of the most interesting handicapping challenges of the week is the $200,000 Hollywood Turf Cup (gr. II) on Friday at Del Mar , a 1 ½-mile turf race that pits established stars in questionable form against a handful of up-and- ...
Racing
Stella di Camelot Stands Out in Mrs. Revere Stakes
Technically speaking, Friday’s $200,000 Mrs. Revere Stakes (gr. II) at Churchill Downs is a Grade 2 event, and understandably so. The 8.5-furlong turf race for three-year-old fillies has been won by some very good horses over the last decade o ...
Racing
Is Seeking the Soul Unstoppable in the Clark Handicap?
As we approach the end of 2018 and enter the winter racing season, only two Grade 1 dirt races for older horses remain to be run this year, and one of them—the $500,000 Clark Handicap (gr. I) at Churchill Downs —is coming up this Friday.
That ...
Racing
Playing the Exacta in the Cardinal Handicap
The majority of the entrants in Saturday’s $100,000 Cardinal Handicap (gr. III) at Churchill Downs are veterans with more than a dozen races on their records, but the filly that interests me most in this nine-furlong turf test is the most ligh ...
Racing
Keying Divine Miss Grey in the Falls City Handicap
From a BRIS speed figure perspective, it’s hard to look past #1 Divine Miss Grey in Saturday’s $200,000 Falls City Handicap (gr. II) at Churchill Downs .
In a race that didn’t draw the toughest field for its grade, Divine Miss Grey appears ...
Racing
Quality racing during week of Thanksgiving
While many Americans will be on the highways on Wednesday afternoon and evening heading toward their Thanksgiving Day destinations, serious racing fans of both breeds will keep a close eye on the action that evening at Penn National and Dover Downs. ...
Racing
European Road to Kentucky Derby midterm report: Godolphin’s Royal Marine and O’Brien’s armada
At the comparable midway stage last year on the inaugural European Road to the Kentucky Derby , Aidan O’Brien’s Saxon Warrior topped John Gosden’s Roaring Lion on the leaderboard, with no dirt prospects in sight. While only time will tell if the cur ...
Racing
Powell: Baffert loaded for 2019 Kentucky Derby
by DICK POWELL
After winning the Triple Crown in 2015 with American Pharoah, it took Bob Baffert only three years to do it again with Justify. To raise the ante, Justify did it while undefeated, joining Seattle Slew. If you think Baffert is going ...
Racing
2019 Kentucky Derby Future wager, Sire Future Wager on tap Thanksgiving weekend
The fourth annual Kentucky Derby Sire Future Wager (KDSW), which provides bettors with a unique opportunity to wager on select breeding stars and their entire crop of juveniles with the hope of winning next year's Kentucky Derby, will be offered conc ...
Racing
Harrah's, Rosecroft and Pompano offer Sunday cards
While many sports enthusiasts were keen on watching the National Football League games throughout the day, many harness racing fans focused their attention on the trio of five-eighths mile oval that offered ample action for roughly 10 hours. In the ...
Racing
Eight Fillies Seek Graded Victory in Comely Stakes
Calling all three-year-old fillies! Friday’s $200,000 Comely Stakes (gr. III) might not be the most anticipated race on Thanksgiving week, but the nine-furlong event at Aqueduct does represent the penultimate opportunity for sophomore fillies ...
Racing
2019 Pegasus World Cup Power Rankings
The 3rd Annual Pegasus World Cup takes place on Saturday, Jan. 26, 2019 at Gulfstream Park. When they ran the first Pegasus World Cup in 2017, some felt it might not become the spectacle it's turned out to be. One of the reasons for the race's popul ...
Racing
How Studying Stallions Can Yield Profitable Pedigree Plays
It’s a known fact that the progeny of some stallions prefer racing on dirt rather than turf (or vice versa), but did you know that these preferences can be even more subtle than that—all the way down to showing a preference for certain turf course c ...
Racing
Two Of Four Matron Hits With $17 Best W; $35 Winner At Cal-Expo Opener; 51 % In-The-Money Finishers
Dover finished off the Matron Stakes with sophomore finals and the Meadowlands had three elimination events for the Fall Final Four, which will be the main feature races in our Nov. 22.
Here are the results and some brief notes on our successe ...
Racing
Yonkers and Meadowlands offer Saturday night cards
One week before it is set to offer a stellar card filled with lucrative stakes, the Meadowlands offered a bevy of elimination races and several overnight events with horses gearing up for stakes action while Yonkers Raceway presented a bevy of solid ...
Racing
Thoughts on the $1,000 Show-Place-Win bonus at Churchill Downs
The sun is back shining in Kentucky for most of the weekend, and TwinSpires.com will be offering a chance to share in a $1,000 bonus on Saturday's Churchill Downs card.
Opt in to the Show-Place-Win promotion and then cash a $20 Show bet in Race ...
Racing
When Do Kentucky Derby Winners Typically Debut?
There can be no denying that the 2018 Kentucky Derby victory by Justify has signaled a significant shift in the way that horses are being prepared for that tough test on the first Saturday in May.
With horses racing less and less prior to the K ...
Racing
Persian Knight, Mozu Ascot Among Major Names in Mile Championship
If your weekend plans include handicapping high-class, ultra-competitive races with huge fields, then Sunday’s Mile Championship (Jpn-I) at Kyoto in should absolutely be on your radar.
Eighteen horses have been entered in the prestigious 1,600- ...
Racing
Dover Downs hosts four more Matron Stakes
A mild winter storm that brushed the Mid-Atlantic region five weeks early may have left the track sloppy at Dover Downs on Thursday evening, but it could hardly dampen the enthusiasm surrounding the solid card that evening which included four lucrati ...
Racing
Keying Avie's Flatter in the Coronation Futurity
This is hardly a creative opinion—to the contrary, it’s an opinion that will surely be shared by many—but it’s rather difficult to envision a scenario in which #3 Avie’s Flatter loses the $225,000 Coronation Futurity for Canadian-breds at Wood ...
Racing
How to Bet the River City Handicap at Churchill Downs
By DICK POWELL
A field of eight will contest Saturday’s River City Handicap (G3) for three-year-olds and up going 1 1/8 miles on the turf at Churchill Downs . There are no three-year-olds entered and the spread of assigned weights range from 121 ...
Racing
How to Bet the Red Smith Handicap at Aqueduct
By DICK POWELL
Like most sportswriters of his time, Red Smith knew all there was to know about baseball, boxing and horse racing. For most of his career, he was a columnist but wrote in a clear and concise style without the flowery language other ...
Racing
How to Bet the Bob Hope at Del Mar
By DICK POWELL
I love the names of the stakes races for the fall meeting at Del Mar. It shows my age but they make sense when you understand the demographics of horse racing.
Bob Hope was as big a star as there was when I was growing up. A maj ...
Racing
Is Monte Man Unstoppable in the Heitai Stakes?
As of last October, #1 Monte Man was a nothing more than a decent claimer on the New York circuit. Fast forward a bit more than a year, and Monte Man is the 8-5 morning line favorite for Saturday’s $50,000 Heitai Stakes for Louisiana-breds at ...
Racing
Dover Hosts Three-Year-Old Matron Finales; Fall Final Four Elims At Meadowlands Overture To Stakes Season’s End
All four sophomore divisions put a lid on their season with the Matron Stakes at Dover on Nov. 15. Not all of the season’s heroes made it to Delaware but most in the fields are recognizable.
The curtain falls for the frosh season wit ...
Racing
How to Bet the Red Smith Stakes
Just how many times has trainer Mike Maker claimed turf horses, stretched them out in distance, and turned them into graded stakes winners?
The list goes on and on—I even wrote a whole article about it earlier this year —and the latest example ...
Racing
Baffert Runners Look Tough in Bob Hope Stakes
If Del Mar ever decides to rename the $100,000 Bob Hope Stakes (gr. III) , all they would really have to do is change “Hope” to “Baffert” and it would be perfectly understandable, considering how thoroughly the Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert ...
Racing
Why I'm Betting Mr. Misunderstood in the River City Handicap
He’s arguably the fastest horse on paper, he has a perfect record over the local turf course, and he’s dropping in class out of a Grade 1 race. What’s not to like about #3 Mr. Misunderstood in Saturday’s $100,000 River City Handicap (gr. III) at ...
Racing
Monomoy Girl comparison to past divisional champions
By DICK POWELL
The other day, I ended my analysis of the 2018 Horse of the Year debate by asking why isn’t MONOMOY GIRL in the conversation? So let’s look at her sophomore season, in which she captured five Grade 1 stakes races and finished f ...
Racing
Justify's brief season enough for Horse of the Year
by DICK POWELL
I have an Eclipse Award vote, but I wait for the year to be finished before I fill out my ballot. There are still meaningful Grade 1 stakes left in the last six weeks of the 2018 calendar and not until all the major stakes races a ...
Racing
Early Impressions on the Road to the 2019 Kentucky Derby
With less than six months remaining until the 2019 Kentucky Derby , we’re about to enter what I like to consider the second stage of the qualification process.
The first stage included the major Breeders’ Cup prep races such as the Champagne St ...
Racing
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