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Handicapping Insights: Andy Harrington’s National Turf Clocker’s Report comes through
Last Saturday, Santa Anita Park put up a $2 million guarantee for a single winner of their Rainbow Pick 6, which will be in effect until February 1. Figuring that there would be a lot of money chasing the jackpot, and since none of my money was in ...
Racing
Dick Powell’s Australian Pick of the Week Jan. 23, 2019
Race 3 at Tamworth is for older horses going seven furlongs around a right-hand turn. Australia is in the midst of record heat and drought so I expect the course to be on the firm side of good.
Based on the morning line for the race, the field of ...
Racing
Super Steed the Smarty Jones selection for January Road to the Derby Bonus cash
He was the even-money favorite to win the $74,000 Sugar Bowl at Fair Grounds on December 22, but instead of asserting his superiority in the six-furlong dash he finished a nondescript fourth, beaten seven lengths by the victorious #8 GRAY ATTEMPT.
...
Racing
Going for Big Money in Pegasus World Cup
The Pegasus World Cup takes place this Saturday on January 26. Horseplayers have already started their handicapping. The way to play the Pegasus is to either go chalky with Accelerate and City of Light, or to go the opposite way, use one of the chal ...
Racing
How to Bet the Pegasus World Cup Turf
The inaugural running of North America’s richest turf race—the $7 million Pegasus World Cup Turf (gr. I) —didn’t attract as deep a field as one might have hoped given the size of the purse, but you certainly can’t knock the race from a betting pers ...
Racing
How to Bet the Pegasus World Cup
Accelerate or City of Light —who’ve you got?
It seems that the majority of handicappers will be picking one of those two runners to win the $9 million Pegasus World Cup (gr. I) at Gulfstream Park , and it’s easy to understand why. They both ...
Racing
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Magic Wand Offers Great Value to Win Inaugural Pegasus World Cup Turf Invitational
On Tuesday, they drew for the Pegasus World Cup Turf Invitational. The race goes off this Saturday, January 26. Not surprisingly, there's some international flare in the $7 million event. Ireland's Magic Wand and Japanese runner Aerolithe both made t ...
Racing
Pegasus World Cup Turf international scouting reports: Aerolithe and Magic Wand
Saturday’s $9 million Pegasus World Cup (G1) has one international participant in Mexico’s undefeated Kukulkan , a 30-1 shot for reasons to be mentioned below, but the new $7 million Turf (G1) features a couple of major win candidates in Japan’s ...
Racing
Parx Racing Pick of the Week for January 22
Tuesday's fourth race at Parx, a six-furlong $12,500 claimer for fillies and mares, appears as if it could be the proper class level for #4 LOU'S CHARDONNAY (5-1) .
Although she's been found wanting in her last couple of starts following nice win ...
Racing
Justify’s legacy among 2019 Pegasus World Cup storylines
Saturday’s $9 million Pegasus World Cup Invitational (G1) melds storylines from the sport’s biggest events, the Triple Crown and Breeders’ Cup , along with the prospect of untapped potential on display.
Here’s one way to explore the multifacete ...
Racing
Sorting the Contenders in the Smarty Jones Stakes
The Road to the Kentucky Derby continues on Friday with the $150,000 Smarty Jones Stakes at Oaklawn Park , a one-mile race that strikes me as considerably easier to interpret than last week’s Lecomte Stakes at Fair Grounds.
Whether that i ...
Racing
Keeler Johnson's Kentucky Derby Top 10: A "Win-Win-Win" Situation
In the two weeks since my last update, two new names have joined my , including an exciting stakes winner from Tampa Bay Downs who looks like a potential beast in the making.
How do they all stack up? Let’s take a look….
Game Winner
...
Racing
Pegasus World Cup Turf: Japan’s contender Aerolithe takes to Gulfstream Park
Japanese Grade 1 heroine Aerolithe , the first international shipper to arrive for Saturday’s $7 million Pegasus World Cup Turf (G1), galloped on the Gulfstream Park main track Sunday morning.
After jetting in the wee hours of January 16 , t ...
Racing
Pegasus World Cup: Imperative rounds out cast after defection of McKinzie; top players fire bullets
Loooch Racing Stables and Imaginary Stable’s Imperative has secured the 12th and final spot in the starting gate for Saturday’s $9 million Pegasus World Cup Invitational (G1), co-owner Ron Paolucci mentioned via Twitter. As first reported by D ...
Racing
2019 Kentucky Derby Contender Profile: War of Will
As the old saying goes, a good horse can come from anywhere, so by extension a Kentucky Derby contender must be able to come from anywhere… even if he’s a turf-bred youngster back from a foray in Europe.
That, in essence, is the journey of Wa ...
Racing
War of Will Conquers Opposition in Lecomte Stakes
Saturday’s Lecomte Stakes (gr. III) at Fair Grounds was billed as a wide-open race that just about any of the dozen starters could potentially win. But when the dust settled, it was favored War of Will who raced to a resounding victory, crus ...
Racing
Horses of all ages on display on both coasts
On the same weekend in which the National Football League conference championships would determine which two teams will face one another in Super Bowl 53 in Atlanta next month, both thoroughbred and standardbred racing fans had plenty of quality acti ...
Racing
Tote Explodes With $107 Winner At Meadows; Show Horses Add To Power Plays; Winter Storm Nixes Action
Only a few weeks ago, as 2018 ended, our TwinSpires Harness Players’ Horse of the Year emerged. It was unusually late in the season for a candidate but by a mere few dollars we had our 2018 champion.
This past week, on a slow Monday in January, ou ...
Racing
Handicapping Fair Grounds All-Stakes Pick 4
The first of three Kentucky Derby qualifiers at Fair Grounds, Saturday’s $200,000 Lecomte (G3) shapes up as a good betting race with a full field of 14 and anchors an All-Stakes Pick 4.
Here’s my thoughts on the Pick 4 sequence:
Louisiana (r ...
Racing
Fair Grounds Pick of the Week for January 20
Whether Sunday's seventh race at Fair Grounds stays on the turf or is moved to the dirt following forecasted rain earlier in the weekend, #3 NOBLE FEVER (10-1) appears an interesting candidate in the one-mile maiden event for three-year-old fillies ...
Racing
[Video] ON POINTS: Lecomte Stakes Kicks Off Fair Grounds' Road to KY Derby
The Lecomte Stakes on Saturday drew a full field of three-year-olds hopeful to launch themselves on the Kentucky Derby trail via Fair Grounds Race Course's Road to the Louisiana Derby.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2amlwN2WSug
HANSON: Roil ...
Racing
Dick Powell’s Fair Grounds All-Stakes Pick 4 selections
Fair Grounds is hosting the Lecomte Stakes (G3) on Saturday, which will serve as the final leg of an All-Stakes Pick 4. With 14 runners expected to compete in the Lecomte, this will not be easy with a small ticket. Luckily for us, there is a 50-cent ...
Racing
Roiland the pick in Lecomte for January Road to the Derby Bonus Cash
A reminder to those that opted in to TwinSpires.com 's Road to the Derby Bonus Cash offer at the start of the year that Saturday's $200,000 Lecomte (G3) [ Click for FREE Brisnet past performances ] at Fair Grounds requires a $20 Win bet for b ...
Racing
Maryland-bred honors up for grabs this winter
While many horse racing enthusiasts are already looking forward to the unveiling of the Eclipse Award winners for 2018 division champions and horse of the year, those who follow thoroughbred and standardbred racing in Maryland will soon find out whic ...
Racing
Picks and Plays for Saturday Stakes Races at Fair Grounds
Fair Grounds racetrack in New Orleans certainly knows how to put together a fun day of racing!
The upcoming Saturday card features six stakes races worth a combined $700,000, and the best part is that they’re arranged in consecutive fashion wi ...
Racing
How to Bet the Lecomte Stakes
Following a two-week break, the Road to the Kentucky Derby will resume on Saturday with the $200,000 Lecomte Stakes (gr. III) , the first of three Kentucky Derby prep races being held at Fair Grounds this winter.
The race attracted 15 ent ...
Racing
How to bet the 2019 Sunshine Millions stakes
Four black-type stakes races top the Sunshine Millions card at Gulfstream Park on Saturday. A total of $600,000 in stakes purses is on the line and I have given some thought on each of the events.
CLASSIC
The David Fawkes-trained Noble Dra ...
Racing
Picks and Plays for Sunshine Millions Day
The annual Sunshine Millions program at Gulfstream Park might not be quite what it was a decade or so ago, when there were more races and bigger purses, but the four races scheduled for Saturday are shaping up to be competitive events with some ...
Racing
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
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