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Spot Plays in the Las Virgenes
Sunday at Santa Anita Park is not covered with graded stakes races throughout the day, but the card does contain a $200,000 event for three-year-old fillies to start the afternoon’s Pick Six. The Grade 2 Las Virgenes did not come up strong in 2018, ...
Racing
Six things to know for the 2018 Holy Bull, Withers, Lewis
The Kentucky Derby (G1) points chase picks up again in earnest on Saturday, as aspiring sophomores contest the Holy Bull (G2) at Gulfstream Park, the Withers (G3) at Aqueduct, and the Robert B. Lewis (G3) at Santa Anita.
We’ll begin our “six thi ...
Racing
Shapiro’s Late Pick 4 analysis for Robert B. Lewis Day at Santa Anita Park
Itsinthepost captured the San Gabriel to kick off his six-year-old campaign on January 6 (c) Benoit Photos
by Scott Shapiro
A foursome of graded stakes events headlines a strong Saturday afternoon card at “The Great Race Place.”
The Palo ...
Racing
How to Best Attack the Withers Day card at Aqueduct
The Grade 3 Withers Stakes headlines a Saturday afternoon card in New York City where sunny skies are in the forecast. The quality of racing outside of the featured $250,000 event on Saturday at Aqueduct is moderate, but there are still plenty of op ...
Racing
Spot Plays for Holy Bull Day at Gulfstream Park
The Pegasus World Cup may be in the rearview mirror, but Gulfstream Park has yet another strong card on tap for Saturday afternoon headlined by the Grade 2 Holy Bull.
With five graded stakes events scattered over the 12-race slate, there are plent ...
Racing
Brown reaches milestone but Foiled Again fades
In the span of 24 hours at a pair of tracks that have little in common, one trainer was able to record a milestone victory at Charles Town while an aged pacer failed in his second bid for another milestone. On Wednesday evening at Charles Town, trai ...
Racing
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Good Magic Tops 360 Nominees for the 2018 Triple Crown
Good Magic , winner of the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile (gr. I) and the Eclipse Award champion two-year-old male of 2017, is among the talented young horses that have been nominated to compete in the 2018 Kentucky Derby , Preakness Stakes, and Belmont S ...
Racing
How to bet the 2018 Holy Bull Stakes
The first of three Kentucky Derby qualifiers at Gulfstream Park, Saturday’s $350,000 Holy Bull (G2) has attracted a trio of big names among its 11 entrants.
Enticed has been installed as the 3-1 morning line favorite for Kiaran McLaughlin foll ...
Racing
Avery Island Seeks Rebound in Withers Stakes
Races with small fields are generally seen as less competitive than races with large fields, but the $250,000 Withers Stakes (gr. III) on Saturday at Aqueduct is a notable exception.
Although the nine-furlong race has drawn just six starters, it ...
Racing
Trio of Kentucky Derby Prep Races could be tough on Favorites
By Dick Powell
Spring is coming and a trio of legitimate 3yo Kentucky Derby (G1) prep races makes me realize that we have hit February and the first Saturday in May is not far off.
In today’s training world of less is more, many hor ...
Racing
Looking for an Upset in the Holy Bull Stakes
It’s an oft-stated fact that outside post positions are a disadvantage in 8.5-furlong and 9-furlong races at Gulfstream Park. With a very short run to the first turn, horses drawn outside are in danger of getting hung wide early in the race.
That ...
Racing
Will Regulate Upset the Robert B. Lewis Stakes?
Remember the 2014 Del Mar Futurity (gr. I), when the Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert entered a relatively unheralded maiden named American Pharoah?
American Pharoah had shown little when finishing fifth in his debut a month earlier, but that didn ...
Racing
Blizzard, Snowshoe Series Finals At Woodbine; Full-Throttle Of Features Fire; Pickin’ At Powerful Pick-4 Profits
Our endless pursuit for winning horses outside the public favors continues through the hard-weather months of winter. This week, again we include Partners For Picks and Power Plays for TwinSpires account-holders to use for inspiration. Also, though, ...
Racing
Tricks to Doo, Strike Power Face Off in Swale Stakes
Talented young sprinters will be in the spotlight when Gulfstream Park hosts the $200,000 Swale Stakes (gr. II) on February 3rd.
The seven-furlong race has attracted some of the best up-and-coming three-year-old sprinters on the East Coast, incl ...
Racing
Keying Miss Mo Mentum in the Forward Gal Stakes
Talk about a quality field! Eight three-year-old fillies are set to contest Saturday’s $200,000 Forward Gal Stakes (gr. II) at Gulfstream Park , and their accomplishments to date ensure that the race will be worthy of its Grade 2 status.
Five of ...
Racing
How to bet the 2018 Withers Stakes
The waters get deeper for Firenze Fire in the $250,000 Withers (G3) at Aqueduct, a Road to the Kentucky Derby prep race over 1 1/8 miles. An old hand in the series already having won the Champagne (G1) and $150,000 Jerome, he'll look to push his ...
Racing
King Cotton Stakes Features a Reunion of Past Winners
Saturday’s $125,000 King Cotton Stakes at Oaklawn Park is shaping up to be a reunion of sorts. Remarkably, the winners of four of the last five renewals of the race will be back to vie for supremacy of the six-furlong sprint.
Leading the charge ...
Racing
2018 Dubai World Cup Power Rankings
The dust hasn't settled on Gulfstream Park's dirt racetrack from the 2018 Pegasus World Cup, and already horseplayers have turned their attention to Dubai. Why not? Gun Runner won't run in the Dubai World Cup . That means the chances of a 4/5 shot w ...
Racing
Gun Runner Becomes Legendary
On Jan. 27, Gun Runner added the Pegasus World Cup to his list of accomplishments. The best horse in the world didn't seem to break a sweat when holding off his top foes in the Pegasus World Cup. With the victory, Gun Runner jumped from tenth on the ...
Racing
Keeler Johnson's Kentucky Derby Top 10 -- 1/30/18
In what could be considered the calm before the storm, very little happened last weekend on the Road to the Kentucky Derby , but with three major prep races scheduled for February 3rd, there’s no doubt that the action is about to heat up quickly.
...
Racing
Gun Runner goes out in style; Foiled Again looking to follow
Last weekend, while many sports enthusiasts were already looking ahead to this Sunday's Super Bowl LII (52) match-up between the defending champion New England Patriots and the Philadelphia Eagles in Minnesota, thoroughbred racing fans easily filled ...
Racing
How One Simple Trend Led to a Winning Pick 6
With all of the recent excitement over the huge “Rainbow Pick 6” carryover at Gulfstream Park , I got to thinking about a different Rainbow Pick 6 sequence from 2011, a sequence that emphasized the advantages that can be gained from following all t ...
Education
Pegasus ruminations: Gun Runner goes out blazing, West Coast the heir apparent
Since the essence of horse racing is determining the best horse, there’s something satisfying about a logical and decisive result, particularly in the sport’s landmark events.
Thus Saturday’s $16 million Pegasus World Cup (G1) performed up to it ...
Racing
2018 Kentucky Derby workout report for January 28
It’s less than 100 days until the 2018 Kentucky Derby, and the main contenders are busy working and running their way into contention.
Each Sunday, the Kentucky Derby Leaderboard top 10 will be showcased in regards to works, last starts and, if kn ...
Racing
Hanson: Looking for luck to continue for Rainbow 6 mandatory payout
They say the best time to attack a jackpot wager, like Sunday's Rainbow 6 at Gulfstream Park, is when there is a mandatory payout. An even better time is when that mandatory payout happily coincides with a boost in your betting capital.
I didn't g ...
Racing
Shapiro: Thoughts on Rainbow 6 mandatory payout
by SCOTT SHAPIRO
Saturday was a monster day at Gulfstream Park as racing fans witnessed the final performance of the 2017 Horse of the Year, Gun Runner, in the Pegasus World Cup.
Things stay hot in Hallandale, Florida, on Sunday as it is manda ...
Racing
Scully: Pair of singles key to Rainbow 6
With a mandatory payout, Sunday’s Rainbow 6 pool at Gulfstream Park will be enormous.
Here are my thoughts on the sequence and the ticket I'm playing:
Leg 1 (7 th race): All-or-nothing out of the gates as I start with a single.
#4 Ultima ...
Racing
Bankroll builders before Rainbow 6 mandatory payout at Gulfstream Park
by SCOTT SHAPIRO
Whether you plan to bet a few bucks or thousands of dollars into a mandatory payout pool, adding to your bankroll before the main event gets started is always good for both your wallet and your emotional state.
The Gulfstream ...
Racing
Hawthorne Hit Hard With $60Winner; Woodbine Series Strike; Exotic Additions At Yonkers Serve $50 And $99 Returns
One big horses-to-watch (H2W) list winner was the standout this weekend and our highest paying winner so far in 2018. From Hawthorne, we delivered Fox Valley Eli paying $60.60 (see H2W list below).
Here are the features in chronological order: ...
Racing
Approaching the Rainbow Pick 6 backwards
By Dick Powell
The Rainbow Pick 6 will have a mandatory payoff on Sunday at Gulfstream Park. This means that there will be no consolation money taken out of the pool for the next racing day so the payoff for six of six winners will be the full 8 ...
Racing
Sharp Azteca Pegasus World Cup Pedigree Potential
Do any pedigrees stand out for Pegasus World Cup horses?
by Alastair Bull
The Pegasus World Cup is such a valuable race that it puts the winner’s sire into a position where he has a strong chance of finishing the year as leading sire. It ce ...
Racing
Not a Rainbow Six but a Rainbow single in Pegasus World Cup Pick 5
Whatever multi-race exotic(s) are your favorites, Gulfstream will be offering the all-stakes variety on the latter half of Saturday's Pegasus World Cup card. I'll be focusing on the Late Pick 5 that starts in race 8 and ends with the World Cup.
...
Racing
Playing Gun Runner and closers in the Pegasus
A hot pace in Saturday’s $16 million Pegasus World Cup (G1) figures to have ramifications. And if Gun Runner can establish favorable positioning just off the speed, he could be the only early runner around at the end.
I don’t want any part ...
Racing
2018 Pegasus World Cup one-liners
The world’s richest race gets the one-liner treatment as I try to sum up each of the contenders in the $16 million Pegasus World Cup (G1).
If there’s not a grudge match on the scale of California Chrome versus Arrogate, the Gulfstream Park show- ...
Racing
Summer Revolution Looks Live in Toboggan Stakes
Though most of the attention this weekend will be on the Pegasus World Cup, handicappers might also want to keep an eye on the $100,000 Toboggan Stakes (gr. III) at Aqueduct.
The field for the seven-furlong sprint is led by #2 Takaful , who is us ...
Racing
Sun Met anchors big Saturday in South Africa
Get your Pegasus World Cup Day started early with top-class action from South Africa’s Kenilworth.
The coveted Sun Met (G1) , featuring an 18-horse field (post time 10:15 EST), anchors a blockbuster Saturday card including three other Group 1s. ...
Racing
Mucciolo: Pegasus Day Spot Plays
Race 2
I love the fact that John Velazquez opts to ride #10 SOAR FROM SHADOWS (12-1) instead of a first-time starter for his go-to conditioner, Todd Pletcher. The sophomore filly ran well in a first try at Aqueduct in the winter when closing fo ...
Racing
Early Pegasus Day Pick 4 hinges on Betty
The $16 million Pegasus World Cup (G1) serves as Saturday’s finale, but there is a bevy of betting opportunities on the Gulfstream card prior to the main event. I will take aim at cashing in early in the card, starting with a playable early Pick 4. ...
Racing
2018 Pegasus World Cup News & Notes
The second running of the Pegasus World Cup Invitational (G1) is proving just as exciting as last year’s inaugural edition, and TwinSpires.com has all the information you need to keep track of the contenders, including FREE PPs .
In 2017, we sa ...
Racing
Second annual Grade I Pegasus Invitational highlights weekend of racing
One year after Arrogate captured the inaugural edition of the Grade I, $12 million Pegasus World Championship Invitational at Gulfstream Park at the outset of a four-year-old campaign that ended in disappointing fashion, the Hallandale, Florida tra ...
Racing
Will pace make the race in Pegasus?
By Dick Powell
They say “Pace makes the Race” and we’ll see if “They” are right this Saturday in the $16 million Pegasus World Cup (G1). Because after Wednesday’s post-position draw at Gulfstream Park, there figures to be a pretty hot pace.  ...
Racing
Looking for Longshots on the Pegasus World Cup Undercard
The $16 million Pegasus World Cup (gr. I) is obviously the highlight of the Saturday card at Gulfstream Park, but four other graded stakes races are scheduled to be run as well.
Here are some of my handicapping thoughts on each race…. Race 3: La ...
Racing
Will West Coast Upset Gun Runner in the Pegasus World Cup?
Handicappers will be presented with an interesting quandary when the $16 million Pegasus World Cup (gr. I) is held on January 27th at Gulfstream Park .
The nine-furlong race will mark the final start for #10 Gun Runner , who rose to great heig ...
Racing
2018 Pegasus World Cup Picks
The 2018 Pegasus World Cup takes place this Saturday, Jan. 27. After the post-position draw this past Wednesday, Gun Runner was installed as the 4/5 favorite. Based on how Gun Runner won the 2017 Breeders' Cup Classic, it sure appears as if 4/5 are ...
Racing
Stalking Woodbine Winter Series; Exotic Extravaganza At Yonkers; ‘Picks’ For Profits
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Coming off a top-profit weekend preview last week, we do nothing more than our best now to make the upcoming weekend better. Our plays again focus on selected features, including include Partners For Picks ...
Racing
Big potential in 3yo maiden race at Fair Grounds
A solid and potentially very good group of three-year-olds will go six panels on the Fair Grounds main surface in Race 7 Thursday. Six of the seven runners are unraced and I can make a case for the majority of the cast in a six-furlong test that has ...
Racing
Navarro single starts interesting Pick 4
Many of the racing eyes will be on Gulfstream Park this weekend as Saturday features the second running of the $16 million Pegasus World Cup (G1) . And on Sunday, the potential of a gigantic Rainbow-6 carryover looms with a mandatory payout.
...
Racing
Deep Field Assembles for John B. Connally Turf Cup
It’s only January, but I’m willing to bet that a couple months could pass before we see another field of turf horses with as much quality as the group that has assembled for Sunday’s $200,000 John B. Connally Turf Cup (gr. III) at Sam Houston Rac ...
Racing
Pegasus World Cup Contenders Complete Pre-Race Workouts
With the $16 million Pegasus World Cup at Gulfstream Park just three days away, the twelve contenders have pretty much wrapped up their major training for the world’s richest horse race.
From Santa Anita to Gulfstream Park and at tracks and trai ...
Racing
A closer look at the next round of Kentucky Derby preps
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Racing
Big week ahead for Gun Runner
By Dick Powell
It’s going to be a big week for GUN RUNNER. He is expected to be awarded Eclipse Awards for Older Male and Horse of the Year at Thursday’s ceremony at Gulfstream Park. And, on Saturday, he will go off as the favorite in the $16 m ...
Racing
Pegasus World Cup future: possible distance change, turf race, greater international involvement
Saturday’s $16 million Pegasus World Cup (G1) isn’t content to rest on its status as the world’s richest race. The Stronach Group’s Chief Operating Officer, Tim Ritvo, discussed future possibilities in an NTRA media teleconference on Monday.
Per ...
Racing
Pegasus World Cup scouting report: Toast of New York
“He has the potential to be one of the highest-earning horses in the world.”
So declared trainer Jamie Osborne in the Racing Post – three years ago, on the heels of Toast of New York’s near-miss in the 2014 Breeders’ Cup Classic (G1) at S ...
Racing
Arrogate setting a track record in the Travers Stakes (gr. I) - Susie Raisher/Coglianese Photography
How Fast Finishes Can Identify Future Stars
How can you tell when a young, lightly-raced horse has the talent to step up in class and become a winner at the highest levels of the sport?
There are many ways to judge the merits of a young racehorse, but one factor I’ve routinely found valuabl ...
Education
Keeler Johnson's Kentucky Derby Top 10 -- 1/22/18
On a quiet weekend without any official Kentucky Derby prep races, the biggest news came from Palm Meadows Training Center in Florida, where the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile (gr. I) winner Good Magic made his much-anticipated return to the work tab.
T ...
Racing
Pegasus World Cup an ambitious spot for champion Stellar Wind's finale
By the time the Pegasus World Cup (G1) field reaches the Gulfstream Park paddock for Saturday's race, there will be two newly-crowned champions for fans to gaze at.
Gun Runner is a virtual cinch to be named champion older dirt male and Horse ...
Racing
2018 Pegasus World Cup Pre-Draw Odds
We won't know the field for the January 27 Pegasus World Cup until the draw occurs this Wednesday on January 24. No worries. We can start to decipher what's going to happen on race day, odds wise at least, by studying the future book odds. I write a ...
Racing
Jerry Hollendorfer Might Train the Best Three-Year Old in the Nation
Some of the better three-year-olds in the nation just recently had their first Kentucky Derby prep races of the year. The Jerry Hollendorfer trained Instilled Regard won the LeComte Stakes, Firenze Fire won the Jerome, and Bob Baffert's much discusse ...
Racing
Kentucky Derby BRIS Speed Rating Report: Smarty Jones
Mourinho was never threatened leading wire to wire in the January 15 Smarty Jones , registering his first stakes victory with the 3 ¼-length decision.
The bay colt provided Bob Baffert with his first triumph in the one-mile race and considering ...
Racing
Kentucky Derby BRIS Speed Rating Report: Lecomte Stakes
Instilled Regard powered clear by midstretch and rolled home decisively in the January 13 Lecomte (G3) at Fair Grounds, winning geared down by a 3 ¾-length margin. Runner-up in an outstanding edition of the December 9 Los Alamitos Futurity (G1), t ...
Racing
Kentucky Derby BRIS Speed Rating Report: Jerome Stakes
He needed the length of the Aqueduct stretch to get past a stubborn pacesetter but Firenze Fire got up in time in the January 13 Jerome . Favored at 2-5, the bay colt courageously wore down Seven Trumpets in the final strides to prevail by a half- ...
Racing
Kentucky Derby BRIS Speed Rating Report: Sham Stakes
Bet down as the 1-5 favorite, McKinzie made short work of five overmatched rivals in the January 6 Sham (G3) at Santa Anita. And he registered impressive BRIS numbers for the 3 ½-length victory, earning a 104 Speed and 108 Late Pace.
The Stree ...
Racing
Kentucky Derby Pedigree Profile: Le Vent Se Leve
Le Vent Se Leve; winner of the Nippon Nisai Yushun S.
by Alastair Bull
It’s been 15 years since Symboli Kris S became the last United States-bred horse to win Japanese Horse of the Year. In 2018, one of his sons may get the chance to become t ...
Racing
Kentucky Derby Pedigree Profile: Instilled Regard
Instilled Regard; winner of the Lecomte S.
by Alastair Bull
Instilled Regard showed enough potential at the OBS March Sale of two-year-olds in training last year that it took $1.05 million for Lawrence Best’s OXO Equine to buy him.
If he c ...
Racing
Exactas Explode At $135 And $122; Trifecta From Buckeye Hi-5 Pays $278; Top Winners Bring $13, $12
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A few feature exotics scores and a few H2W (horses-to-watch list) exotics combined with winners to make for a productive playing weekend.
There was still one progra ...
Racing
Shapiro: Sunday Spot Plays at Santa Anita
By SCOTT SHAPIRO
Sunday’s card at Santa Anita Park is light on star power, but offers those who enjoy turf racing several opportunities of cashing a few tickets over the nine-race slate.
Here are a trio of grass runners I will be leaning on d ...
Racing
Spot Plays for the Sunshine Millions Filly & Mare Turf, Las Cienegas
A relatively quiet Saturday ahead of next weekend's Pegasus World Cup (G1) awaits bettors this afternoon, and the two most interesting stakes from a betting perspective might be the $150,000 Sunshine Millions Filly & Mare Turf, Race 10 at Gulfstr ...
Racing
Scouting the Rainbow Pick 6 at Gulfstream Park
Six correct paid more than $17k on Friday and the carryover pool has surpassed $2.7 million. The Rainbow Pick 6 at Gulfstream is gathering steam as it nears a mandatory payout on January 28.
I am going to play a couple of horses in the sequence an ...
Racing
Mucciolo’s Sunshine Millions picks
A quartet of stakes races for Florida-bred runners will highlight the Saturday card at Gulfstream Park and I will tab a few horses in the black-type events.
Classic (Race 4) :
Just six will vie in the $200,000 feature, but it is surely a compe ...
Racing
Mr. Jordan Could Be Vulnerable in Sunshine Millions Classic
Small fields aren’t usually where handicappers look to find good betting opportunities, but the $200,000 Sunshine Millions Classic on Saturday at Gulfstream Park could be an exception.
The clear 6-5 favorite on the morning line is #5 Mr. Jord ...
Racing
Shapiro’s Late Pick 4 analysis for Las Cienegas Day at Santa Anita
Bendable captures the Desert Stormer Stakes (G3) under jockey Mike Smith (Benoit Photos)
by Scott Shapiro
It is has been a tough couple of weeks after a strong start to the 2018 Santa Anita winter meeting. Hopefully I can rebound in a big w ...
Racing
Potential Star Amy's Challenge Returns in Dixie Belle Stakes
Although it’s not a graded stakes, the $125,000 Dixie Belle Stakes on January 20th at Oaklawn Park is a race that I’m very excited to watch.
The six-furlong sprint has attracted a small but very talented field of seven three-year-old fillies, in ...
Racing
Night racing at Belmont Park expensive, needs to be on limited basis
By Dick Powell
It was disclosed on Tuesday that Governor Andrew Cuomo’s 2018 budget for New York State includes language that will enable the New York Racing Association (NYRA) to race at night under limited conditions.
They will ...
Racing
Maraud, Originator impress at Gulfstream Park
A pair of three-year-olds made a fine impression on the turf this weekend at Gulfstream Park, with both showing stakes quality.
In the Saturday finale, the Todd Pletcher-trained MARAUD made easy work of what looked like a decent turf allowance ...
Racing
Kylemore Looks Competitive in California Derby
Although it doesn’t offer any qualification points for the 2018 Kentucky Derby, the $100,000 California Derby at Golden Gate Fields is still a race worth watching this Saturday.
After all, the 8.5-furlong event is a local prep race for the El Ca ...
Racing
X Y Jet, Mr. Jordan Among Stars on Sunshine Millions Day
If you’re a fan of quality state-restricted stakes races, then you won’t want to miss Sunshine Millions Day this Saturday at Gulfstream Park .
Four stakes races for Florida-breds are scheduled to be run, though interestingly the richest race of t ...
Racing
Pasco, Gasparilla Stakes Highlight Saturday Card at Tampa Bay Downs
Although they’re not official prep races for the Kentucky Derby and Kentucky Oaks, a pair of stakes races on January 20th at Tampa Bay Downs could potentially launch a horse or two on their way to Churchill Downs.
First up is the $125,000 Gaspari ...
Racing
Stormy Contenders Strike Back In Promising Exotics; Upsets For Yonkers To Include in ‘Pick’ Affairs
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It wasn’t as bad as the week before but much of our content on Jan. 11 was affected by cancellations due to weather. That was then, this is now, so let’s dig into the possible plays for major profit with selected features t ...
Racing
Using Speed Figures to Identify Standout Contenders
A couple weeks ago, I described how using the “all” button in exactas can lead to impressive payoffs if you have a strong opinion of one horse in a given race.
One of the examples I used was California Chrome in the 2014 Kentucky Derby—on pa ...
Education
Ferrozzo wins 2017 National Handicapping Championship Tour
Mike Ferrozzo of Eagan, Minnesota, racked up 18,825 points to win the 2017 National Handicapping Championship (NHC) Tour, which ended Saturday.
Ferrozzo’s winning score awarded him $100,000, a trophy and the chance to play for a $2 million bonus a ...
Racing
Early thoughts on betting the Pegasus World Cup
As Kellie Reilly so ably covered earlier this week , there are a number of fascinating storylines heading into next weekend's $16 million Pegasus World Cup (G1) at Gulfstream Park.
Last year the California Chrome vs. Arrogate rematch narrative p ...
Racing
Keeler Johnson's Kentucky Derby Top 10 -- 1/17/18
Following a busy week that featured three Kentucky Derby prep races and a full slate of competitive maiden and allowance events, there’s plenty to digest on the road to the Derby !
Needless to say, my Kentucky Derby Top 10 underwent some signific ...
Racing
Watching three-year-olds of interest
By Dick Powell
A lot of good horses were in action over the weekend and some have big futures. In no apparent order:
Todd Pletcher sent out MAGNUM MOON to a fast win going six furlongs at Gulfstream Park on Saturday in his career debut at gen ...
Racing
Mourinho, Combatant Impress in Smarty Jones Stakes
Given the way the pace of the race unfolded, Combatant’s determined run for second place was—in my opinion—just as eye-catching as Mourinho’s easy win under perfect circumstances. Although his pedigree suggests that he might wind up best as a turf mi ...
Racing
Foiled Again seeks 100th win this weekend
While many sports enthusiasts will be paying close attention to the National Football League Conference Championship games on Sunday which will determine the participants in Super Bowl 52 in Minneapolis, standardbred racing fans will be watching Yonk ...
Racing
Instilled Regard Demonstrates California's Strength in Lecomte Stakes
In recent years, California-based three-year-olds have proven dominant in the Triple Crown races and the prep races on the Road to the Kentucky Derby .
Certainly the West Coast held a clear edge in 2012, 2014, 2015, and 2016, when horses like I’l ...
Racing
Get Ready for Another Great Oaklwan Park Meet
One of the absolute best racing meets of the year had its opening day last week on Friday, Jan. 12. Anyone who's never wagered on races at Oaklawn Park, has missed out on some most competitive thoroughbred action anywhere in North America. Oaklawn i ...
Racing
Slow Track Affected Firenze Fire's Final Time in Jerome Stakes
So was a slow racing surface to blame for Firenze Fire’s slow time? I would argue yes, but don’t just take my word for it—check out the other race times that were recorded at Aqueduct on Saturday:
Race #
Conditions
Distance
...
Racing
Gun Runner’s finale just one of storylines for 2018 Pegasus World Cup
As the world’s richest race, the $16 million Pegasus World Cup (G1) ought to have an abundance of storylines. If last year’s inaugural running was all about the Arrogate-California Chrome rematch, the January 27 renewal at Gulfstream Park presents mu ...
Racing
Pair Of Winners, $29, $20, Top Choices Limited To Tracks Surviving Double Winter-Storm Cancellations
As Winter Storm Grayson swept into the North Atlantic, Winter Storm Hunter began to move eastward. Before it hit the Midwest, however, an uncommon blast of hot air preceded it. So, the east began to thaw before it began to freeze again. This January ...
Racing
A month's worth of Gulfstream Park turf racing, Part III
by Dick Powell
Click to read Part 1 and Part 2 of this series
Post position is an interesting handicapping angle and one that I often get wrong. There have been many winners from outside posts going two turns that I ignored since I didn’t s ...
Racing
Maryland-bred honors up for grabs
While many thoroughbred racing enthusiasts are awaiting the results of the Eclipse Award balloting, although most of the division winners and horse of the year seem indisputable, those who determine the Maryland-bred division champs and horse of the ...
Racing
Post times for Road to the Kentucky Derby/Oaks races over Martin Luther King Jr. weekend
2018 is upon us and the Roads to the Kentucky Derby and Oaks are in full swing.
This holiday weekend features multiple opportunities for the boys and girls to accrue points toward starting berths in either the Kentucky Derby (G1) or Kentucky Oaks ...
Racing
Shapiro’s Late Pick 4 analysis for La Canada Day at Santa Anita
by Scott Shapiro
The Saturday afternoon card at Santa Anita Park is headlined by the La Canada Stakes (G1) run at one mile over the main track. The featured event is the 8TH race on the day, meaning it is included in the late Pick 4 sequenc ...
Racing
Fair Grounds Pick 4 hinges on Lecomte favorites
A big day of racing will be held at Fair Grounds on Saturday, with a six-pack of stakes races comprising the 13-race card. Races 7-through-10 make up a Pick 4 sequence of interest to me, and I will give out my tickets.
Race 7
The Silverbullet ...
Racing
Seven things to know for Lecomte, first Kentucky Derby points race at Fair Grounds
Fair Grounds’ Road to the Derby begins with an exceptionally intriguing renewal of the $200,000 Lecomte (G3) on Saturday. Aside from the Kentucky Derby (G1) points on offer, on a 10-4-2-1 scale to the top four finishers, the mile-and-70-yard contes ...
Racing
Looking for 'Fire to be doused in the Jerome
Champagne (G1) winner FIRENZE FIRE will kick start his 2018 campaign at Aqueduct on Saturday when leading an eight-horse field in the $150,000 Jerome. The Florida-bred son of Posiedon's Warrior easily has the best resume in this cast, and when viewin ...
Racing
Shapiro: California shippers to Lecomte, Smarty Jones face tall task
by Scott Shapiro
The Road to the Kentucky Derby heats up this weekend as the Lecomte (G3) on Saturday at Fair Grounds and Smarty Jones at Oaklawn Park on Monday each offer the winner 10 qualifying points as connections start to set their sights o ...
Racing