The field for the upcoming $3 million Kentucky Derby has taken shape. With that in mind, it seemed this would be an appropriate time to calculate projected odds for the 20 horses to have earned enough points and are currently listed as intended starters in the 1 1/4-mile classic Ever since Churchill Downs instituted the […]
Read more
It was 10 weeks ago that Omaha Beach debuted on my Kentucky Derby Top 10. All he had done at that point was win a maiden race. But his Feb. 2 maiden performance impressed me to such an extent that, even though he had not even run in a stakes race yet, I decided to […]
Read more
Warning: Underestimate Maximum Security at your own peril. No doubt plenty of people are going to scoff at him in the Kentucky Derby. Many will view Maximum Security’s front-running 3 1/2-length victory at 9-2 in Gulfstream Park’s Grade I Xpressbet.com Florida Derby last Saturday as something of a fluke. There will be those who will […]
Read more
The first strikes for the May 4 Kentucky Derby can now be revealed. Back in 1999, I developed my Derby Strikes System. The system consists of nine key factors. When a horse does not qualify in one of the nine categories, the horse gets a strike. The nine key factors (or categories) are explained at […]
Read more
Talk about a major detour on the Kentucky Derby trail. Game Winner, who is No. 1 on my Kentucky Derby Top 10, and Improbable, ranked No. 2, were supposed to have clashed in the Grade II San Felipe Stakes at Santa Anita Park on March 9. However, Santa Anita on March 5 announced that it […]
Read more
The highly anticipated confrontation between undefeated Eclipse Award winner Game Winner and undefeated Grade I winner Improbable will not be taking place this Saturday. Game Winner, who is No. 1 on my Kentucky Derby Top 10, and Improbable, ranked No. 2, were scheduled to clash in Saturday’s Grade II San Felipe Stakes at Santa Anita […]
Read more
Coming up later this week is the first Saturday in March. This, of course, means we are only a couple of months away from the coveted Kentucky Derby on the first Saturday in May. For the past several weeks, I have been putting together a Kentucky Derby Top 10 list. Here is my current Top […]
Read more
“An undefeated racehorse has an aura of invincibility.” That phrase, written many years ago by the fabulous turf writer Charles Hatton, came to mind when I happened to notice that No. 1, No. 2, No. 3 and No. 4 on my Kentucky Derby Top 10 list this week are all undefeated…so far. Here is my […]
Read more
Trainer Bob Baffert has done something in the sport of Thoroughbred racing that has not received anywhere close to the attention it deserves. In fact, it has not received much attention at all. If something similar had happened in the NFL, NBA or MLB, it would be a very big deal. But in horse racing, […]
Read more
Inasmuch as the 2019 racing season now has commenced, it is time for my list of the Top 10 performances by a Thoroughbred in the United States during 2018. This marks the 15th year that I have compiled such a list for Xpressbet.com. A Thoroughbred’s performance can make my list for a variety of reasons, […]
Read more
Below is how I am planning to fill out my official Eclipse Award ballot for 2018, with the caveat that my decisions will not become absolutely final until the entire year is over. That is why I will not be submitting my ballot until after racing this Monday (Dec. 31) is completed. TWO-YEAR-OLD MALE: […]
Read more
There is no thing as a sure thing, a reality that was reaffirmed when Audible finished second as a 1-10 favorite to 25-1 Sir Anthony in last Saturday’s Harlan’s Holiday Stakes. The Grade III Harlan’s Holiday was contested on Gulfstream Park’s sloppy main track. Audible went into the 1 1/16-mile race having won five […]
Read more
No trainer has dominated any of this country’s current Grade I races to such an extent as Bob Baffert with his 14 Del Mar Futurity wins. He increased his total to 14 when Game Winner took this year’s renewal on Sept. 23. Game Winner would go on to capture the Grade I American Pharoah Stakes […]
Read more
Is Maximus Mischief another Smarty Jones? Smarty Jones won his first two career starts as a 2-year-old in 2003, both at Philadelphia Park, the track now known as Parx Racing. He won those races by 7 3/4 and 15 lengths. Smarty Jones then made it three for three with a victory at Aqueduct. He took […]
Read more
Can you answer the following trivia question? From the first Daily Racing Form poll in 1936 and continuing on through the Eclipse Awards era that began in 1971, just one 3-year-old male champion has not been sent away as the favorite in at least one of his races at 3. Who was it? It’s […]
Read more