A ‘guarantee’ is just hot air unless there’s also a level of commitment or risk attached to it. For example: The tout that released today’s failed ‘guaranteed’ winner happily will share tomorrow’s ‘guaranteed’ winner with disappointed clients at no additional expense. What has he lost in the exchange? Nothing. Where’s the commitment? Where’s the risk? […]
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Now that the Kentucky Derby, Preakness Stakes and Belmont Stakes have come and gone, the race for which 3-year-old eventually will be voted a 2017 Eclipse Award as champion 3-year-old male is wide open. This is in stark contrast to two years ago. Midway through 2015, American Pharoah already had essentially clinched both the Horse […]
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Tell me, is it possible to painfully long for a place you’ve visited just once in your life? Apparently, the answer is ‘yes,’ because I pine for Ascot Racecourse in Great Britain. Conceptualized in 1711 by Queen Anne, it’s where some of the world’s most exquisite human and equine flesh has been pressed for over […]
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There’s no Triple Crown on the line. Neither Kentucky Derby nor Preakness winners are competing. Plus, Preakness runner-up and 2-year-old champ Classic Empire wasn’t entered at the last minute because of a hoof abscess. Why are we even discussing this race? Well, for a couple of reasons. First, it’s still the Belmont Stakes—Test of a […]
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The Belmont Stakes is, of course, a lot more fun when someone is going for a Triple Crown sweep after winning the Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes. But not only is there no Triple Crown on the line this Saturday, neither Kentucky Derby winner Always Dreaming nor Preakness hero Cloud Computing is entered in this […]
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Santa Anita Park is called the Great Race Place. And one of the greatest performances by a first-time starter ever seen there occurred in the eighth race on March 19, 2011, when Maclean’s Music was so fast that he seemed to make the palm trees sway. Yes, that’s the same Maclean’s Music whose son Cloud […]
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The third and final leg of the 2017 Triple Crown is on the horizon next Saturday, June 10 at Belmont Park and no Triple Crown will be on the line. That’s OK with this guy. Racing’s most coveted title is one of the few professional sports honors not presented annually. It’s bestowed purely on a […]
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Cloud Computing’s determined stretch drive past Classic Empire in the 2017 Preakness was exciting, but not necessarily what a majority of 140,000 on-track attendees and millions of television, mobile and online viewers expected. Fans itching for a Sunday Silence/Easy Goer-type Preakness duel between Kentucky Derby winner Always Dreaming and reigning 2-year-old champ Classic Empire weren’t […]
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Always Dreaming and Classic Empire brought arguably the two best resumes into the Kentucky Derby and the Derby did very little to change that belief. Both horses ran very well with Always Dreaming parlaying a perfect trip to victory and Classic Empire overcoming a brutal trip to run 4th. These are the clear cut best […]
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I was not a believer in Always Dreaming before the Kentucky Derby. But I am now. After what I saw in the Run for the Roses, I am expecting Always Dreaming to win the Preakness Stakes this Saturday. Here are my selections for the Preakness: Always Dreaming Classic Empire Lookin At Lee Conquest Mo Money […]
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Hitting the lottery is hard. We all know that. But picking the winner of the Kentucky Derby? Heck, that’s easy. All one has to do these days is go with the favorite. It does not take hours and hours and hours of studying or work. Nope. Just go with the favorite. It’s as simple as […]
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Saturday, at the conclusion of the 143rd Kentucky Derby (aka ‘The Old Man in the Slop’), the winner was as obvious as the mud on your face. Always Dreaming and jockey John Velazquez emerged from a soupy 20-horse scrum as fresh as the ‘after’ shot in a detergent commercial. They were spotless. Clean as a […]
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Below is one man’s opinion regarding this year’s wide-open Kentucky Derby, including trainers, jockeys, post positions and morning line odds. A $102 Kentucky Derby wagering strategy is suggested. The fella sometimes gets it right; sometimes, not so much. There are no guarantees except to declare that these opinions are FREE and worth twice the price. […]
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Classic Empire, the Eclipse Award-winning 2-year-old male champion of 2016 and recent winner of the Arkansas Derby in a statement of redemption after being upset in his 2017 debut, heads a competitive field assembled for this Saturday’s 143rd running of the Kentucky Derby. Also regarded as contenders in the 1 1/4-mile classic are Always Dreaming, […]
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I, like many others, was saddened by the news that trainer Lynn Whiting had died a week ago at his home in Louisville following a long illness and a recent stroke. He was 77. I first met Whiting in 1980 when I was working as a columnist and reporter for the Daily Racing Form at […]
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