Are you ready for 2019? You’d better be. It’s coming. Like it or not. And, as they say, ‘Time, like the subway, waits for no one.’ This past season was a good one. We had Justify, a Triple Crown winner, only the 13th in history. What’s that you say? Not a big deal? OK. […]
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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 […]
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VENUE: Churchill Downs on Nov. 2-3. Main Track: dirt, fast Friday and Saturday; Turf Course listed as yielding by Equibase on Friday; Turf Course listed as yielding by Equibase for Saturday’s Turf Sprint; Turf Course listed as good by Equibase for Saturday’s Filly & Mare Turf, Saturday’s Mile and Saturday’s Turf. $6 MILLION CLASSIC (NOV. […]
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This was a weird Breeders’ Cup. For me, the strangest ever. I’ve been around for all 35 of them–including in person at Hollywood Park in 1984 for the event’s maiden voyage. That sunny and 70 afternoon I stood this close to Elizabeth Taylor. Yep, that Liz Taylor. Our eyes met, briefly. Violet. Sparkling. Mesmerizing. Hers. […]
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I cannot remember the last time I favored a non-European in the Juvenile Fillies Turf, but Newspaperofrecord looks to be a budding superstar. Here is how I plan on betting the Juvenile Fillies Turf while keying the favorite on a $25 budget. Ranking the Contenders Newspaperofrecords (#6, 2-1) has won both starts by open lengths and is proven over soft turf. […]
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The Juvenile Turf Sprint may be the most challenging of all 14 Breeders’ Cup races, but it presents a great opportunity to start the Breeders’ Cup with a big score. Here is how I plan on betting the Juvenile Turf Sprint on a $25 budget. Ranking the Contenders Moonlight Romance (#6, 12-1) has won twice by open […]
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Join Aaron Vercruysse, Richard Migliore, and Jeff Siegel for an intense, race-by-race, video analysis of the entire two-day, 2018 14-race Breeders’ Cup festival, with emphasis on wagering strategies, top selections, “must use” horses in the exotics, and long shot chances. * FRIDAY’S BREEDERS’ CUP RACES 5TH RACE: BC Juvenile Turf Sprint (3:12 ET) – […]
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If you think now is too early to begin handicapping Breeders’ Cup races then you’re horribly mistaken. While post positions haven’t been drawn yet, we’ve got a decent idea about which horses will be in what races. And if you’ve scanned that starting roster at all, you know how challenging picking winners Nov. 2 & […]
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What if the last 11 winners of the Breeders’ Cup Classic were to meet in a race? Who would win it? That was the interesting subject for a recent podcast conducted by Jared Welch and Aaron Halterman of Racingdudes.com. According to Welch, this hypothetical race was to be based on each horse’s winning BC […]
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Here’s a friendly heads-up about an exciting wagering opportunity that might be on the horizon. Then again, it might not. ‘Warned’ is better than ‘caught-napping,’ especially when it’s a chance to play for a multi-million-dollar pot. At this writing, Santa Anita’s Rainbow Six Jackpot is $512,056. If there isn’t a single winning ticket engineered in […]
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According to bettors participating in pool two of the Breeders’ Cup Classic Future Wager, Accelerate is the one to beat in the Grade I, $6 million Classic at Churchill Downs on Nov. 3. Trained by John Sadler, Accelerate was the 3-1 favorite in the second BC Classic future pool that closed last Sunday. Interestingly, the […]
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Don’t look now but Breeders’ Cup is approaching faster than Winx in the stretch. Those two wonderful watch-and-wager days are less than a month away. That means now is the time to make like a squirrel and gather nuts. Not actual nuts. We’re talking Breeders’ Cup notes, gems, tidbits. They’ll come in handy in less […]
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It certainly was fitting that a grandson of Awesome Again won the Awesome Again Stakes. That’s what happened last Saturday at Santa Anita when Accelerate proved a punctual favorite for owner Hronis Racing and trainer John Sadler. Accelerate wowed observers with his record 12 1/4-length victory in Del Mar’s Pacific Classic on Aug. 18, but […]
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Last Saturday at Parx near Philadelphia, McKinzie won the 1 1/8-mile Pennsylvania Derby while making his first start since March 10. He thus became Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert’s latest 3-year-old to win a race worth $1 million or more during the second half of the year after not competing in any of the […]
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An old friend returns Friday. Haven’t seen him in years. Hear he’s a bit different now. Changed his name. Dropped some weight. Even had some ‘work’ done. I’m sure I’ll recognize him, though. We spent winter Saturday afternoons together for several years. Hunkered down in the basement playing the horses. Winning. Losing. Cursing. Cheering. You […]
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