Yet another important 2018 race was contested on a wet track. Accelerate won the Grade I Santa Anita Handicap by 5 1/2 lengths on a sloppy track last March 10. Justify splish-splashed his way to a 2 1/2-length triumph on a sloppy surface in the Grade I Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs last May 5. […]
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Serving notice that he will have to be dealt with during the second half of 2018, Good Magic proved a punctual 1-2 favorite in last Sunday’s $1 million Haskell Invitational at Monmouth Park. According to Bob Baffert, following Justify’s 1 3/4-length victory in the Grade I Belmont Stakes on June 9, the Hall of Fame […]
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More than halfway through the 2018 Thoroughbred season, the entire picture has changed. Wonder horse Justify is stopped in his tracks. Out of the race. On ‘E’. Done. Gone. Retired. His departure abandons an assortment of rich and prestigious Grade 1 races, ripe and juicy for others to ‘carpe diem.’ Justify, apparent cinch 2018 Top […]
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I usually write about the early Pick 5 or late Pick 4, but there is a particular sequence at Del Mar that caught my eye on Saturday, July 20th. Bold Fantasy is my best bet of the day and runs in Race 6. I will start a $1 Pick 3 by singling this runner at […]
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How does that popular Martha and the Vandellas ’64 hit go? ‘…Summer’s here and the time is right for dancing in the streets.’ Sounds fun! On second thought, let’s pass on the street dancing. Don’t want anyone hit by a car. Instead, how about a little ‘Fun in the Sun’ online with Xpressbet? To be […]
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Here’s an idea: How about we encourage the Commander in Chief to rustle up one of those handy ‘Executive Orders’ to restrict July 4th from ever falling on a Wednesday again? Why? Because having this holiday stuck in the middle of the week just won’t do. Oh, sure, you can make it work—use ‘vacay’ time […]
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Now that calendars have been flipped over to July, it is time for this column’s rankings of the Top 10 performances by a Thoroughbred in the United States during the first half of the year. A Thoroughbred’s performance can make my list for a variety of reasons, such as: –A win by a big margin […]
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Yours truly was present for the birth of the Pick Six. In the delivery room, alongside doctors, nurses, painters, carpenters, bartenders, cab drivers and…thousands of other horseplayers. It was June 7, 1980, and I was a fresh-out-of-college, wet-behind-the-ears member of the Hollywood Park publicity staff welcoming a newborn to US racing. Truthfully, I don’t remember […]
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Racing at Royal Ascot in 2018 resumed Tuesday…again. They’ve been picking them up and laying them down there since 1711, when Queen Anne drove from Windsor Castle with her entourage for a day’s sport. That’s 65 years before the signing of Declaration of Independence! But, who’s counting? As usual, this season’s opening-day Royal Procession was […]
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Below is the early Pick 5 ticket for June 16th, 2018 at Santa Anita Park. As always the ticket is $20 or less. Race 1 Young Hendrick (#2, 4-1) debuts for a barn (Phil D’Amato) and a sire (Square Eddie) that are very dangerous down the hill. He has worked very well coming into this race and […]
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Justify did it. He won the Triple Crown. That’s all you need to know. Save the corny, word-play headlines. ‘Justification!’ ‘Just Awesome!’ ‘Just-Amazing!’ They’re so pre-Belmont. Now, his achievement speaks for itself. Loud and clear. He’s the 13th Triple Crown winner in history. ONE THREE A baker’s dozen. ‘History,’ as we know, is a long […]
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Three words said it all. Prior to the post parade for last Saturday’s 150th running of the Belmont Stakes, three words trainer Bob Baffert said to Mike Smith, the seemingly ageless 52-year-old rider of Justify, pretty much spelled doom for the other nine starters in the race. Justify was just minutes away from attempting to […]
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Below is the Pick 4 ticket for June 9th, 2018 at Belmont Park on Belmont Stakes Day. As always the ticket is $20 or less. Race 8 Off Limits (#3, 7-2) has done her best work at a mile and adores Belmont Park’s turf course. She makes her third start off a layoff and seems to be […]
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Below is the late Pick 4 ticket for June 2nd, 2018 at Santa Anita Park. As always the ticket is $20 or less. Race 7 Hardboot (#2, 3-1) has proven form routing on the turf unlike many of his rivals and should be extremely tough while seeking his second win in a row. He was ultra […]
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Secretariat won the 1973 Kentucky Derby by 2 1/2 lengths. Sham ran his heart out but had to settle for second. Justify won the 2018 Kentucky Derby by 2 1/2 lengths. Good Magic ran his heart out but had to settle for second. Two weeks after Secretariat’s Kentucky Derby victory, he won the Preakness Stakes. […]
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