We correctly tabbed the Derby result in this space, touting winner Justify as The One to Beat and second and third-place finishers, respectively, Good Magic and Audible as ‘Ones That Can Do It.’ However, we didn’t do quite as well with our suggested wagering strategies. We suggested keying Justify in the first, second and third […]
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The most intriguing race on Saturday at Santa Anita Park is the Angels Flight Stakes. It is a wide-open ten horse field filled with speed that looks ripe with great betting opportunities. I will key a horse from off the pace to leverage value. Below is my wagering strategy for the Angels Flight Stakes. Key […]
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Quip and Gronkowski are out. Combatant and Instilled Regard are in. It was announced Monday that Quip, winner of the Grade II Tampa Bay Derby and runner-up in the Grade I Arkansas Derby, will not run in the Grade I Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs on May 5. Quip races for WinStar Farm and China […]
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This season’s Kentucky Derby picture is as challenging to complete as a jigsaw puzzle missing a handful of pieces. Accurately predicting the outcome of the nation’s most famous horserace never is easy but, this season, the task seems nearly impossible. This first Saturday in May, horseplayers should anticipate confusion, frustration and a heck of a […]
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Below is the early Pick 5 ticket for April 14th, 2018 at Santa Anita Park. As always the ticket is $20 or less. Race 1 Majestic Eagle (#8, 9-5) will be tough to beat at a short price following his recent second to Fibonacci, who returned to win in impressive fashion. Majestic Eagle shortens up to a […]
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Below is the late Pick 5 ticket for Santa Anita Derby Day, April 7th, 2018 at Santa Anita Park. As always the ticket is $20 or less. Race 8 Sigur Ros (#8, 6-1) finally catches a field with no speed after being used up in pace duels in his last two starts. He was 6 wide every […]
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Below is the late Pick 4 ticket for Florida Derby Day at Gulfstream Park. As always the ticket is $20 or less. Race 11 Stormy Victoria (#3, 4-1) is the longer price of the Christophe Clement pair in here and has a recency edge over stablemate Lull. This mare appears to be better than ever and sports […]
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At Churchill Downs September 16, 2017, the official Road to the 2018 Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve began with the Iroquois Stakes—first of 34 official qualifying events. May 5, 2018, following the 144th Run for the Roses, that path dead-ends at the identical finish line. So far, two familiar 2017 leftovers–Bolt d’Oro and McKinzie–continue […]
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Derby Strikes season 2018 has arrived. 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 are explained at the end of this column. Various “rules” for the […]
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Below is the early Pick 5 ticket for March 24th, 2018 at Santa Anita Park. As always the ticket is $20 or less and the sequence is extra intriguing with a carryover coming in. Race 1 Eagle Screams (#2, 5-1) looks poised for victory as he returns to the turf first off the claim for Steve […]
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Is this the year it finally happens? Will this be the year in which the Kentucky Derby winner is someone who did not race as a 2-year-old? We already saw one of the longest streaks in all of sports come to an end last Friday when UMBC (University of Maryland, Baltimore County) crushed Virginia […]
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The recent passing of Thunder Gulch sent me scurrying to the bookshelf for a copy of Champions: The Lives, Times, and Past Performances of the 20th Century’s Greatest Thoroughbreds, by editors and writers at Daily Racing Form. The book is a treasure trove of information and includes complete past performance lines of title winners. As […]
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Last Saturday’s San Felipe Stakes at Santa Anita Park turned out to be a real humdinger. McKinzie, favored at even money in the Grade II affair, and Bolt d’Oro, sent off at 6-5, put on quite a show. They staged a furious battle from the quarter pole all the way to a photo finish. The […]
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Live In-Race wagering is a ‘thing’ somewhere on this gambling planet. Thankfully, it’s not a proposition offered at Gulfstream Park. Good. Because if Fountain of Youth attendees had been able to wager midway through last Saturday’s featured race they would have lost their case Joe’s Stone Crab money on favorite Good Magic. The Breeders’ Cup […]
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Below is the late Pick 4 ticket at Santa Anita Park on ‘Big Cap’ Day, March 10th, 2018. As always the ticket is $20 or less. Race 8 Lexington Grace (#8, 6-1) fell hopelessly out of it in her U.S. debut before closing nicely to be fourth against tougher. She adds blinkers, which should put her […]
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