This Saturday’s San Felipe Stakes at Santa Anita Park should be a lot of fun to watch. The Grade II affair features an early season clash between McKinzie, who has been No. 1 on my Kentucky Derby Top 10 all year up to this point, and Bolt d’Oro, who currently is No. 2 on my […]
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The champ is back. Good Magic, who was voted a 2017 Eclipse Award as champion 2-year-old male, returns to the racing wars this Saturday in the Grade II Xpressbet.com Fountain of Youth Stakes at Gulfstream Park. The 1 1/16-mile affair has drawn a field of 10. Trained by two-time Eclipse Award winner Chad Brown, Good […]
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As a four decades-plus horseplayer, former jockey agent, broadcaster, writer, racing official, etc., I’m often asked about the jockey factor–specifically, how important is the rider? It’s an interesting question. As you will discover, over the years, my response has changed. Two years ago, in the company of Hall-of-Fame jockey Javier Castellano among others, I was […]
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Below is the late Pick 4 ticket at Santa Anita Park on February 24th, 2018. As always the ticket is $20 or less. Race 7 Conquest Sabre Cat (#1, 5-1) ran poorly last time out, but that was against tougher at a distance further than his best. He now shortens up to a mile and drops […]
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Below is the late Pick 4 ticket at Santa Anita Park on February 17th, 2018. As always the ticket is $20 or less. Race 7 Madame Stripes (#4, 3-1) has an affinity for the Santa Anita Turf Course and beat a couple of her main rivals on the square last time out after breaking poorly. She […]
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Instilled Regard, who has the look of a rising 3-year-old star, has been installed as the 8-5 morning-line favorite in this Saturday’s Grade II Risen Star at New Orleans’ Fair Grounds. A $1,050,000 auction purchase, Instilled Regard returns to Louisiana from his Southern California base after winning the Grade III Lecomte at the Fair Grounds […]
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Below is the early Pick 5 ticket at Santa Anita Park for February 10th, 2018. As always the ticket is $20 or less. Race 1 Celebrate Life (#8, 5-2) drops in class after being used from the rail in a speed duel last time out. He is drawn outside today and still has room to improve after making […]
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Below is the late Pick 4 ticket at Santa Anita Park on February 3rd, 2018. As always the ticket is $20 or less. Race 6 Roosevelt (#6, 8-1) runs his best races when he is able to be close to the pace. He was marooned from a wide spot throughout his last race and was never […]
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Gulfstream Race 1 Maiden 1 1/16th Turf 2-5-11 #2 Renewable sure cost a pretty penny and those slow Payson works are not a concern for barn that can have one ready on debut. Watch Tote as a few of these are well bred first time starters. -Aaron Vercruysse Gulfstream Race 2 Maiden 7 F […]
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The 2017 Eclipse Award finalists were revealed earlier this month. The winners in each category will be announced at the 47th annual Eclipse Awards dinner at Gulfstream Park on Thursday, Jan. 25. The first year that I made Eclipse Award predictions in this column was for the racing that was conducted in 2011. Through the […]
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Worldwide horse racing fans aren’t salivating at the prospect of seeing Gun Runner contest the $16 million Pegasus World Cup Saturday at Gulfstream Park. The 5-year-old, expected to be named 2017 Horse of the Year Thursday night, lacks a following commensurate with his accomplishments. Why? Stay tuned for a theory because, based on ‘just the […]
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Below is the late Pick 4 ticket at Santa Anita Park on January 20th, 2018. As always the ticket is $20 or less. Race 6 Sauce On Side (#5, 2-1) can win two in a row with a repeat effort of her last race. Dropping to a $30,000 maiden claimer for the first time, she crushed her […]
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The evidence is mounting that the Southern California-based 3-year-olds are strong in 2018. This brings to mind what happened during a recent three-year period in the Triple Crown races. SoCal based 3-year-olds enjoyed considerable success in these historic races from 2014 through 2016, winning seven of the nine. SoCal-based California Chrome won the Kentucky Derby […]
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Pardon me. I Have some catching up to do. Yours truly missed live racing action Saturday because he was busy at Lincoln Financial Field rooting hard for the hometown 11. The Philadelphia Eagles—a team I have spent a lifetime supporting through thick and thin (BTW, it’s been way more ‘thin’ than ‘thick’)—met the Atlanta Falcons […]
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Below is the late Pick 4 ticket at Santa Anita Park on January 13th, 2018. As always the ticket is $20 or less. Race 6 Clever Royal (#11, 6-1) ran against much tougher last time out at Aqueduct. East Coast turf form is usually better in general and the horse he lost to by a half […]
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