J. Keeler Johnson handicaps the $1,500,000 Whitney Handicap (gr. I) at Saratoga....
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J. Keeler Johnson handicaps the group I Sussex Stakes at Glorious Goodwood....
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J. Keeler Johnson handicaps the Haskell Invitational (gr. I) at Monmouth Park....
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J. Keeler Johnson handicaps the Jim Dandy Stakes (gr. II) at Saratoga....
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Deep fields and handicapping challenges abound in the opening-day races at Del Mar....
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However you feel about California Chrome (and let's face it, emotions are running hot right about now), in handicapping this race, you must move beyond whatever rooting interest you have and stick to the basics....
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Saturday, Aqueduct, Race 9, Local Post Time 4:17pm ET The G3 Gotham Stakes , 1 and 1/16 miles, Dirt, 3YO By Jason Perlmutter With only nine weeks remaining until the first Saturday in May, Derby fever comes to the rough and tumble neighborhood of Ozone Park, New York, home of Aqueduct Racetrack. There, 11 three-year-olds will compete in the Grade 3 $500k Gotham, and a promising son of Noble Causeway...
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Samraat, Uncle Sigh, and Havana are among the box-office stars entered to race in this week's Gotham Stakes (gr. III) and Swale Stakes (gr. II). But could they be overshadowed by the supporting cast?...
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Saturday, Gulfstream Park, Race 11, Local Post Time 5:31pm ET The G2 Fountain of Youth Stakes, 1 and 1/16 miles, Dirt, 3YO By Alan Mann The Grade 2 Fountain of Youth is the final prep for the Florida Derby, an actual prep (finally) for the Kentucky Derby. It will be run at a mile and a sixteenth with a short run to the first turn and a shortened stretch, both of which figure to be significant factors...
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It's an age-old handicapping question--what do you do when the horse you like has drawn a poor post position?...
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Sunday, Santa Anita, Race 5, Local Post Time 2:30pm PT The G2 San Vicente Stakes , 7 Furlongs, Dirt, 3YO By Jason Perlmutter The Grade 2 San Vicente at Santa Anita features a field of six colts who have raced a combined 15 times in their burgeoning careers. This is the time of year when three-year-old thoroughbreds explode with regularity to career-top performances. In light of that, we will look for...
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J. Keeler Johnson joins the Unlocking Winners blog and looks at Alpha's chances on the grass in the Feb. 15 Mac Diarmida Stakes....
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Saturday, Santa Anita, Race 7, Local Post Time 3:30pm PT The G1 Las Virgenes Stakes , 1 mile, Dirt, 3YOF By Jason Perlmutter The G1 Las Virgenes represents the first significant Kentucky Oaks prep of the year for Southern California's new generation of three-year-old fillies. That said, a mile at Santa Anita is a far cry from nine furlongs at Churchill Downs and we will put a premium on the fillies...
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Saturday, Gulfstream, Race 10, Local Post Time 5:03pm ET The G2 Holy Bull Stakes , 1 and 1/16 Miles, Dirt, 3YO By Douglas Salvatore The Holy Bull is without question the deepest Kentucky Derby prep race to date. It includes a fascinating field of eleven led by 3/1 morning line favorite Cairo Prince. • FREE TimeformUS PPs for the Holy Bull Stakes • A Special Offer on Unlimited PPs for Bloodhorse Readers...
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Monday, Oaklawn, Race 8, Local Post Time 4:38pm CT The Smarty Jones Stakes , 1 mile, Dirt, 3YO By Douglas Salvatore The TimeformUS Pace Projector indicates this year’s edition of the Smarty Jones Stakes will be run at a fast and contested pace. • TimeformUS PPs for the Smarty Jones Stakes • A Special Offer on Unlimited PPs for Bloodhorse Readers That makes #2 Whyruawesome (12/1 Morning Line) the horse...
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Sunday Betfair Hollywood Park, Race 8, Local Post Time 4:07pm PT The G1 Matriarch Stakes , 1 Mile, Fillies and Mares, 3+, Turf By Justin Finch The final Matriarch, like so many before it, will be a good one. The nine-horse field contains four Grade 1 winners and is loaded with accomplished fillies and mares. At time of writing, the forecast is that the rain that has been falling on Hollywood Park will...
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Saturday Aqueduct, Race 6, Local Post Time 2:45 pm ET The Summer Secretary S ., 1 and 1/16 Miles, 3YO Fillies, Turf By Douglas Salvatore The $100,000 Summer Secretary has attracted a strong field of 13 three-year-old fillies, and the TimeformUS Pace Projector indicates that it will be run at a fast and contested early pace. • TimeformUS PPs for the Summer Secretary • A Special Offer on Unlimited PPs...
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One of my cause célèbre is to rally against the need to PICK A WINNER in important races. Any horse is capable of winning. A handicapper's job is to pick winners, but a horse player's job is to balance the chances of a win with the odds and bankroll. But it's Breeders' Cup Saturday, and just as everyone wants to know your Kentucky Derby pick, there's definitely an onus to be able to pick one horse...
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Santa Anita Friday, Race 10, Local Post Time 4:35 pm PT The G1 Breeders' Cup Distaff , 1 and 1/8 Miles, Dirt, F&M, 3+ By Robert Finnegan Selections : 1) #4 Royal Delta 2) #5 Beholder 3) #6 Princess of Sylmar - Get Breeders' Cup PPs for $1.50 per day - For selections, analysis, and past performances for all 14 Breeders' Cup races, get the TimeformUS Breeders' Cup Package The Breeders' Cup Distaff...
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If you're a multi-race player then the most important race on Friday isn't a Breeders' Cup race but the Grade 2 Twilight Derby for three-year-olds on the turf. Carded as the fifth race of the 11-race card, the Twilight Derby ends the Pick 5, starts the Pick 6, is the third leg of the early Pick 4, is part of three rolling Pick 3s, and a pair of rolling doubles. Getting this race wrong could knock you...
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If you're playing the Stars of Tomorrow cards on Sunday at either Belmont Park or Churchill Downs then the following hyperlinked information from Brisnet.com is required for handicapping all the debut runners, surface switches, and stretch outs common among two-year-old racing: Ultimate PPs , American Produce Records (APR) Online , and Bruno With The Works . Together, they give you the clearest picture...
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With the release of TimeformUS Advance Breeders' Cup PPs , you can easily see which horse owns the best last-out TimeformUS speed figure in each Breeders' Cup race. We've asked TimeformUS Chief Figure Maker Craig Milkowski to describe the circumstances in which these top last-out figures were run. For Breeders’ Cup Advance Past Performances – complete with best-in-class foreign running lines and European...
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Keeneland, Race 9, Local Post Time 5:23 pm ET The G2 Raven Run , 7F, Synth, 3YO Fillies By Robert Finnegan Saturday's Grade II Raven Run at Keeneland features an overflow field of three-year-old fillies running seven furlongs on the Polytrack. The morning line 7-2 favorite is the Todd Pletcher-trained Silsita. Handicappers have no choice but to take Pletcher's horses seriously whenever they enter the...
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In a rare moment of social media accord, it was mostly agreed upon that the Breeders' Cup Classic fields from either 1998 or 2004 were the best not only for the Western Hemisphere's richest race but also in the history of the North American Turf ! I'll muddy the waters a little bit and include 2009 in the discussion because of the international flavor of that event and because the most popular horse...
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One of my absolute favorite races of all time is the 2011 Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup Stakes because it showed the value of speed figures--even on turf. For past performances and selections of this year's QE2 and all the races at Keeneland, visit the Blood Horse shop . The QE2 (on this side of the pond) is a 1 1/8-mile turf race for three-year-old fillies, and Winter Memories entered the 2011...
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