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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In discussing the Southwest Stakes (click for free Brisnet.com Ultimate PPs w/ comments ) with Steve Byk on his At The Races radio program Friday morning, I wondered whether fitness would be a factor for some entrants because of the lost training time this month at Oaklawn Park . Eleven of the dozen entrants are based at Oaklawn with the most recent works ranging from four days ago to three weeks ago...
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When playing races or carryovers at tracks I normally don’t play, I try to lean on the Ultimate Race Summary found in the Brisnet.com Ultimate Past Performances , but the El Camino Real Derby (click for FREE PPs) on Saturday at Golden Gate Fields does not afford such a luxury because there has only been one 1 1/8-mile race so far this meeting at the Bay area track. A (free!) fallback is the At A Glance...
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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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The return of SHOWdown is always a big deal here at TwinSpires.com HQ, but nothing would be a bigger deal than seeing Vice President of Marketing Jeremy Clemons with the blanket of roses in one hand and a $1-million bill in the other for the TwinSpires.com player who successfully picked a horse to show in 19 prep races plus the Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands . Of course, successfully picking...
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Sunday, Gulfstream, Race 12, Local Post Time 6:01pm ET The G1 Donn Handicap , 1 and 1/8 miles, Dirt, 4YO+ By Craig Milkowski The Grade 1 Donn Handicap will be run at one-mile-and-one-eighth on the dirt at Gulfstream Park. The field of eleven is highlighted by 2013 Eclipse Award winner and Breeders' Cup Classic runner- up Will Take Charge. He is pegged as the 9-5 morning line favorite. • FREE TimeformUS...
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One of the common misconceptions is that it is too early to wager on the Kentucky Derby....
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The old wives’ tale to starve a fever doesn’t work with the Kentucky Derby variety—not because the charms of the First Saturday in May are so irresistible 13 weeks away but because sustenance is unavoidable. Not that I’m trying to avoid it, mind you, but even if the highlight of your week is Louisiana Premier Night and our 3:10 to Delta 1-million-point promotion , it’s going to be tough to elude chatter...
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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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Are you tired of Kentucky Derby prep races that don’t soak up excitement and leave your appetite whet for more? Then you need the Sham, now! You’ll be saying “WOW!” every time you watch the replay of this race, as it is sure to be a classic pitting five maiden winners up against California fair circuit stakes winner Life Is a Joy in a battle to determine the West’s best two-year-old not named Shared...
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Saturday, Oaklawn, Race 8, Local Post Time 4:38pm CT The Fifth Season Stakes , Dirt, 1 and 1/16 Miles, 4+ By Douglas Salvatore The opening weekend feature at Oaklawn Park has attracted a large and deep field. Indeed, nine of the 13 entrants have earned in excess of a quarter-million dollars in their racing careers. • TimeformUS PPs for the Fifth Season Stakes • A Special Offer on Unlimited PPs for...
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There are other TwinSpires.com promotions that give away more money/prizes/points than Let 8 Ride , but I don’t think any is more fun than the weekly game that starts with an $8 win bet on the eighth race at a designated track. The promotion certainly appeals to the game show junky in me. Part Press Your Luck, part Let’s Make a Deal, part Sale of the Century, Let 8 Ride requires several skills along...
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It's rare that I make a full (every entry) fair odds analysis for a race outside a seven-figure Grade 1 race, but I felt compelled to do so for the Jerome Stakes on Saturday at Aqueduct (click for FREE Brisnet.com Ultimate PPs ) because of the presence of a clear favorite/most likely winner who doesn't have to win. In addition to the $200,000 purse, at stake in this stakes for three-year-olds is 17...
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Saturday Aqueduct, Race 8, Local Post Time 3:48pm EST The G2 Jerome Handicap By Douglas Salvatore It's very rare to see a Grade 2 stakes race in which no horse in the entire field has ever won so much as an ungraded stakes race. Moreover, the 7/2 second choice on the morning line, Scotland, is still a maiden and has never even competed at a route distance. • FREE TimeformUS PPs for the Jerome Handicap...
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Although wagering on horse racing with any seriousness is better viewed as one, long grind versus a day-to-day/week-to-week/month-to-month/year-to-year venture, there's just something about turning the page that makes us want to check the scoreboard. And to be honest, I'm getting blown out this year. To finish in the black for 2013 would require a comeback on par with Auburn's field goal return against...
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Saturday Gulfstream Park, Race 9, Local Post Time 4:33pm EST The G3 Mr. Prospector Stakes , 6F, 3YO & up, Dirt By Douglas Salvatore Star Harbor (5/2 morning line) is a rare case of a "quad figure standout." In his last four starts, all of his speed figures are 110 or better. No other horse in this field has a single speed figure that fast in any of his last four starts. Not only does Star Harbor...
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Before jumping into analysis of this weekend's top stakes races, we asked TimeformUS contributor Bob Barry to reflect on the closing of Hollywood Park. The Hollywood Park Swan Song By Bob Barry What can you say about a seventy-five-year-old racetrack that died? That she was young and beautiful back when “Old Hollywood” was still just “Hollywood”; that she remained beautiful years later, even as the...
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Saturday Betfair Hollywood Park, Race 9, Local Post Time 4:35pm PT The G1 CashCall Futurity , 1 and 1/16 Miles, 2YO, Synth By Justin Finch The Grade 1 Cash Call Futurity will be run against a poignant backdrop as Betfair Hollywood Park approaches its end. And one should add that it approaches it with some style, as this is a very interesting edition of the Cash Call Futurity. • FREE TimeformUS PPs...
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Personally, I enjoy playing the inner meet. Horses more easily find their right conditions, and the form holds up....
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I posed this question on Twitter , on "At The Races" w/ Steve Byk, and in the Brisnet.com weekend preview, and still have not received a definitive answer: Does this weekend (it's happening Friday, Saturday, and Sunday) mark the first time that Calder Race Course, Guflstream Park, and Tampa Bay Downs are conducting racing at the same time? If anyone knows, drop a comment, or at the very least drop...
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Saturday Betfair Hollywood Park, Race 6, Local Post Time 3:04pm PT The G1 Hollywood Starlet Stakes , 1 and 1/16 Miles, Fillies, 2YO, Synth By Justin Finch The Grade 1 Hollywood Starlet has eight two-year-old fillies and almost as many question marks. There have been stronger editions of this race, to be sure, but this edition, the final one, stands tall in the puzzle department, and that provides some...
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Tampa Bay Downs has (rightfully) earned its reputation as one of the more player-friendly tracks racing, and we at Brisnet.com and TwinSpires.com always welcome its return, which this year is Wednesday, December 4. Daily Selections full-card analysis with best bets will be available all meeting long. This is a great tool for Tampa players in part because the multiple-race wagers at the track are so...
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