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While next week's racing calendar includes three key Triple Crown preps including the season debut of Kentucky Derby favorite of Uncle Mo in the Timely Writer, this weekend features only Saturday's Gotham Stakes from Aqueduct, and to a lesser degree a Sunday allowance race at Gulfstream that will serve as Dailed In's two-turn debut. The Gotham is ...

Take nothing away from the other nine Kentucky Derby preps that have already been run, but for me, the Fountain of Youth is where the real Triple Crown trail begins. From this point forward, everything starts to get serious. I think many would agree that the best 3-year-olds in the country make their home in Florida, and this is our first chance ...

Al Stall Jr. wants to make sure he squashes all of the Kentucky Derby talk before it even gets started: Bind will not be pointed to any of the Triple Crown races. It's understandable that Stall felt the need to dismiss the Derby talk on Tuesday, a few days after Bind dazzled in his debut at Fair Grounds. The dark bay colt stole Risen ...

I just took a quick peek at Pool 1 of the Kentucky Derby Future Wager and it's pretty astounding to see that ‘all other 3-year-olds is even-money and Uncle Mo is the individual favorite at 2-1. Why anyone would settle for those odds on either is beyond me, but if you like any of the other 23 horses on there it's a good thing for you. As of 3 p.m. ...

We all know about the early Kentucky Derby favorites and those that are on the top of the graded earnings list. But here are three under-the-radar colts to watch for as the Derby trail inches closer. Casper's Touch (Touch Gold-Lizzy Cool, by Saint Ballado)--He's one I'm really watching, mainly due to his Feb. 5 allowance race at Gulfstream when ...

(As part of special series leading up to the Triple Crown, Mike Repole, owner of undefeated champion Uncle Mo, has agreed to author an exclusive guest blog for Triple Crown Talk. The blog, a diary of sorts, will chronicle Repole's thoughts on the Kentucky Derby favorite as he makes his way through the Triple Crown trail. Repole will do ...

In 1996, Grindstone won the Louisiana Derby (which at the time was a grade III and run in mid-March), prepped for the Kentucky Derby in the Arkansas Derby, and went on to capture the roses by a nose. Three years later in 1999, Charismatic, who had run in a $62,500 claimer at Santa Anita in February, won the Lexington Stakes at Keeneland before ...

For small-time Thoroughbred race owners, the chances of picking out one graded stakes winner is slim. To do it a second time is even rarer. And to do it a third time is unheard of, especially if you are only buying one horse per year. Apparently, Chris Walters doesn't know how hard this sport really is because he is making it look ...

Some of the early stakes for 3-year-olds, which have had trouble luring more than five horses in some cases, have been a bit underwhelming so far. The grade III Lecomte on Saturday at Fair Grounds is one example. Though the Lecomte is the marquee 3-year-old race this weekend, the best field of sophomores could be running in the ninth race at ...

On Thursday, Mike Repole confirmed that Uncle Mo's much-anticipated 3-year-old debut will likely be in the $350,000 Tampa Bay Derby on March 12. That will be the first of two Kentucky Derby preps for Mo, who will then be pointed toward the $750,000 Wood Memorial on April 9 at Aqueduct. Now that we know where the Derby favorite is going, a couple ...