The Louisiana Derby – Grade II – $600,000 – Fair Grounds – 1 1/16 Miles, by Brian Nadeau In honor of next month’s Masters at August National, let’s deem this Saturday Moving Day at the racetrack. There are no fewer than four major prep races that should further clarify the Kentucky Derby picture. Let’s check…
It’s been a while since we’ve taken a spin through the world of synthetics, but with all the news in the last couple of months, it seemed time for an update. This is not an exhaustive overview, but a sample of some of the recent news. In January, Jeff Lowe in Thoroughbred Times reported on…
This week’s Top 10, by Brian Nadeau A lot has changed since my first Derby Top 10 list, and that’s hardly a surprise. The past two weeks delivered several noteworthy performances and with the Louisiana Derby, Rebel, Tampa Bay Derby and San Felipe on tap for this weekend, we should get that much more information…
The big news this week is that last year’s winner and the leader so far this year, Triple Crown73 Stable, has been knocked from the top spot. She’s far too scary, though, to be counted out at this point—those in the #1 spot, keep your eyes out for her! The current donation is $130, with…
Reviewing the Sham, the Fountain of Youth, the Gotham, and the Santa Anita Oaks, by Brian Nadeau Lots to do and recap since we last left you, so let’s get right to it. The Fountain of Youth, Sham and Gotham all gave us definitive winners who took a major leap forward on everyone’s Derby radar.…
Perhaps in acknowledgement of all of those freezing winter weekends spent at the Big A, the racing gods smiled on me on Saturday morning. For the first time in a week, I felt well enough to think that I could actually manage a few hours outside of the apartment, and mid-afternoon, I ventured to Aqueduct,…
This blasted flu that has kept me home from work all week is also, in all likelihood, going to keep me away from the Big A and the Gotham today. I’m hoping for some sort of miracle rally, but reports of the first big New York race of 2009 are probably, maddeningly, going to come…
The Gotham Stakes – Grade III, $250,000 – Aqueduct – 1 1/16 Miles, by Brian Nadeau Another weekend along the Derby Trail and another deep and talented stakes race to decipher. Saturday New York reminds us that spring is indeed on the horizon when the Gotham Stakes is run at Aqueduct. The local prep for…
Having been homebound with the flu this week, I unfortunately caught the dreadful spill in Wednesday’s second race at Aqueduct. Though the fallen horses and jockeys were visible on the screen for only a moment, John Imbriale’s voice, halting as he called the two horses of seven starters who crossed the finish line, told us…
Astute and thorough handicapper that I am, one of my favorite betting angles is using horses conditioned by trainers whose barns I’ve visited. It is for that reason that last August at Saratoga, I bet Tom Albertrani’s Devotee at 21 – 1, and for that reason alone that I cashed a ticket when she broke…
Brooklyn Backstretch 