On the Belmont backstretch on Monday morning, a blissful unawareness of the calendar might have led one to think that it was spring. Trainers, exercise riders, spectators—all gradually shed layers as the sun rose higher. “It’s HOT!” was overheard more than once. A lone horse trained on the turf course. But instead of the blue…
A brief look at how the dirt horses did over the weekend. Given the number of variables at play, it would be folly to try to draw definitive conclusions from these results; race records of individual horses on the various surfaces, including the different types of synthetics, would also need to be taken into consideration,…
The Backstretch method did better than it could have hoped yesterday, cashing on the exacta and winner in the Juvenile Fillies Turf. Let’s see how it works today. Juvenile Turf: Kera’s Kitten is out in favor of Becky’s Kitten (poor Kera—she travelled all the way from Kentucky to see her namesake race! Check out Grening’s…
Game over, Breeders’ Cup Day 1. I left school at the earliest possible moment and managed to get home in time to see all of the filly/mare races, to place wagers, and to end up in the black for about $60. For a $2 bettor like me, that’s a profit about which to be happy.…
Race 2: The Grade II, $1 million Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf at 1-mile. POUNCED drew well and enters off a second to the accomplished Siyouni in a classy European Group I on the Arc undercard; tepid choice in a race that could go to just about anyone. KERA’S KITTEN has progressed nicely in both career…
Even the most cursory of looks at racing newspapers, websites, and magazines yields a plethora of handicapping strategies. Beyer guys, Sheets disciples, avowed trip handicappers—everyone’s got an angle, out there for the taking. I attended and bet on races for years before I became cognizant of my own handicapping strategies. Armed with past performances, I…
According to Claire Novak, Mike Smith is the sexiest jockey riding in the Breeders’ Cup. How do we know this? Because at ESPN.com, Novak, encouraged by Horseplayerpro.com’s Joe Kristufek and with input from other racing media (both male and female), posted her list of 10 sexiest jockeys riding in this weekend’s races at Santa Anita.…
OK, it’s Breeders’ Cup, so let’s have a little fun while expanding the bankroll just a little bit. After all, if you can’t do it these two days then you never can. I’ll give selections (gulp) and notes for each race and then put together a few exotic tickets as well. Good luck, everyone, and…
The issues of drugs in racing was back in the news recently, as the New York Racing Association banned Jeff Mullins and his horses from its tracks for six months, following Mullins’s attempt in the detention barn at Aqueduct to administer a substance to Gato Go Win last April. Concern about the use of drugs…
So here it is, a little more than 72 hours out from post time for the Breeders’ Cup, and I haven’t written a thing about it. It would be silly of me to pore through past performances and hazard handicapping guesses. I can’t write about what’s going on on the backstretch or in the morning,…
Brooklyn Backstretch 