Tampa Bay Downs: The Grade III, $250,000 Sam F. Davis at 1 1/16 miles (Kentucky Derby qualifying points 10-4-2-1) by Brian Nadeau #1 Navy Armed Guard (15-1): The lone maiden has actually run about as fast as anyone but the chalk in his last two on the dirt, which includes a neck loss when second…
Santa Anita: The Grade III, $150,000 Robert Lewis at 1 1/16 miles (Kentucky Derby qualifying points 10-4-2-1) #1 Ayacara (GB) (8-1): Son of Violence goes for the Desormeaux brothers and makes his first start on the dirt since a distant fourth behind Bold d’Oro’s freakish effort in the track and distance GI FrontRunner in October,…
Gulfstream Park: The Grade II, $350,000 Holy Bull at 1 1/16 miles (Kentucky Derby qualifying points 10-4-2-1) by Brian Nadeau #1 Enticed (3-1): The chalk was an all-out winner over fellow rival Tiz Mischief when last seen in the GII Kentucky Jockey Club at this trip in November at Churchill Downs, which immediately vaulted him…
Aqueduct: The Grade III, $250,000 Withers at 1 1/8 miles (Kentucky Derby qualifying points 10-4-2-1) by Brian Nadeau #1 Firenze Fire (9-5): By far the most accomplished member of the field was all-out to get up to win the local Jerome in the mud in what was his first start since he didn’t fire while…
The frozen paddocks of upstate New York are a long way from the sweltering devastation of Puerto Rico. At the ReRun adoption and retraining facility in East Greenbush, New York, about 40 miles south of Saratoga Springs — where the temperature was 2 degrees Fahrenheit (-17 degrees C) on a recent morning, a nine-year-old U.S.…
by Brian Nadeau Oaklawn Park: The $150,000 Smarty Jones at 1-mile (Kentucky Derby qualifying points: 10-4-2-1) Bob Baffert may have a wing in the Oaklawn Hall of Fame one day, as he’s shipped in countless 3-year-olds over the years to take home the hardware in their lucrative sophomore series, and this year looks no different…
Aqueduct: The $150,000 Jerome at 1-mile (Kentucky Derby qualifying points: 10-4-2-1) The Jerome may have come up light, but it does mark the return of GI Champagne winner #7 FIRENZE FIRE (3-5), who didn’t fire in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile but has found a very soft group for his 3yo debut for Servis, and the son…
So pleased that handicapper Brian Nadeau has signed on for another year of previewing Derby preps and Triple Crown races. A veteran of the Saratoga Special, he handicaps regularly for Capital OTB TV in upstate New York and Horseplayer Now, and you’ll find him here on Twitter. Welcome back to the Derby trail, and stay tuned…
As 2017 draws to a close, the face of Maryland racing continues to change. New stallions have arrived to stand in the state; the flagship is no longer historic Pimlico, but a rejuvenated Laurel Park; Thoroughbred retirement has become an official program supported by an industry-wide partnership. By nearly every indicator, Maryland racing is heading…
On Thursday, August 10, as the New York Racing Association’s Talking Horses television show began, two women sat behind the desk, ready to handicap that day’s Saratoga card for the thousands on-track and watching on television and the internet. That in itself was noteworthy, given the paucity of women on the NYRA broadcast until recently.…
Brooklyn Backstretch 