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…
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…
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,…
In the aftermath of the first ever Breeders’ Cup on a synthetic surface, we’ve heard about equal calls and predictions from both sides: “Get used to it; in ten years, every track in North America will be synthetic.” “Don’t worry, folks; within five years, synthetic tracks will go the way of Astroturf.” Fans and bettors…
I’m not sure what it would have taken over this past weekend to change my opinion of this year’s Breeders’ Cup, not sure what would have made me think that having all of the distaff races on Friday was a good idea, not sure what would have made me support the decision to hold these…
I still haven’t watched yesterday’s races. And I can’t decide when I’m going to be able to. Years of Catholicism have taught me that whatever is the hardest, most sacrificial thing to do is the right thing to do, even when–especially when?–it defies sensibility. So even though I was in a bar on Friday afternoon…
Brooklyn Backstretch 