The Lane’s End Recap, by Brian Nadeau One of the problems with giving away $500,000 in graded stakes money in a Kentucky Derby prep is that the winner is automatically going to be qualified for a Derby starting berth. And that’s what we saw on Saturday in the Lane’s End, when Hold Me Back made…
The Lane’s End – Grade II, $500,000 – Turfway Park – 1 1/8 Miles, by Brian Nadeau The Derby Trail heads to Turfway Park this weekend for the Lane’s End Stakes. With a $500,000 purse on the line, this race offers the winner an essentially guaranteed a spot in the Derby starting gate. Bittel Road…
Reviewing last weekend’s Derby preps, by Brian Nadeau We’ve all crammed for a test in our day, right? But I mean really crammed–just studied the paint off the wall, hoping to unearth that one little portion of our brain that’s going to store some information vital to a good grade. And then you take the…
The Rebel – Grade II – $300,000 – Oaklawn Park – 1 1/16 Miles, by Brian Nadeau Old Fashioned looks to continue his march to Churchill Downs and there doesn’t appear to be too much standing in his way. He’s imposing indeed, but maybe there’s someone out there that could pull the shocker? Let’s take…
The Tampa Bay Derby – Grade III – $300,000 – Tampa Bay Downs – 1 1/16 Miles, by Brian Nadeau While the local prep, the Grade III Sam Davis, went to the locals, the invaders look poised to take home the trophy this time. Let’s see if we can’t find a little value to spice…
The San Felipe – Grade II – $200,000 – Santa Anita – 1 1/16 Miles, by Brian Nadeau Pioneerof The Nile looks to keep pace with The Pamplemousse in the battle for favoritism for the upcoming Santa Anita Derby. He meets six relatively unproven sorts trying to latch on to the Derby Trail. Let’s take…
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…
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…
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.…
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…
Brooklyn Backstretch 