The Sham Stakes – Grade III, $200,000 – Santa Anita Park – 1 1/8 Miles,by Brian Nadeau As opposed to the Fountain of Youth, the Sham brings together one known quantity in The Pamplemousse, and several others who have yet to make their mark on the big stage. The former rates a deserving favorite and…

The Fountain of Youth Stakes – Grade II, $250,000 – Gulfstream Park – 1 Mileby Brian Nadeau When I first heard this race was being shortened to 1-mile, and therefore being run at one-turn, I was really disappointed. It’s doesn’t quite have the appeal it once did and it loses a little of its luster…

A look at the week that was in Derby preps, by Brian Nadeau With little in the way of Derby prep races this weekend we’ll just take a look back at the trio of stakes that were run last weekend, as well as an important allowance Thursday at Gulfstream. We saw the reemergence of the…

Preview of the Southwest Stakes – Grade III, $250,000 – Oaklawn Park – 1 Mileby Brian Nadeau Well, the Kentucky Derby Trail really gets going here, as we see the return of Old Fashioned, who many view as the horse to beat (is there such a thing three months out?) as of now. He meets…

Preview of the San Vicente Stakes – Santa Anita Park – Grade II, $150,000 – 7 FurlongsBy Brian Nadeau Well, we might as well get this out of the way early. I really have no feel for the fake stuff in terms of handicapping and I’m not a fan of it in the least overall.…

Guest analysis by Brian Nadeau: The Sam F. Davis Stakes – Tampa Bay Downs – Grade III, $225,000 – 1 1/16 miles Question: What do Bluegrass Cat and Any Given Saturday have in common? Answer: The obvious is that they were both Grade I-winning 3-year-olds trained by Todd Pletcher who were major players on the…