Fair Grounds: The GII, $400,000 Risen Star at 1 1/16 miles (Kentucky Derby qualifying points 50-20-10-5) by Brian Nadeau #1 Plus Que Parfait (10-1): The first of six who exit last month’s local prep, the GIII Lecomte, was a middling fifth in his 3-year-old debut for Walsh, after a 2-year-old campaign that ended with a…
I can’t really believe that this is the 11th year of the Brooklyn Backstretch Kentucky Derby charity league. Who would have thought, back in the early days of this blog (when it was still an actual blog), when I piggybacked off the Saratoga Special’s Derby fantasy league, run by Brian Nadeau, that we’d still be…
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 A cast of relative unknowns tries to prove their worth at Tampa, with the local Tampa Bay Derby, as well as the Florida Derby, likely to attract those who run well. Stepping up…
Santa Anita: The $150,000 Robert Lewis at 1 1/16 miles (Kentucky Derby qualifying points 10-4-2-1) by Brian Nadeau A short field kicks off the path to the Santa Anita Derby and it’s favored #5 MUCHO GUSTO (8-5) who looks tough to beat for Baffert off a clear second to stablemate Improbable in the GI Los…
Gulfstream Park: The $350,000 GII Holy Bull at 1 1/16 miles (Kentucky Derby qualifying points 10-4-2-1) by Brian Nadeau #1 Garter and Tie (12-1): Working-class Florida-bred has used his stretch run to pick up some good checks in his career and will get a positive race flow today, too, as he hopes to build off…
Aqueduct: The $250,000 GIII Withers at 1 1/8 miles (Kentucky Derby qualifying points 10-4-2-1) by Brian Nadeau #1 Tax (2-1): The chalk improved open lengths off the Gargan claim and with Lasix added when last seen in a sharp third-place run behind prime Derby contender Maximus Mischief (who runs later in Gulfstream Park’s GII Holy…
Oaklawn Park: The $150,000 Smarty Jones at 1-mile (Kentucky Derby qualifying points 10-4-2-1) by Brian Nadeau Oaklawn Park opens, as does the path to the Arkansas Derby, though this year’s Smarty Jones looks more like a sorting out process than a major Kentucky Derby prep. Two turns is a question mark for #3 SUPER STEED…
Brian Nadeau of Capital OTB and Horseplayer Now returns to take us through the major races on the road to this year’s Triple Crown. He’ll offer analysis and selections of Derby points races, hoping to make us all a little money as we head to the Belmont Stakes. Follow him on Twitter here. Fair Grounds:…
Brooklyn Backstretch 