With the holiday, the weekend starts early.  As a result, handicapping for the weekend also starts early.  Picks and Ponderings is doing a series of previews of races all around the country, starting with two on Thanksgiving Day.  I [figuratively] went east for the Fall Highweight Handicap, a six-furlong sprint handicap that lives up to its name.  Paul Mazur turned his attentions west for the Hollywood Turf Cup, a race which features Illinois-bred grass marathoner The Pizza Man as well as Arlington Handicap (GIII) winner Finnegans Wake.

We will continue with previews of the big stakes races on Friday and Saturday, culminating with the Hawthorne Gold Cup — the biggest racing day of the local fall season.

Head on over to Picks and Ponderings, read our preview of the Fall Highweight and the Hollywood Turf Cup, and start looking forward to the Thanksgiving Day racing action!