It’s time for the third week of Big Race Showdown at America’s Best Racing!: where I clash heads with six awesome handicappers (Emily Gullikson, Candice Hare, Dan Tordjman, Brian Zipse, Eric Bialek, and Mark DiLorenzo) to see who can stay the hottest through Derby prep season. This week, we visit one of my favourite tracks in the country: Tampa Bay Downs. Head over... Continue Reading →
The Tournament Edge: Equestricon’s NHC Qualifier – A Beginner’s Guide
Did you meet members of the Tournament Edge at Equestricon last week, or attend the tournament panel featuring our co-founder Michael Beychok? Are you looking for a place where you can put your newfound tournament skills to the test? If you had a Panel Pass or a VIP Ticket, you have the perfect chance coming... Continue Reading →
The Tournament Edge: Kentucky Derby Morning Workout Videos
Over at The Tournament Edge, I'm talking Derby in my new blog. Specifically, I'm talking about all the videos out there with Derby contender morning works. So much footage of the Derby contenders comes out every day -- but, what can you make of it? How should a good or a bad workout affect who... Continue Reading →
The Tournament Edge: Finding My Foundation
My series about my first live contest concludes today at The Tournament Edge. The first and second parts of this series were a bit heavy on the doom and gloom: anxiety about what was to come, things I screwed up during the actual contest. But, despite my natural pessimism, not everything went poorly. I did... Continue Reading →
The Tournament Edge: Lessons Learned
Monday, I published the first part of my series about my experience playing a live contest for the first time. It covered my preparation before the tournament: Analysis Paralysis. Today, I published part two: Lessons Learned. As much as I hoped my first live contest would turn out a fairy tale -- it didn't. But,... Continue Reading →
The Tournament Edge: Analysis Paralysis
Last Friday, I played my first live contest. Over at The Tournament Edge, I am publishing a three-part series about my experience playing it. The first part of the series discusses my experience preparing for the contest. The contest took me out of my comfort zone -- and much of that was due to the... Continue Reading →
The Tournament Edge: Lifeline Game Strategy
In my latest blog for The Tournament Edge, I talk Lifeline strategy. What is a Lifeline game, you may ask? It's one of the new kinds of games that are available to play on TTEGames.net, The Tournament Edge's new contest website. If you like survivor-style games, but wish you could take a mulligan or two... Continue Reading →
The Tournament Edge: Heads Up!
This week at The Tournament Edge, I write about something that scared me for a long time, but became my favourite niche of horse racing contest play: head-to-head contests. Before I got the hang of horse racing contests, they scared me. After all, head-to-head poker was not my style at all. As I've gained experience,... Continue Reading →
The Tournament Edge: What About the Rabbit?
In my latest blog for The Tournament Edge, I discuss something that has become a hot topic after last Saturday's Sword Dancer: rabbits. However, much of the discussion has been around the ethics of rabbits: whether it's okay to run them in the first place, and what they should or should not be allowed to... Continue Reading →
The Tournament Edge: Shifting Focus…For a Moment
In my latest blog at The Tournament Edge, I talk about changing focus. No, I'm not changing focus for good. I have no plans to make my major circuits anything other than my usuals, Chicago racing and large stakes races. But, I needed to do something to clear my head and refresh me, just in... Continue Reading →
Arlington Million Day analysis!
Tomorrow is Arlington Million Day! I have been on site at Arlington all week watching the horses in the morning, and handicapping and writing through the afternoons. At The Tournament Edge, I preview the four Festival race fields, highlighting a few interesting horses in each. At ShapperDaCapper, I preview the day's feature, the Grade I... Continue Reading →
Arlington Million Week: Wednesday
Wednesday is when Million week begins to get serious. I have been at morning workouts all week, but today was when a steady stream of festival horses came onto and out of the track. Over at Picks and Ponderings, you can see what I saw through the day in my photo gallery. Over at The... Continue Reading →
The Tournament Edge: Locally Linked Arlington Million Contenders
In my latest blog for The Tournament Edge, I take a look at a few possible Arlington Million contenders who have links to Arlington. These include the defending champion, a last-out Grade I winner, as well as two Million Preview day winners. One may be vulnerable and underlaid. One looks, a week and a half... Continue Reading →
The Tournament Edge: Finding Condition Book Horses
In my latest piece for The Tournament Edge, I talk about one of the most useful tools in a handicapper's arsenal: the condition book. Some race conditions can seem complex at first, but learning to read and understand how they fit together can help you find winners. My article starts with the basics of conditions,... Continue Reading →
The Tournament Edge: Once More into the Breach
Saratoga gets underway on Friday, which means the return of the Huddie contest. In my latest piece for The Tournament Edge, I look back at my attempt in that contest last year, and look at a few things I could possibly do differently this year. Maybe you're playing Huddie, or curious about it. Maybe you... Continue Reading →
