Welcome back to the Twelve Days of Curlin Babies, where we celebrate the twelve most memorable races from Curlin’s progeny throughout 2018. Through all the hundreds of races in which they ran this year, these are the ones to which my mind keeps wandering back. #12: Timeless Curls Marks Herself a Rising Star#11: Secret Passage Comes... Continue Reading →
Picks and Ponderings: 2018 Cigar Mile Preview and Stakes Selections
It's the first big weekend of American racing after the Breeders' Cup, and today I take a look at Aqueduct's Cigar Mile Day action!
America’s Best Racing: Big Race Showdown, Wood Memorial, Blue Grass Stakes, and Santa Anita Derby
This is week ten 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. We tackle all three Kentucky Derby preps on Saturday: the Blue Grass (G2) at Keeneland, the Wood (G1) at... Continue Reading →
Picks and Ponderings: 2018 Wood Memorial and Gazelle Stakes Preview
This piece focuses specifically on the pair of Grade 2 races in New York: the Wood Memorial and the Gazelle. The Wood Memorial is the final step down the New York spur of the Kentucky Derby trail. The race was inaugurated at Jamaica Racetrack in 1925, and was run there through 1959. In fact, the... Continue Reading →
America’s Best Racing: Big Race Showdown, Gotham/San Felipe/Tampa Bay Derby
This is week six 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 is a huge one, with three stateside Kentucky Derby preps: the Gotham (G3) at Aqueduct, the... Continue Reading →
Picks and Ponderings: a busy week on the Oaks trail
This Saturday features four different three-year-old preps at three different tracks: three Kentucky Oaks prep, and a Kentucky Derby prep as well. Over at Picks and Ponderings, I preview all four of the points races: the Fountain of Youth (G2) and the Davona Dale (G2) at Gulfstream, the Busher Stakes at Aqueduct, and the Santa... Continue Reading →
Picks and Ponderings: 2018 Withers Stakes Preview
After visits to Gulfstream (for the Holy Bull and the Forward Gal) and Santa Anita (for the Robert B. Lewis), Picks and Ponderings heads to New York for a look at the Withers Stakes, Aqueduct's Derby prep for the weekend. Though the race only drew six horses to vie for shares of a $250,000 purse and Kentucky... Continue Reading →
Picks and Ponderings: 2018 Jerome Stakes Preview
Originally scheduled for January 1st, the Jerome Stakes -- like much of the northeast and midwest -- has been stuck in a deep freeze. As New York will have hopefully become warm enough to safely race, the Jerome has been released from its suspended state, and scheduled for January 13. The race had been a Grade... Continue Reading →
Picks and Ponderings: 2017 Wood Memorial and Gazelle Stakes Preview
The New York spur of the Kentucky Derby trail winds down this Saturday with the Wood Memorial (G2); Oaks-bound fillies from the Big Apple can likewise punch their tickets in the Gazelle (G2). I preview both over at Picks and Ponderings. In the Wood, Curlin baby Irish War Cry hopes to redeem himself, as... Continue Reading →
Picks and Ponderings: 2017 Busanda Stakes Preview
The Oaks prep season continues this Saturday with the Busanda Stakes at Aqueduct. The race drew a field of just five. Most of its entrants are new faces: four of the five fillies are last-out maiden winners who have never faced winners, much less stakes company. The only exception is Libby's Tail, who broke her... Continue Reading →
Picks and Ponderings: 2016 Cigar Mile Preview
Saturday's Cigar Mile (GI) at Aqueduct drew a field of ten, and I preview the race over at Picks and Ponderings. Watch how the track plays...if it's heavily for speed, it may chalk out. But, should the track be playing at least somewhat fairly, a price play has a good shot to break through at... Continue Reading →
congratulations, Always Sarah and Cced!
Two daughters of Curlin broke their maidens today. One, few saw coming. Another, nigh on everyone did. Both prevailed by daylight. First came Always Sarah (Treasure Always, by Summer Squall). This four-year-old filly was racing for the first time since June, and only the fifth time in all. She faced New York-bred maiden special weight... Continue Reading →
Picks and Ponderings: 2016 Jerome Stakes Preview
The Road to the Kentucky Derby continues this Saturday at the Big A, with the Jerome Stakes (GIII). Flexibility finally gets to step aside from the grey shadow of Mohaymen...but nine more challengers appear, including an intriguing Parx shipper. Head on over to Picks and Ponderings, get ready for the Jerome Stakes, and leave a... Continue Reading →
Picks and Ponderings: Go for Wand Handicap Preview
Over at Picks and Ponderings, my previews of the Thanksgiving weekend racing action continue with a look at the Go for Wand Handicap (GIII). The race drew a field of seven fillies and mares ready to tackle a one-turn mile over the Aqueduct main. The key word is ready, as every single one of the... Continue Reading →
Picks and Ponderings: 2015 Fall Highweight Handicap Preview
The Fall Highweight Handicap (GIII), this Thursday at Aqueduct, is a unique race on the calendar. Nowadays, except for rarities like Work All Week's 2014 attempt in the Addison Cammack Handicap, the H-word means little. The "handicap" weights vary by a few pounds, but no one carries much more than they do in any other... Continue Reading →
