There are in fact a dozen Graded stakes scheduled at the nation’s four most popular tracks—Hollywood Park in Southern California, Churchill Downs in Kentucky, Monmouth Park in New Jersey and Belmont Park in New York. Churchill in fact, is completing its annual spring meet- the one with that famous race for 3-year-olds on the First [...]
Horse Racing
Animal Kingdom Out for the Rest of the Year and Two Notable Deaths in the Horse Racing World
It appears cannon bone fracture wasn’t the only issue with the colt as his ownership team reported another more severe injury that means no racing for the rest of the year. This year’s surprise but worthy Triple Crown aspirant was diagnosed three weeks ago with a small fracture in his rear left cannon bone and [...]
The Longest Horse Race in the World is Really, Really Long
We here at the Beat often find ourselves debating the merits of a particular horse over different lengths of track with a horse like Shackleford being a prime example. Sure he was inspiring in the Preakness but could he handle the mile and a half of the Belmont monster? As history demonstrated he couldn’t despite [...]
Filly Inglorious Wins $1 Million Queen's Plate at Woodbine
HIPPOLYTUS, a 61-1 shot was second and 15-1 PENDER HARBOUR was third, while the 9-5 betting favorite CHECK YOUR SOUL fell back to seventh after making his best bid at the top of the stretch. Inglorious, paid a straight 9-2 for her victory and won so impressively over 16 male rivals in the respectable clocking [...]
Notes on Horse Racing's First Weekend of the Summer
But, Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert cancelled the trip when the 3 yr old filly spiked a fever several days ago. Instead, Plum Pretty is tentatively scheduled to run Saturday on the $150,000 Hollywood Oaks against a small but salty field that includes BIG TIZ and ZAZU. Big Tiz was second in her last [...]
No Stud Fees for Ruler On Ice
Ruler On Ice was a surprise winner of the Belmont Stakes coming home at 24-1. Although the Belmont is famous for having longshot winners, Ruler On Ice was on no one’s radar which made for great drama. What made the win even more exceptional is the fact that Ruler On Ice is a gelding, and [...]
The Travers Stakes: The Next Big Thing
With the Triple Crown season at an end it might appear that most of the high points of the elite racing season are over. However as Bodog Beat racing expert Steve Davidowitz pointed out there is any number of exciting graded races ongoing. In addition, there are at least two more marquee events to come [...]
Blind Luck Captures Vanity Handicap at Hollywood Park
The 3-year-old Champion Filly of 2010— BLIND LUCK—may have struggled to regain her top form this year, but she is back on the beam after Saturday’s exciting win in the Grade-1 Vanity Handicap at Hollywood Park. (Wikipedia Images) Having won the La Troienne at Churchill Downs May 6 after a bad start, Blind Luck [...]
Steven Foster Handicap Among Seven Graded Stakes Horse Races
But, as we move towards summer, the pace of high quality racing hardly seems to be slipping into a lower and slower pace. This weekend for instance—particularly on Saturday—we will see seven Graded stakes at four tracks, including four at Churchill Downs, most notably the Grade 1, $500,000 Stephen Foster Handicap. The Foster, which has [...]
The Top Three Highlights of the 2011 Triple Crown
It was in the end a fascinating Triple Crown season. Although there was no possibility of a Triple Crown winner, there was plenty of drama in all three races to make it compelling viewing. The pundits called 2011 one of the hardest seasons to handicap as favorites faded and longshots came home. 1. It all began [...]
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