Mike and Mike talk harness every Thursday morning in the BetAmerica Radio Network. This week featured a highlight of the George Morton Levy and Bluechip Matchmaker finals. Janine Gesek and Pete Vernaglia also joined.
War Story - Photo by Scott Serio/Eclipse Sportswire/Breeders Cup) Some major stakes races have a tendency to be dominated by the favorites, while others tend to be a bit more unpredictable. Take, for example, the Zenyatta Stakes (gr. I) at Santa Anita, a race that has never been won by a horse starting at higher than 5.50-1. If you like betting favorites, that’s the type of race you should look for, but if you like longshots, I recommend [...]
We look ahead to weekend stakes action from Keeneland, Santa Anita, and Charles Town and the BARN Jury talk about their worst DQ experiences!
Off Limits (right) edges Hawksmoor (left) in the Matriarch Stakes (gr. I) - © BENOIT PHOTO On a quiet Saturday with relatively few graded stakes races on the agenda, racing fans are advised to turn their attention to a quality card at Laurel Park that includes five stakes races. The day’s feature events are the $125,000 Federico Tesio Stakes and the $125,000 Weber City Miss Stakes, which serve as preps for the upcoming Preakness Stakes (gr. I) and [...]
If you’re keeping an eye out for those up-and-coming “new shooters” that so often turn up in the Preakness Stakes (gr. I) at Pimlico, then I recommend that you take a look at Saturday’s $125,000 Federico Tesio Stakes at Laurel Park. The nine-furlong race serves as a local prep for the Preakness and even offers the winner an automatic entry into the second leg of the Triple Crown. Perhaps as a result, the Federico Tesio has drawn a wide-open field [...]
Trainer Mark Casse will send out Shamrock Rose in the Weber City Miss Stakes (Keeneland Photo/Coady Photography) At this time of year, it pays to keep an eye on every significant stakes races for three-year-olds around the country, because you never know where the next up-and-coming star might come from. That’s why handicappers should keep an eye on Saturday’s $125,000 Weber City Miss Stakes at Laurel Park. The 8.5-furlong race three-year-old fillies has attracted a competitive field of [...]
We start looking ahead to the weekend including the Charles Town Classic. With opening day coming up at Emerald Downs we welcome in Joe Withee from Emerald to talk about the upcoming season.
Diversify winning the 2017 Jockey Club Gold Cup - Photo by Coglianese Photos/Chelsea Durand. Although there aren’t any Kentucky Derby prep races to look forward to this Saturday, handicappers are nevertheless in for a treat thanks to a terrific card at Charles Town that includes nine stakes races. Let’s take a quick look at some of the main contenders in each event…. Race 3: Its Binn Too Long Stakes Pure speed could be the most important factor in [...]
Tampa Bay Downs Scenic (SV Photography) It’s easy to assume that once a horse has started its racing career and run in a few races, its pedigree is no longer an important factor to consider in handicapping. While this might be true in some cases, there are still many instances when pedigrees can be a relevant handicapping factor even for horses with lots of experience. This can be especially true when a horse is trying a different racing [...]
The Twin Spires at Churchill Downs - Coady Photography Who’s in and who’s out? That’s a question that be asked repeatedly during the next two weeks as the 2018 Kentucky Derby approaches. The last two Derby prep races—the Arkansas Derby (gr. I) and the Lexington Stakes (gr. III)—were held on Saturday, so all of the Kentucky Derby qualification points have been assigned and the field of twenty horses is more-or-less set in stone. However, history suggests that there [...]
