Keeneland

Summer has come and gone. The leaves are turning and starting to fall. There is a cool breeze in the air across the Bluegrass. The month of October has arrived and tomorrow, Keeneland opens for their fall meet in its 75th anniversary year. 


Keeneland is considered Lexington's pastime, just as much as baseball is America's pastime. Founded in 1935 and open for racing since 1936, this race track holds a rich history and is only open two months out of the year, which makes it one of the most prestigious tracks in the country. As stated on Keeneland's website and many would agree, this is "a place that now ranks among venues such as Augusta Golf Course, Wrigley Field and Madison Square Garden as one of the finest sporting locales in the world."


Keeneland is in itself its own island. The atmosphere and landscape that are enough to satisfy. Keeneland is a place where you can go to get away. A place where you can go to relax. A place where you can go to party. A place where you can go that brings back memories and will bring you new ones. A place where you can spend time with family and friends. A place where you can see magnificent animals. A place where you can see thoroughbred racing at its best. A place where you can dream of cashing in and leaving with more than what you came in with. A place, win or lose, where you walk away with a sense of enjoyment. Words cannot do this place justice as you have to experience it for yourself. Horse racing fan or not, you will certainly not walk away disappointed. 


The aura of this race track is only one of the reasons that make this place so special. Opening weekend of the fall meet brings a handful of Breeders Cup prep races as well. The new class of top two-year-olds are ready to showcase what they have as they are preparing for next year's Triple Crown. Saturday brings the Breeders' Futurity which is another "win and you're" in for the (G1) Breeders Cup Juvenile, as these young horses vie to be crowned two-year-old champ. The field is full as fourteen horses will load the gate this Saturday in the Breeders' Futurity and two alternates are in place barring any late scratches. 


Check out HRN for the current Top 250 Two-Year-Old Males: 2012 Kentucky Derby Contenders


Breeders' Futurity Exotics:


5) Majestic City 7-2
Only horse in field that has posted triple speed figures(not once, but twice).  


 7) Shared Property 4-1
Took down the large (G3) Arlington Washington Futurity field on poly by coming on down the stretch. 


11) Take Charge Indy 5-1
Barely beaten out in the (G3) Arlington Washington Futurity. Pedigree suggests distance not an issue.


4) Motor City 15-1
Came from well back in the (G3) Arlington Washington Futurity to finish in the money. 


12) Optimizer 8-1
Only has raced on the turf so will be interesting to see how he moves over to the poly. Can never count out a D. Wayne Lukas horse.


*This field is loaded with talented two-year-olds, so anything can happen. Tough to peg as this is the first time for many of these horses going 1 1/16 mile. 

Post New York Monster

Looks like the race for top three-year-old just got blown wide open after that race yesterday. The favorites entered the ring and looked like they couldn't even compete with the New York Monster. The anticipated heavyweight fight between Shackleford and Animal Kingdom looked more like a featherweight fight as Animal Kingdom never had a shot after stumbling out of the gate and Shackleford faded down the stretch once again. It was the 24-1 shot, Ruler On Ice who came out on top, being only the second gelding since 1985 to take the Belmont Stakes.


Emoticons

So, here we are the day after the race, puzzled, confused, mystified, or you can just fill in the blank with your own adjective. Looking back at the past performances, I'm left scratching my head as to how the top two finishers (abysmal speed ratings heading into this race) overcame the monster and the rest of the field.

Does past experience on a sloppy track really come into play that much (if yesterday taught us anything then definitely)? If Animal Kingdom had not of stumbled out of the gate and almost thrown his rider would he have taken the race with ease (probably so)? You can play the what if game all you want and question your picks till you drive yourself crazy. All you can do is try to learn from the race, forget about your loses and move on to the next one. Like I told my friend who was heckling me for my blown picks this past race, "You can't win 'em all or I wouldn't be having to go into work on Monday morning."

The Triple Crown races are over, which will give me and my wallet a breather for a month or so. There is still an exciting summer ahead as most of these three-year-olds prepare themselves for the $1 million Travers Stakes, also known as the famed Midsummer Classic at the end of August. Not to mention, NBC teams up with Saratoga starting at the end of July to televise seven weekends of horse racing coverage all the way through Labor Day. Check back in July and I will have my picks for some stakes races this summer leading up to the Travers.

The New York Monster

                               Source: www.belmontstakes.com


Well, the kids are out of school and the temperatures are already climbing into the 90's in most parts of the country. Which means that Summer is upon us and the Belmont Stakes is only a few days away. A dozen horses take the post this coming Saturday to take on the monster trip in New York. Out of the twelve, the top seven finishers in the Derby are back for a rematch (the first time this has ever happened).

Many are dubbing this a rubber match between the Derby winner, Animal Kingdom and the Preakness winner Shackleford. Even AK's owner Barry Irwin and Shakleford's trainer, Dale Romans have already taken verbal jabs at each other this week. With the Triple Crown out of the picture, this is shaping up to be a heavyweight prize fight, with the winner holding a slight edge of being the top three-year-old heading into the Summer.

2011 Belmont Stakes Picks:


Exotics:
Animal Kingdom: 2-1 ML favorite, just as he was in the Preakness. Since this horses first race on dirt he has taken off and not looked back.

Nehro: Finished second in his last three races. Improved speed ratings each time out. Coming in fresh off a five week layoff.

Mucho Macho Man: He was Mr. Consistency until the Preakness three weeks ago but threw a shoe. Finished third in the Derby and was closing on Nehro.

Master Of Hounds: First race on dirt was the Derby and worked his way through traffic coming from 15th to finish fifth. He is also fresh after skipping the Preakness.

Winner:
Animal Kingdom: Has shown that he is a step above the rest of the field. Closing in his last two races, he was pulling away from the field in the Derby and just ran out of room in the Preakness. Bred for the distance, the Belmont should pose no problems for the Derby winner.

This race is a monster at 1 1/2 miles and has a history of craziness. While I will be confident heading to the window this coming Saturday, I would not at all be surprised to see any of the top seven Derby finishers take this race based on the history of the Belmont. Good luck to all and feel free to leave your comments....

33 and Counting...

Slow break out of the gate left the Derby winner facing a daunting task of picking off 13 horses at a track they say favors the speed horses. Animal Kingdom was out to prove his doubters wrong, that he was no fluke just two short weeks ago. Heading into the far turn, it was time, weaving in and out of traffic, one by one he started picking off his foes. Coming down the stretch, bursting through the field and closing fast, only one horse to pass, that same horse that faded down the stretch in the Derby. It just wasn't meant to be as Animal Kingdom ran out of real estate and ran into a horse named Shackleford that was not willing to give in this time around as he showed he had just enough gas left in the tank to hold on and take the Preakness.

So, here we are, another year, another heartbreak for the horse racing world. While Animal Kingdom did what he set out to do and prove that he was no fluke, it wasn't enough to please the racing fans as they are left disappointed yet again. We now have another long year to wait and see if and when that next three-year-old will emerge and capture that elusive Triple Crown that was last won 33 years ago.

Time still goes on as does the sport of horse racing. The Belmont is the next big stakes race on the card for these young horses and they will have a $1,000,000 purse to chase after. Assuming the top horses come out healthy from the Preakness, lets hope that large purse is good enough reason for the likes of Shackleford, Animal Kingdom, Dialed In and Mucho Macho Man to give us racing fans another exciting race to anticipate in less than three weeks. With Nehro, who placed in the Derby and Jaycito, who was a top Derby contender before he got sidelined with a minor injury, pointing toward the Belmont, it still could shape into another interesting race with a nicely stacked field.

Pegged 3 out of the top 4 in the Preakness. Astrology probably kept some from hitting the super or tri but hopefully you took my suggestions and hit the exacta or better yet had a winning ticket on Shackelford. Check back in a couple of weeks and I'll have my picks for the Belmont.

Round 2: Baltimore

Source: http://www.preakness.com/ 

The draw is done, morning line odds are set and the horses are busy eating hay in their stalls at Pimlico by now. Which means it's almost time for the 136th running of the Preakness Stakes. For only the second time since 1992, there will be a full field that goes to the post come Saturday night. It is sure to be an exciting run for the Woodlawn Vase as 13 horses go stride for stride and attempt to knock off Animal Kingdom from his short two week reign as King of the three year olds.

It's anyone's race as this is considered one of the weaker/uncertain classes of three year old's compared to years past. Although, this may make the race that more exciting as there are a handful of horses that I can see taking the Preakness this year. With five horses coming out of the Derby and nine newcomers trying to show that they belong, grab your popcorn or crab cakes as they are known for in Maryland and get ready for round two in Baltimore.

2011 Preakness Stakes Picks:


Exotics:
Animal Kingdom: 2-1 ML favorite as he should be. Won the Derby convincingly, was pulling away from the field and looked like he could have gone longer if needed to.

Dialed In: Derby favorite disappointed two weeks ago. He is a closer, comes from dead last and 19 horses were just entirely too many to round up that day. We find out if he is a contender or a pretender in the second leg of the Triple Crown.

Mucho Macho Man: The owners of this guy are going to have to seriously start thinking of changing his name to "Mucho Money Man." That's all this horse has done as he has finished in the money 7 out of 8 of his lifetime starts. Enough said.

Shackleford: Almost took the Derby wire to wire. Did not start to fade until the last 1/16 of a mile and guess what, the Preakness is just a 1/16 of a mile shorter than the Derby. Does not have history on his side as Rachel Alexandra is the only horse in the last ten years to win this race wire to wire.

Winner:
Animal Kingdom: Been back and forth on this as I could see any of the above four horses taking this race. He only gets better each race he has run. It's tough to get off this horse as I had him pegged as my dark horse in the Derby.

Enjoy The Ride

English major? Nope. Expert Gambler? Not even close. Expert Handicapper? Well, not yet. Just a kid in his 20's who loves to watch the ponies run while trying to come up with a method to the madness (yes, I still consider myself a kid even though that big 30 is not too far around the corner). Growing up in the horse capital of the world I have always enjoyed those warm spring days in April and those crisp cool fall days in October at one of the most prestigious tracks in the country they call Keeneland. Whether it was skipping class back in high school or working my class schedule out in college so I didn't have late afternoon classes or those dreaded Friday classes, you could always find me out at the track come April and October to catch a glimpse of the ponies first hand.

Some say you could not have been born here and not like the sport of horse racing. Maybe it just runs in my blood since I have been told that the track was my grandfathers second home. My uncle has owned horses in the past and I remember going to Churchill Downs and Keeneland to watch them run. That first Saturday in May huddled around a TV to watch the most exciting two minutes in sports every year since I can remember. My dad teaching me how to read a racing program. Whatever it was, these past 2-3 years I have really gotten passionate about the sport (especially the 3 yr. olds). There you have it, that's a little taste about me. Now to what this blog is going to be about....

Source: isavesmart.com

If you are looking for those can't miss horses in maiden, maiden special weight, claiming and starter races then this blog is not for you. I will go ahead and tell you to save your time and look elsewhere. The past few years I have started studying those unpredictable 2-year-olds as they turn 3 and make their way along the Derby trail to try and compete with the best of the best on Derby day. I have not done too bad following these young horses as of late. I decided that I am going to document and share my picks with those who are interested as these amazing animals try and chase after that once forgotten Triple Crown, through the summer, leading up to the Breeders Cup Classic hoping to be named 3 yr. old champion.

I have learned that nothing is guaranteed in life, just like there are definitely no locks in sports. This all pertains to horse racing and this blog as well. I am not going to guarantee anything on here but I do hope to win you and myself some money along the way. So, saddle up and enjoy the ride.......

*Come back next week and I'll have my picks for the Preakness.