I know, there are none of the big tracks racing, and you have to wait three more days until you start seeing the stakes, a couple more days until Saratoga opens, and you have that itch to get your bet on and you don’t know where to get it scratched…

Here are a few suggestions to find early week value that might begin your winning early to prepare for the weekend. The tracks that may offer value, and have some surprise runners are:

Colonial Downs - This track runs about 90% on the turf, and everyone always enjoys turf racing. You don’t have to wait until mid-week to find quality turf runners, and you get barns that ship in to steal the purses.  This makes for a little fun, and possibly a little extra cash to start the week off right.

Delaware Park -  This track is a nice little hidden goldmine. You will catch top notch owners, trainers, and riders hanging around to cash-in on slot machine purses. How does this help your cause?? I’ll bet you’ll find at least 4 playable horses to make your Tuesday sweeter. They run turf, dirt, and have allowance races.

River Downs - Ohio racing has a 7/7 card all week long, except for Tuesdays. River runs 9 live races, and are scheduled to run some turf on this day as well. You will catch drop downs, horses shipping in that have faced better company, and the turf course, according to the great Laffit Pincay, was one of the best he ever rode. This little track offers mid-level claimers which usually offer value.

Now, what to do? Check out the selections at WinningPonies.com and get in the game. They cover these tracks, and you’ll have your game plan already out there. So, call in a halfday, bet from your computer, or just make a trip to the track as Tuesdays can offer more value than you have ever known.  It is summer after all, and this is a sure fire way to cure the blahs…….

Everyone wants to hit the BIG payday. We play every exotic under the sun, keep a watchful eye on the carryover pool, and rehearse our speech of telling the boss where to file our job…..

This is all good, but keeping your head with a dose of monk-like discipline will work much better than carrying your lucky rabbits foot to the track. If you want to make the next step as a player on the move, and have a great time doing so may I suggest watching for the next NTRA contest, or the Horseplayer World Series Contest.

The contests take place online, or at your local track and the top finishers get to take an all expense trip to Vegas to do battle with the best in the game. Sound like fun?? Well, it is….. And it all starts now. So put on your headgear and get your bankroll ready and get set to have the time of your life.

The NTRA Contest takes place at The Red Rock in Vegas, in January. This is a plush joint that is off the beaten path. You will hook up and do battle in a two day contest with around 250-300 of the best handicappers in the country. The pool is said to be growing near a cool million beans. They split the pot down to the top 20-30 players, and the recognition is about as close to winning the Super Bowl as you can get. My first trip was awesome, and it drives you to make the grade to return to do battle with some of the best in the land… I would at least try this 5-6 times your first year to qualify. There are plenty of qualifying rounds, and you can check them out on www.ntra.com and remember that you can’t win unless you get in….

There is another GREAT contest to seek out as well. It is The Horse player World Series. Poker has one, and so does racing. This is held at the Orleans in Vegas, and it will take place this February. There are also many qualifiers as well, and you can check them out at www.theorleans.com and look under handicapping contests. This contest has a little different twist. If you don’t qualify you can BUY your way in for a $1,000 per entry. The prize pool nears a million dollars depending on the amount of players, and is one of the best run contests I have ever seen.. This is definitely a must for players who want to chase the gold.

Here is a small blueprint that you can take with you as you attempt to etch your name in history. Keep your head, plot out your bets in advance, do your best homework, NEVER bet anything under 5-1, and don’t get caught up thinking if i pick every chalk winner out there I will be in the money. This RARELY happens, and is very difficult to pull off. Stick with price plays, stay focused, and you will meet some new friends from around the country who love the sport as much as you.  Contests are the ultimate way of gauging where you are as a player. We all have a winning day from time to time. But there is no experience like playing, qualifying, and playing with the best in the country. The chase is worth the time. You’ll never feel closer to horse racing heaven than when you walk into Vegas with your selections in your hand, and the day is about ready to begin. Go ahead, chase the gold.

The Eddie Read Handicap to be run at 1 1/8th on Jimmy Durante turf course is showcasing some new blood that is attempting to move to the next level of runners to watch.

There is a field of 7 runners going to post, and maybe with the exception of one or two this is one of the most wide open affairs this race has produced in years. I love it when the races get tough. That means if you connect, you get paid. The odds are a bit sweeter, and the public should be divided equally between three contenders.

This race always has been on the Breeders’ Cup races to watch list, and this year may be a bit tougher as the past years have seen bigger standouts, and some higher quality. That being said, I still stick to my guns and say do your homework because if your rolling late in the lane you should get paid off nicely.

A couple of warriors that warrant a closer look are: Spring House. This runner exits Dubai, and runs very well off of the layoff. Julio Canani wins 19% with a runner who is freshened up 90 days or better, and this 6 yr old by Chester House should relish the cutback in distance. Add all this up and factor in Gomez in the saddle and he can be a real player who has seen some big runners.

Another runner looking for glory is Monzante. Trained by Mike Mitchell, and ridden by Rafael Bejarano can be a deadly tandem as they have won 44% , and been in the money 81% in the last 60 days. Flat out incredible… His dam Donzante has 9 starters with 7 winners, and two of those are stakes winners.  He makes his third start off layoff, and Mitchell does very well with bringing his runners along to point at a target like this.  He came running like a house on fire last out, and given the history with rider and trainer he is one you have to take seriously.

Finishing out the trio of terror is Storm Military.  Here is a Bobby Frankel trainee opening up at a nice price. He is 10 for 13 in the money on the turf, and in the last 60 days David Flores and Frankel have won 25%, and been in the money 75% of the time. Not bad numbers at all…. He has some blazing foot, and should ensure the pace is honest. Frankel wins 20% with all of his turf runners, and 54% in the money. Add in that he wins 20% with his graded stakes runners, and the picture gets tougher by the minute.

When you have an opportunity like this you should not find the hotdog stand and take a break. This is when you box em’ like you mean it, and use a few in the pick three’s and pick four’s. The tougher the field, the better the payoff. Now, that is something to sing about.

The Virginia Derby offers value that could make this a very sweet weekend for you.

The 1 1/4 distance is testing. Some of the best three year olds in the country head to New Kent to run on one of the best turf courses in the country. For my bankroll, this looks like a two horse affair that deserves a mountain moving exacta box deserving of the big bullet move to the windows.

Before you push the buttons, take a hard look at Gio Ponti. He is three for four over the green, and you can easily make a case for throwing out the Monmouth loss for Breeders’ Cup Day day one. This colt has done nothing wrong, and Garrett Gomez may be dollar for dollar the best money rider in the country. The son of Tale of the Cat can get this distance, and has been firing bullets in the morning at Belmont. Clemente trains his runners at a 22 percent winning clip, and goes to the winners circle 25 percent of the time making his second start off of a needed rest.

The other part of this mix is Court Vision. Yes, two races back he was in Louisville at the Derby. Former Derby runners have fared well in this event. Kent D is in the irons for Bill Mott and these guys team up to win 20 percent together. His last race was over a SOFT course that was canceled a few races later. Throw it out….. This son of Gulch should like the trip, and is in the hands of a rider closing in on 5,000 lifetime wins.

Here is the plan. Reach in your jeans and pull out the greens. Box them up with confidence, and make a small win wager on Gio Ponti for good measure. This should do just nicely, and you can skip the five horse feature in New York. This race has produced some Breeders’ Cup runners, and maybe, just maybe you’ll be lucky enough to have two of them in a winning ticket.

Our Picks/Results for June 11th Pick 6 at Belmont Park

We had an AMAZING day at Belmont today, including the MONSTER $103,754 Pick 6!  With our selections, the Pick 6 was definitely hittable. Of the 6 races, three were top picks, two were 2nd picks, and one was a 3rd pick (the $47.80 winner Willsboro Point). To cover the Pick 6 safely, it would have cost $432 to bet (although it could have been hit with a $72 investment). ONLY 29 people had winning Pick 6 tickets.

The Pick 6 wasn’t the only highlight of the day. Besides a bunch of rolling Pick 3s (paying $287, $1,937, $2,497, $1,181 and $59.50) and the late $2,486 Pick 4, we picked a $384.50 Trifecta in the 4th race, a MONSTER $351.00 Exacta in the 5th race (with the horses in our top tier) and a Superfecta in the 6th race for $6,944.00 (for $2) in our top 4 picks!

Send us your Belmont success stories! We’d love to hear about it!

We DESTROYED Hollywood Park today and even picked the $100,222 Pick 6 EASILY. It looks like one person collected this MONSTER Pick 6 (perhaps one of our customers). Of the 6 races, 4 of the winners were our top selections (including the first 3 legs). That COLD $2 Pick 3 (races 3-5) paid $358.00.

If any of our customers made some big scores at Hollywood Park today, let us know.

Picks/Results for June 4th Pick 6 at Hollywood Park

Yes, we did it again! After rocking the Derby, we NAILED the Preakness. It seemed impossible to make big money with Big Brown winning at 1/5, but we did it thanks to Macho Again and Icabad Crane. The $2 Exacta paid $36.60, the $2 Trifecta paid $336.80 and the $1 Superfecta paid a WHOPPING $1192.30! In fact, we had the Superfecta COLD with our 2nd-5th selections!

View Our Preakness Stakes 2008 Results

Thanks to all of our customers who have already sent us their success stories regarding the Preakness! Keep them coming! You can submit your testimonial here.

See you all for the Belmont Stakes…

Today, we picked the $17.40 winner Sweet Vendetta on top in the mud at Pimlico. This race was part of the late Pick 3 that we also hit EASILY for $708.80. We have been very hot at Pimlico since the meet started and we hope our streak continues tomorrow…

View Results for this Pick 3

We did it last year with our top 3 picks, and today, we hit it again in an almost identical fashion:

View Our Kentucky Derby 2008 Results

With just our top 3 selections: Denis of Cork, Big Brown and Eight Belles, you would have netted $141.60 for the Exacta and a WHOPPING $3,445.60 for the Trifecta! This terrific day was only marred by the unfortunate death of a great filly, Eight Belles.

P.S.We would love to hear from our numerous customers who scored BIG in the Derby with our selections. You can submit your testimonial here.

It is Derby day! First off, we’d like to wish everyone a fun and safe Derby day and good luck to all!

Weather update: As far as the first race, the track was Muddy. If the weather stays dry throughout the day, it is possible that the track may dry up by Derby time. MAKE SURE to keep the prediction form set to the latest dirt/turf conditions throughout the day to get the most accurate selections. If you are not going to have access to the site during the day, check the picks on our form for a Muddy track and also a Fast track beforehand so that you are prepared for a wet or dry scenario.

If the track does end up wet for the Derby, we think this may help Big Brown, who is a natural speed horse. It may give him a better chance to wire the field. We still think he is the horse to beat as he has yet to show his best performance. We also think that Gayego will enjoy a wet going.

As far as our other top picks in general, we think Denis of Cork could be in the mix if he is back in top form. We also think the filly Eight Belles has a very good chance coming off a great prep race.