The 137th Preakness: Pretenders and Contenders By GREG MELIKOV Less than a week before the 137th Preakness it appeared there would be a full field for the fourth time during the past two decades – 14 horses going 1 3/16 miles at Pimlico. But, alas, then sixth place Derby finisher Liaison and ninth place runner […]
I have been talking the talk as many punters for years. I couldn’t wait to wager on the middle jewel in racing. But, there is only one thing: I really do not focus much on the Maryland product, and one day a year I shed my fears and jump headlong into the races. Nothing against […]
Horses that run in the Kentucky Derby have performed really well in the Preakness over the past quarter-century. In fact, 24 of the past 27 Preakness winners ran in the Derby. The only exceptions that came in the 21st Century: Rachel Alexandra, ’09; Bernardini, ’06; and Red Bullet, ’00. Four Derby champs the past decade […]
If you think that November is too early to check out prospective horses for the Kentucky Derby, look no further than this Saturday’s $1 million Delta Jackpot. As one of the richest graded stake races for 2-year-olds in North America the winner of the Delta Jackpot will earn $590,000 thus guaranteeing a spot in the […]
The Belmont Stakes has become a tricky race to handicap lately for several reasons. While favorites have triumphed about 40 percent during the past 142 races, that hasn’t been the case the last three decades as only six won — 23 percent. And 15 winners during the past 30 years rewarded backers with double-digit returns […]
This is the third time during the past two decades that the Preakness has a full field – 14 horses going 1 3/16 miles at Pimlico on Saturday. Both times the favorites in the second leg of the Triple Crown bounced back from defeats in the Kentucky Derby. Back in 1992, Pine Bluff, who finished […]
This Saturday, Pimlico holds the second jewel in the Triple Crown. Baltimore offers a chance for runners who skipped Louisville two weeks ago. They come into the 1 3/16ths race fresh, and on a solid work program to ready. But, as good as this sounds, it may be a better plan to select the colts that have competed […]
Horses exiting the Kentucky Derby have a leg up in the Preakness. A remarkable 23 of the past 26 Derby runners captured the second leg of the Triple Crown. The exceptions came during the 21st Century: Rachel Alexandra, ’09; Bernardini, ’06; and Red Bullet, ’00. Four Derby champs the past decade were successful at Pimlico: […]
We all have heard this so many times. It applies to your neighbor listening to his 80’s cassettes, or that crazy person who sits in the next cubicle and speaks so loud into the phone that it can be heard in the parking lot. But, when you hear that Tom Durkin’s golden tones will not […]
All racing eyes will be fixed on Uncle Mo in the Wood Memorial on Saturday as the early Kentucky Derby favorite runs in his final prep on the Road to the Roses, one of three key races this weekend. The early favorite in the first of the three Triple Crown events breezed a half-mile in 48 […]