SARATOGA IS RIGHT AROUND THE CORNER...HERE ARE SOME HORSES THAT MIGHT BEAR WATCHING

HORSES TO WATCH

NOTE – With Saratoga looming (begins Friday, July 21, many horses that ran last week at Belmont will likely make their next tries at the Spa. With this in mind we take a brief look at a number of those horses and how that last race might translate to Saratoga.

Also listed are a few runners from Delaware, PARX and Monmouth who might ship to New York. In any case those runners should be followed at their home tracks as well.

(Horses To Watch From Monday, June 19…

WINNING TIPS FOR A STRONG FINAL MONTH AT BELMONT

The Belmont Stakes has come and gone but a full month still remains at the Belmont Park spring/summer meet. Here are some tips and trends to help you finish strong as the Belmont meet comes down the home stretch.

There are lots of great handicapping and wagering opportunities at Belmont this summer at what has always been the early summer season's premier racetrack.  With a half-meet worth of statistics to sink our teeth into, horseplayers who have been paying attention have accumulated a solid set of data from the Belmont meet so far.…

While after the fact every pundit and talking head had all the reasons that Tapwrit won, including the fact that Pletcher has been somewhat adept at cashing Belmont success with horses who skipped the Preakness after failing in the Kentucky Derby there is much more to the layoff AND even Pletcher has failed with it. While Destin ran second in the 2016 Belmont, Materiality was up the track in 2015

However, for any number of reasons (both generic and in regard to Tapwrit) I can only give you my reasons for not using him.

*I did not believe that the Pletcher layoff…

BELMONT BUZZVolume 15 - Number 5June 8, 2017

BELMONT STAKES PREVIEW PLUS ALL THE DIFFERENT STORIES

(NOTE) - By now you likely know that Classic Empire will not run in the Belmont Stakes. A foot abscess has knocked the 2-year old champion and Preakness runner-up out of the race.

IT MIGHT BE LAST IN ORDER BUT THE BELMONT STAKES IS FIRST IN "STORIES"

Any long time Triple Crown player, whether they voice it or not, has to know that the one thing the third leg of the Triple Crown can claim as its own distinction, is that it brings with it a past complete…

BELMONT BUZZVolume 15 - Number 4June 7, 2017YOU WANT TO KNOW HOW GOOD THEY WILL BE AT 12 FURLONGS IN THE BELMONT STAKES...CHECK OUT THEY DO AT 9 FURLONGS

How then does one find the horse that will be within striking distance one mile into the Belmont Stakes...regardless of their past performances? Look how they finished in their last mile and an eight race.

With that in mind let us return to the last 12 Belmont Stakes Winners and note the final 3 furlong time of their last mile and an eight race before the Belmont Stakes.

2016 - Creator - Florida Derby…

BELMONT BUZZVolume 15 - Number 3June 3, 2017UPDATING THE BELMONT STAKES...SOME SYMPATHY, PLETCHER WORKS AND PLETCHER PATIENCE

(A LITTLE SYMPATHY FOR THE OWNERS)

A few days ago, Conquest Mo Money, who was supplemented to the final two legs of the Triple Crown for $150,000 before finishing an even running seventh in the Preakness Stakes was taken off the Belmont Stakes probability list. It seemed as though the decision to utilize his speed in the Grade 2, $500,000 Woody Stephens Stakes on the Belmont Stakes undercard June 10 made sense. Co-owner Tom McKenna said on Thursday he was comfortable with the group decision.

Now…

NARROW DOWN CONTENDERS AND CASH-IN ON THE 2017 BELMONT STAKES

The 2017 Belmont Stakes lacks the drama of a Triple Crown bid, and does not have the star power of either the Kentucky Derby or Preakness winner as a headline attraction, but what the race does have is a world of great betting opportunities afforded by a large wide-open field of contenders. Sure, horseracing fans and handicappers would have loved to see another headline match-up in the Belmont, but this year's tremendous betting race is not too bad for a consolation prize.  What the "Test of the Champion" lacks in terms…

BELMONT BUZZVolume 15 - Number 1May 31, 2017BELMONT STAKES - LAST TWO PREPS AND RUNNING STYLE OFTEN LEAVE PUBLIC GUESSING

By the time the public gets to the third leg of the Triple Crown there is often a certain sense of deflation. This is particularly true when, as is the case this year, there is no compelling front runner that the public hooks on to.

In 2017, there is no American Pharoah and no California Chrome. However, it is the contention of this analyst that THERE COULD NOT BE A BETTER SCENARIO than no American Pharoah and no California Chrome. Without that…

GRASS CONTINUES TO STAY "GREEN" AT BELMONTIt is no secret and well worth repeating that the key to showing profit is not only a BEST WINNING PERCENTAGE, but the BEST RETURN ON INVESTMENT (R.O.I.)If you win 40% of your races and your wagering "neighbor" wins 35%, the knee-jerk conclusion would be that the 40% winner is collecting more profit. On the other hand, if the average return win mutuel for the 40% winner is $7.20 and the average mutuel payoff for the 35% winner is $8.90, the latter will have a higher R.O.I. and a higher total profit.The only way…

Whatever the reason, and there are many, from careless quick-fix handicapping, to listening to the pundits, there are certain MYTHS that too often translate into handicapping dogma.For instance, every year we hear that horses who closed significantly in their final mile and an eight Kentucky Derby preps will be aided by the extra furlong in the Run for the Roses. Of course it has much-more-often-than-not been tactical speed runners who have the edge at Churchill.When it comes to the Preakness the dogma gets flipped when we hear over and over about tight turns, a shorter distance, speed edge, etc.  With…