John ContePreakness Preview, 5/17

Let me get this out of the way first.

There has been little interest in speculating on the outcome of the 143rd running of the Preakness Stakes. If you listened to 10 minutes of punditry or 10 hours of punditry this week you heard the same thing. It is impossible to believe any of the colts going up against him on Saturday will deny Justify the second leg of the Triple Crown. He has proven to be heads and tails above any of the three other Kentucky Derby runners who return, Bravazo, Good Magic and Lone Sailor and…

John DaSilva All Stakes PreviewFriday, May 11

This year it has taken Belmont’s Spring Meet a bit longer than usual to get into its usual top level, top class racing.

Whether it was the lingering bad weather that postponed barns shipping back from Florida or those that gave their top horses a break began getting them back into training a little longer is hard to say. But whatever the reason, that slumber ends Saturday with a huge 5 Stakes day….4 of them Graded races.

Grade 3 Vagrancy H. – 4 Year Old & Up Fillies & Mares – 6 ½ FurlongsRun Happy S.…

Hammerin’ Hank Preakness PreviewWednesday, 5/9

Regardless of how impressive he might have been this past Saturday in Louisville, it is on to Baltimore where the Kentucky Derby winner will have to “Justify” his Run for the Roses triumph.

A number of those who challenged Justify in the Kentucky Derby have already been declared out of the Preakness. The connections of third place finisher Audible have already announced that they will await the Belmont Stakes and as of Tuesday, runner up Good Magic is at best 50/50 to compete.

I’m sure a few more Kentucky Derby emigres will sign on and as of now…

With all the hub-bub in Thoroughbred racing focused on the Triple Crown, it can be easy to overlook that at the same time horseplayers are concentrating on the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness, the new season at beautiful Belmont Park is already up and running. The 2018 Belmont Park Spring/Summer meet opened on Friday, April 27 through closing day, Sunday, July 15. After months and months of Aqueduct, the New York circuit finally returns to Belmont Park and handicappers are more than ready for the move, to say the least.

The biggest day of the 54-day Belmont meet, of course, will…

John ConteDerby Eve PreviewThursday, May 3

If you are like any horse racing fan then you know that everyone from your uncle to co-worker has asked you about the Kentucky derby.

Like your uncle and co-worker, even those people that don’t regularly get involved in horse racing are likely to bet the Kentucky derby.

On the other hand, if you are a serious horse player like I am, you won’t be sitting on your hands until Saturday. All you need do is look to Friday’s 13 race Churchill Downs program, headed by the Grade 1 Kentucky Oaks (the filly equivalent of the Kentucky…

John DaSilva Previews The DerbyTuesday, May 1

As of this morning the entries are in for the 144th running of the Kentucky Derby. The post positions have been drawn and the Morning Lines assigned. If your “countdown” to the race hadn’t already begun then it has now.

Heading into the Wood memorial, Blue Grass Stakes and Santa Anita Derby on April 7 I had already seen enough to convince me that this year’s crop of 3-year olds was deeper in talent than any in recent editions. But then when Vino Rosso, Good Magic and Justify did their winning thing in each of…

Kentucky Derby 144 is finally here and after months of prep race ups and downs all over the world on the road to the Triple Crown, a field of 20 horses are now ready to take to the track at Churchill Downs for “the most exciting two minutes in sports” on Saturday, May 5.

The 2018 Kentucky Derby is shaping to feature one of the strongest fields in years, and handicapping the race is going to be challenging and fun, for sure. In most other years, any of this season’s five or six top contenders could be Derby favorite, but in…

Jim Hurley’s Derby DoingsSaturday, April 28

Today I’ll take a few more minutes to produce the “second” half of my ANNUAL DERBY TOP 10.

If you’ve been with me over the years you know that this “Top 10” is a bit different in that it consists actually of two separate TOP 5 LISTS.

First is the list of the 5 Derby Horses that are likely to draw the large percentage of the betting pool. I previewed these horses Friday and they are available on these pages.

The second “Top 5” are the “outsiders” that I find plenty of reason to give more than just…

Jim Hurley’s Derby DoingsFriday, April 27

Today I’m going to take a few minutes to produce the initial half of my ANNUAL DERBY TOP 10.

If you’ve been with me over the years you know that this “Top 10” is a bit different in that it consists actually of two separate TOP 5 LISTS.

First is the list of the 5 Derby Horses that are likely to draw the large percentage of the betting pool.

The second “Top 5” are the “outsiders” that I find reason to give a little love to.

Keep in mind, much will transpire over the course of the next 8…

DaSilva Previews The Kentucky DerbyWednesday, April 25

First let’s state the obvious. With 20 horses running in the Kentucky Derby I take the stand that you can’t begin by fine-tuning every horse in order to create a short list. In the beginning, whether it eventually catches you by the short hairs or rewards you, there need be a few “recent trend” realities which should be respected.

With that in mind, one of the first things I do is check and recheck every year to see which final Kentucky Derby Preps have a reasonable expectation of positive influence and which have been sub-par…