With the 3-year-old rankings (if there even is one) as wide open now as it was during the preps leading up to the Kentucky Derby, there are a pair of late season restricted Graded Stakes, the $1 Million Grade 1 Pennsylvania Derby at PARX on Saturday, which could, if it is even possible, determine a division leader and the $400K Grade 3 Oklahoma Derby at Remington Park on Sunday. (Check back Saturday Night for the Preview of the Oklahoma Derby.)

As we look forward to the $1 million Pennsylvania Derby (G1) on Saturday at PARX following his commanding 3 1/4-length victory…

Part II – 9/15 – 9/17WHAT DID WE LEARN IN WEEK TWO?

Week 3 of the Belmont fall Championship Meet begins today (Wednesday 9/20) and as we did last week and will throughout the meet, here is the review of the previous race week..

(TURF RACE SCENARIO STAYS CONSISTENT)

The first two paragraphs below are a repeat of what we noted last week in our review.

Throughout much of the recent Saratoga Meet the place to be on the Turf was either on the lead or close to it. Certainly there were off the pace winners, although many of the smaller portion of grass…

BELMONT FALL CHAMPIONSHIP MEET...WEEK TWO BEGINS FRIDAY...WHAT DID WE LEARN IN WEEK ONE?TURF TURNS UPSIDE DOWN

Throughout much of the recent Saratoga Meet the place to be on the Turf was either on the lead or close to it.Certainly there were off the pace winners, although many of the smaller portion of grass winners from off the pace came in the 5 ½ furlong (and only) sprint races.Now back at Belmont during the opening three days (9/8 - 9/10) that was just the opposite. Small sample notwithstanding it likely behooves bettors to consider the makeup of the results from the…

New York racing once again moves downstate for the start of the Belmont Park Fall Championship Meet, which begins on Friday, Sept. 8 and continues through to October 29.  Following Saratoga, there are few race meets on the calendar as important as the Belmont Fall Championship Meet, which contains all of New York's key prep races for the Breeders' Cup. Plus, don't forget that besides just stakes races, Belmont Park also offers top-notch racing day-in-and-day-out all throughout the early fall season.

Every serious horseplayer plays Belmont during the fall of each year, so it will pay quick and important dividends for…

APTLY NAMED MID-SUMMER DERBY ONCE AGAIN LADEN WITH QUESTIONS, QUESTIONS AND QUESTIONS...2017 TRAVERS ANOTHER BIG PAYOFF CHALLENGEThe Grade I Travers Stakes, the $1.25 Million Centerpiece of the Saratoga Meet every year once again, in 2017, lives up to its title as THE MID-SUMMER DERBY.Each and every year the Travers is, unlike any other 3-year old test of a season, a mirror of the Kentucky Derby. For year in and year out, there are, just as is the case entering the Run For The Roses, more questions involving the status of the various 3-year olds developed enough and with resumes enough…

One of the best jockey colonies anywhere at any time of the year is currently in action at the summer's premier race meet at Saratoga.  With roughly two weeks of action still remaining at The Spa, let's take a closer look into which jockeys make the best bets and are having the best seasons at Saratoga.  You can use this information to bump up your bankroll and make some money during the closing couple of weeks at the meet.

A horse's jockey is one of the most important handicapping elements to consider before horseplayers make their bets. When making selections, the…

SARATOGA SHOTSVolume 16…Number 7Friday, 8/4

SCRAMBLED 3-YEAR OLD PICTURE MEANS PLENTY OF UPSETS MOVING FORWARD…NEXT STOP WEST VIRGINIA DERBY

Early on in the 2017 three-year old stalks racing campaign there were a few analysts who were out in front with contention that there didn’t seem to be any standout 3-year olds on the Triple Crown Trail.

In the Kentucky Derby, Always Dreaming was among the few untroubled trip runners and captured a rare Run For the Roses victory for trainer Todd Pletcher as the generous 4.7-1 favorite, odds which reflected the indecisiveness of a public perhaps knowing there were no standouts in the…

Many handicappers believe the "trainer angle" is the most important piece of the handicapping pie, especially when top-rung racing is being run like in New York during the heart of summer in August at Saratoga. All trainers have their own particular strengths and weaknesses. The beauty of following the trainer angles, stats, and trends, is that they help you identify these strengths and weaknesses to decisively give you the advantage over the rest of the betting public.

Opportunities always abound for serious horseplayers to get their share of profits over the course of the seven-week Saratoga meet.  The keys to unlocking…

SARATOGA SHOTSVolume 16…Number 7Sunday. 7/30

SARATOGA HORSES TO WATCHFriday 7/21-Friday 7-28

The horses listed below ran well enough in their first attempt at the Saratoga meet to expect them to run back and well before the meet is over.

ANOTHER – Trainer Bill Mott seldom has them ready for their debut so the sharp effort by this juvenile MSW colt for the place in 8 ½ furlong turf test despite being caught between rivals is a next out buy sign.BELLOWS – 25K starter level veteran went two wide into the turn of 6 ½ furlong event had to go 7 wide until mid-stretch…

SARATOGA SHOTSVolume 16...Number 6

OPENING DAYS AT SARATOGA...A FEW OBSERVATIONS

(CHURCHILL, MONMOUTH AND GULFSTREAM CONTINUE YEARLY SHIPPING INFLUENCE...GOOD AND BAD)

At the beginning of any Saratoga Meet conversation invariably gets around to the "influence" of Shippers.

Now that Gulfstream races year round and the focus on the Winter Meet isn't as pronounced, and with Keeneland's short meets falling in early Spring and mid-Autumn, it is not a stretch to declare that during the 40 Day Saratoga Meet more shippers fill the race card than at any other separate meet.

This is especially true during the opening 3-4 weeks of the 7 week meet as…