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…

SARATOGA SHOTSPreviewing The 2017 MeetVolume 16...Number 4

MILE AND AN EIGHT DIRT RACES AT SARATOGA...WHAT A DIFFERENCE A YEAR MAKES...OR DOES IT?

There is not a "serious" horse bettor alive who would make an argument for betting every race. It is difficult enough for a solid handicapping tool player to keep his or head above water when they are in their comfort zone. Allowing themselves to drift outside that zone simply to "play the next race" is suicidal.

How one defines a "comfort zone" might vary slightly, based on what kind of races that individual derives a higher Return On Investment (R.O.I.) from,…

The summer racing season at Saratoga is all about the top horses, trainers, and jockeys in horseracing, and the top-notch handicapping and betting opportunities that go along with them. The fields will be huge, the competition will be stiff and evenly-matched, and the payoffs will often be pricey and loaded with good value for horseplayers who are willing to put in the necessary effort.

The 40-day Saratoga racing season lasts throughout the heart of the summer, running six days a week (every day except Tuesday) from Friday, July 21 until Labor Day, Monday, Sept. 4.  The 2017 Saratoga meet will feature…

SARATOGA SHOTSPreviewing The 2017 MeetVolume 16...Number 2NO MEET IN THE NATION FEATURES MORE SHIPPERS THAN SARATOGA...WHERE DO THEY COME FROM AND HOW DO THEY PERFORM?Each year on these pages we show you how the various shippers di the year before at Saratoga.Over the years these numbers have remained very consistent. Which should not come as a surprise since it is the practice of the more productive barns to rely on a consistent set of operating procedures.Trainers such as Todd Pletcher, Chad Brown, Kieran McLaughlin, Graham Motion, Mark Casse, Steve Asmussen, Bill Mott, Christophe Clement and Mike Maker have wide spread…

SARATOGA SHOTSPreviewing The 2017 MeetVolume 16...Number 1FOLLOWING THE TOTE AT SARATOGA...GOOD MOVE/BAD MOVE?The wait is just about over. The forty day Saratoga Meet for 2017 gets under way on Friday, July 21.Over the course of the next week and a half we are going to take a look at some statistics, some trends and some very solid repetitive standards that both support and just as equally fly in the face of a number of very well-held beliefs on the part of bettors.There is no better place to begin than to do so with one of the most widely held, often…

Not all handicappers/bettors look so deeply into overall available information that they process the monetary breeding value of their runners, especially younger or lightly run horses, by looking at stud fees.

However, a number of more astute handicappers do. For those of you who might glance at the stud fees of the various sires and indiscriminately weigh the value of that horse by the sire, the following can serve as a bit of an eye-opener and in general give you the idea that not all sire success is relative to the stud fee.

Generally speaking, second year crop sires, with the exception…