John Conte, National Race MastersThursday, 4/18

Every year more money is bet (by far) on the Kentucky Derby than any other North American horse race. It is no secret why. Literally millions of people who might bet horses three or four times a year seem to feel an obligation to bet this race. As though it is un-American if they don’t.

I can’t tell you how many people come up to me at an OTB, at the track, even on the street and want to discuss the Kentucky derby. I have to admit that every once in a while their questions might…

Jim HurleyThursday, April 18

Over the course of the next two plus weeks leading up to the 145th Kentucky Derby on Saturday, May 4, I guarantee you that there will be occasions when you will hear pundits, bloggers and regular thoroughbred bettors in your orbit profess a similar line of thought.

It will go something like this.

“Did you see how well (fill in a name) has been closing in his prep races?He should love the extra distance of the Derby.”

Well, yes and no.

(Deep Closers Are A Liability As Kentucky Derby Winners)

There are dozens of attributes which a potential Kentucky Derby winner must…

Two of the Big 6 Kentucky Derby preps are down and there are still four more to go now as we truly head into crunch time in the quest to fill-up the starting gate for the 145th running of the Kentucky Derby, to be run four weeks from this weekend on Saturday, May 4.  This season even more than ever, these prep race results should prove super important because a standout or standouts have yet to emerge as the definitive horses to beat in this year's Run for the Roses.

The first pair of Big 6 preps to - the Louisiana…

Jim HurleyWednesday, April 3

The Championship Meet at Gulfstream Park just came to a close. While there will still be racing in South Florida, this is the time of year when racing begins its northern migration.

Soon Aqueduct will wind down and Belmont will open on April 4th.  But it is a migration that takes its time and along the way the marquee barns, big name trainers, high profile riders and top class horses make a stop for Keeneland’s 16 day meet which begins this Thursday, April 4 and runs through Friday, April 26 (racing every day but Monday and Tuesday and…

Bob Baffert had won six Rebel Stakes in the decade of the 2010s, but he is officially 0-for-2 in 2019 after striking out with two odds-on favorites in the two $750,000 split divisions of this year's key G2 Kentucky Derby prep race at Oaklawn Park. The winners of the two divisions of the Rebel Stakes, meanwhile, the Steve Asmussen-trainer Long Range Toddy and Richard Mandella's Omaha Beach both improved markedly and stamped themselves as legitimate up-and-coming contenders for this year's Run for the Roses.

Baffert entered Saturday' Rebel with a pair of undefeated 3-year-olds at the top of many people's Derby…

But I See Many More Angles To The Two Divisions Of The Rebel Stakes.

Thursday, 3/14Hank Goldberg

After the unfortunate suspension of racing at Santa Anita and the cancellation of last weekend’s San Felipe Stakes. The Derby Prep plans of a number of trainers and Bob Baffert in particular were turned inside out.

However, Hope Still [Hot] Springs Eternal as the Hall of fame conditioner has shipped leading Derby prospects Improbable and Game Winner to Arkansas where they will race in separate divisions of the Grade II Rebel Stakes at Oaklawn Park.

There are other options for three-year olds on the Derby trail…

As we make our way toward the final round of prep races on the road to the Kentucky Derby, things continue to sort themselves out at a very slow pace this season in the 3yo division. Some horses have managed to distinguish themselves in the prep races, but many other would-be Derby contenders have disappointed, and many others have not yet even begun their 3yo campaigns.

The latest big news on the road to the Kentucky Derby is two-fold. First, the cancellation of the San Felipe (G2) due to track safety concerns plaguing Santa Anita has affected some of the top…

We’re two months out from the Kentucky Derby, Gulfstream’s Fountain of Youth (G2) is in the books, and we’re now heading up to the biggest weekend of the season so far with four major Kentucky Derby prep races scheduled to be run on Saturday, March 9. The results of those four races – The Gotham (G3) at Aqueduct, the San Felipe (G2) at Santa Anita, the Grade 3 Jeff Ruby Steaks (sic) at Turfway, and the Tampa Bay Derby (G2) – will go a long way to clarifying the list of contenders pointing to the Kentucky Derby, to be run…

A lot of focus is on racing at Gulfstream Park this time of the year with the track in the midst of the best portion of its winter championship meet. Daily handicapping at Gulfstream can be a grind with big competitive fields and high quality competition to consider in 10, 11, or 12 races per day.  With so much going on, it certainly can’t hurt for handicappers to find ways to help narrow down and sort out the contenders from the pretenders. Here are five ways you can do that at Gulfstream Park based on information and statistics compiled through…

One of the mistakes handicappers make is to give up on a horse after a race when trying something for the first time, in this case trying two turns. When making the two turn debut in the Smarty Jones, Super Steed ran evenly. It wasn't a great race but it wasn't bad enough to give up on him. Larry Jones is a great trainer that knows how to prepare a horse to get the most out of him. Jockey Terry Thompson has had a long relationship with Jones, so seeing him stay on the horse tells me he has been…