Friday, June 24, 2011

LET'S GO TO THE RACES -
JUNE 25-26

A quick reference tool meant to help the newer fan (like me!)

A lot of summertime racing action:  Canada's "Triple Crown" season starts off on Sunday with a couple of races leading up to the $1,000,000 Queen's Plate, the "Kentucky Derby" of Canada racing.  More reasons to celebrate the ladies, with the filly, Inglorious, set to go off as the lone female in a field of 17 colts and geldings.   From HorseRacingNation: "Get ready racefans, it's time for our neighbor to the North's Kentucky Derby. The Queen's Plate is the biggest of all the big races in Canada, and with 151 previous editions, it has a long and storied past." Read more....Source

As most of us are aware, the Older Female division, along with the 3 Year Old Females have provided the consistency that the other divisions have lacked so far this racing season.  Besides the filly running in the Queens Plate on Sunday, there are a couple of other races that will feature the distaff side.

COOL TIP:  Come back here after the races and click on the cards for the featured races below and see the RESULTS and Order of Finish, as well as VIDEO REPLAY of the race.  Also:  to get the results for all the races on a particular day, this is BloodHorse's results page:  Race Results  There will be a "short list" but scroll down and click on "View Full List".  Most will have videos of the races!! Easy way to get a roundup of a day's racing action quickly!!

On Saturday, the Debutante Stakes at Churchill will feature 2 year old fillies.  Then, the Mother Goose at Belmont will feature 3 year old fillies we might have missed, along with the lone standout, Joyful Victory. When I'm not familiar with horses in a particular race, I look to see who their sire/dam is to stoke some interest:  Bernardini has two fillies, My Assets and R Gypsy Gold, running.  Read more: TTimes: Mother Goose Preview

Also on Saturday is the Iowa Festival of Racing at Prairie Meadows, and a few stars will provide excitement:  Read more: BHorse - Awesome Gem and Astrology in Iowa Stakes  All in all, over $1,000,000 in prize money.  Read more - DRF: Cornhusker lures deep field of 11  Link includes videos covering the action, along with race cards, pps.

Race cards, videos, and more below.

FLASH!!  Update on Zenyatta's half-sister, Eblouissante:
News from Hollywood Park - Mike Smith aboard Zenyatta's half-sister!

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CHURCHILL DOWNS
Debutante S | gr. III | $100,000 | 2yo f | 6f | Race 10
BHorse - Race Card

BELMONT PARK
Mother Goose | 1 1/16 mi  | G1 | 3yo f |  $250,000 | 8.5 f | Race 9
BHorse - Race Card
Joyful Victory stands out in Mother Goose - includes card
Joyful Victory inherits favorite role in Mother Goose

Jarrod Horak, Horse Racing Nation Handicapper, breaks down the Mother Goose:


PRAIRIE MEADOWS
IOWA FESTIVAL OF RACING

Saturday June 25. Purses totaling over $1 Million
DRF: Preview/Video of Iowa Festival of Racing Prairie Meadows
Interesting Matchups in Iowa Sprint Handicap - Day One of Festival
BHorse: Iowa Oaks (gr. 3) - Race Card  1 1/16m Dirt $200,000 - Race 7
BHorse: Iowa Derby (gr. 3) - Race Card  1 1/16m Dirt $250,000 - Race 8
BHorse: Prairie Meadows Cornhusker H. (gr. 3) - Race Card  1 1/8m Dirt $300,000  - Race 9

HOLLYWOOD PARK
Zazu, Plum Pretty, Big Tiz duke it out in the 3 Year Old Division
Plum Pretty lands in Hollywood Oaks
Plum Pretty in Hollywood Oaks
BHorse - Hollywood Oaks - Race Card - G2 | 1 1/16 mi | $150,000 | Race 8

WOODBINE
Sunday June 26 will see the 152nd running of the Queens Plate, the first leg of the Canadian Triple Crown
BHorse: VIDEO: Jason Shandler reviews the action at Woodbine
Queen's Plate could be one for the record books
TTimes - Queens Plate draws biggest field in 12 years
Day Phillips Eyes Elusive Queens Plate to Complete Career Triple Crown
Women look to make mark at Queens Plate
Losing to this Filly would be Anything but Inglorious
Cards for top 3 races:
Highlander S. (gr. 2) - Race Card 2 6f Turf $200,000 - Race 5
Singspiel S. (gr. 3) - Race Card 3 1 1/2m Turf $150,000 - Race 7
Queen's Plate S. - Race Card  1 1/4m All Weather Track $1,000,000 - Race 10

Horse Racing Nation's handicapper, Mike Shutty, picks the winners for the Queens Plate!


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WATCH VIDEO REPLAYS OF ALL STAKES RACES
BloodHorse has a great video replay site to watch all the stakes action:
BloodHorse Race Videos
You can watch all stakes races for a particular DAY, or by TRACK, or a combination.  You can also watch INTERNATIONAL and DOMESTIC racing action!  Because these are links and not embedded videos, the site loads quickly.  Be sure to check out the Irish Derby at Curragh (International) and the Woodbine Queen's Plate (Domestic) races, all of which took place on Sunday, June 26.

RECAP OF WEEKEND RACING ACTION:
DRF: Weekend Warrior - June 25 - Mike Watchmaker's take

Watchmaker and Crist Wrap Up the Triple Crown
Reflection on the Vanity (June 18)
Blind Luck, weekend thoughts & Beyers

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Note:  There are free sites to watch online: check out http://www.ntra.com/ or NTRA Live Stream or http://www.tvgfree.net/ or sign up for a free trial account at http://www.twinspires.com/content/video  You can also catch the replays right after the big races at http://www.raceday360.com/   Calracing has live coverage of races - Will need to register

A really good site for the new fan:
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NOTE: In order to enjoy and use the functionality of the various sites below, some sites may require you to register, however, there is no charge for most of what you will want access to.  If you want to go to the next level and actually place bets and learn more about handicapping, some of these types of services have a fee, but this is strictly your choice whether to use these services.

DRF Grid: Today's Action - Upcoming & Prior Race Days - Click on any track "day", and pull up that day's entries for each of the races
   The Weekend Warrior is updated on Thursday evening or Friday morning
One of the most useful sites I have found to keep up with Stakes results, to watch only the important races - Also, searchable by date range for past races

DRF - Starts with ACTIVE tracks - Click on the DAY next to the track name to see that day's full race card. 

Simple Alpha List of American Graded Stakes by Stakes Name, by Grade I, II, III

This includes a list of all American tracks


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Twin Spires Race viewer - One of the best individual race video sites - You will need to register, free

Links to blogs and other sites I have found useful:
Abigail Anderson Blog - The Vault: Horse Racing Past & Present

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WANT TO FOLLOW A PARTICULAR HORSE OR TRAINER?
Looking for a way to keep up with the horses, or a trainer?  Or, ever want to watch replays of races quickly and easily?  What's coming up today or this weekend?

You need to register - it's free....there are some pay type options, but all I have needed has been the "free stuff".

Click on "Handicapping & PPs", roll over to "Tools" and note there is a "Horse Watch" and a "Trainer Watch" on the drop down list.  I have entered several Horses to watch on the "Horse Watch" (you can even have it send you an email with updates, or you can check in and click on "Messages" and check out what is happening with your choice.  You can also write a short note (I usually drop in the horse's next race, when I know what it is). A few of my choices are Uncle Mo, To Honor and Serve (one of Bernrdini's colts), Dialed In, and Zazu.

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