LET'S GO TO THE RACES - JUNE 30-JULY 4

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

NOTE:   AFTER A RACE HAS BEEN RUN, you can return here, click on the CARD to view the Results and watch a REPLAY. 

www.FollowHorseRacing.com

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HAPPY FOURTH OF JULY, AMERICA!

SCROLL DOWN FOR JULY 4TH RACES!

Swaps Preview:


MAJOR ACTION
Saturday, June 30
IRISH DERBY, Grade 1, The Curragh:  Camelot, the favorite, Astrology, Born To Sea
SHOEMAKER MILE, Grade 1, Hollywood Park:  Mr. Commons, Little Mike, Jeranimo,
TRIPLE BEND, Grade 1, Hollywood Park:  The Factor, Smiling Tiger, Tres Borrachos
LEGENDS CLASSIC, Evangeline Downs:  Star Guitar
IOWA DERBY, Prairie Meadows: Hansen, Alsvid, Hero Of Order
IOWA CORNHUSKER, Prairie Meadows: Awesome Gem, Successful Dan, Headache

Sunday, July 1:  Be sure to check out the cards for several major races overseas, including the German Derby at Hamburg, two races at Chantilly France, and one at The Curragh.

For in-depth analysys, check out the DRF site for race previews, handicapping insights, free PPs:  http://www.drf.com/  Scroll to the bottom of the main page for Video previews

Under each race description below, in addition to the card, in most instances, there are links to read more about a particular race and the runners.

Full cards are shown below, listed in time order, all adjusted to ET.

Just want a simple list of the races, time ordered?  Click here
How about a Time Ordered list with the Entries?   Click here

DON'T FORGET:  Even if you can't watch the U.S. races live, you can come back here after the race has run, click on the CARD listed under the race, and watch a REPLAY!  Let's go to the races!

LET'S GO TO THE RACES - June 16-17

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

http://www.followhorseracing.com/

NOTE:   AFTER A RACE HAS BEEN RUN, you can return here, click on the CARD to view the Results and watch a REPLAY. 

The PRIX DE DIANE or FRENCH OAKS
 See race details below.  Start time for the Prix de Diane will be 2:45 p.m. Paris time or 8:45 a.m. New York time, Sunday, June 17.

It is one of the crown jewels of French racing, a Classic that’s been sought after, and won, by queens and princes, sheikhs and shipping magnates. It’s the G1 Prix de Diane or the French Oaks, held each June for 3-yearold fillies going 2100 meters [1 5/16 mi] at Chantilly. It indeed has grown to a lofty stature since a humble beginning back in 1843, when a sparse crowd watched favored Nativa (Fr) become the first of trainer Henry Jennings’s record nine winners. 

Chantilly Chateau and Racecourse
Probably the world's most beautiful racing venue


The Diane may be France’s most important race for 3-yearold fillies. The honor roll includes the storied dual French champion Pearl Cap (Fr), winner in 1931, and who that year became the first filly to ever win the G1 Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe over males. It includes the 1973 heroine Allez France, the first distaffer to make in excess of $1 million and, like Pearl Cap, winner of the Arc during a 1974 season that earned her the title as France’s Horse of the Year. And it includes the likes of Zarkava (Ire), whose Diane/Arc double in 2008 led her to being named Europe’s Horse of the Year. But the allure of the Diane is more than just a talented roster of winners. It’s a race that is uniquely French, one that oozes style and charisma even more so, arguably, than the country’s most prestigious event, the G1 Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe, held at Longchamp some 55 kilometers to the southwest in Paris proper. Read more...

FLASH:  LIVE STREAMING OF RACES AT HOLLYWOOD PARK, Saturday, June 16, courtesy of the Daily Racing Form!

SECOND HALF OF THE RACING SEASON starts this weekend.  The first "win and you're in" Breeders' Cup qualifier race:  The most entertaining bunch of older male horses in years will convene at Churchill Downs for the $400,000 GRADE 1 STEPHEN FOSTER HANDICAP at nine furlongs. The event has been run only 31 times, placing its genesis somewhere in Ronald Reagan’s first term, but the name and conditions alone fairly reek of racing’s arcane, intimidating nature.

The hot money will be all over WISE DAN, who came off a long layoff to freak like Formal Gold in the Ben Ali Handicap at Keeneland on April 22. Cooler heads will note that the Ben Ali was on a synthetic surface, and that his opposition was less than stellar, and that the Ben Ali was on a synthetic surface. But still, Wise Dan’s score in the Clark Handicap at Churchill last fall was a solid piece of business, coming at the expense of the stubborn Mission Impazible.

MISSION IMPAZIBLE will try Wise Dan again in the Foster, along with ALTERNATION, RON THE GREEK, and NEHRO, who might as well be in harness for all the thrills they have supplied this year. Conditions permitting, they won’t need more than about a minute-47 seconds to get the job done, and it’s a good bet it will be a memorable minute-47.   Read more...