LET'S GO TO THE RACES - Feb 4-5


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.

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FREE LIVE STREAMING!  The Endeavor Stakes and the Derby prep, G3 Sam Davis, two features of the card at TAMPA BAY, Free Live Streaming via the DRF, with no sign-up required.  DRF Live Streaming from Tampa Bay Downs    Video Preview of Sam Davis at Tampa Bay on Saturday

FREE LIVE STREAMING! event by DRF will be the full card at AQUEDUCT, which includes the Derby prep, the G3 Withers, also featuring the Toboggan Stakes and the Correction Stakes.   Video preview of the Withers Stakes

FREE LIVE STREAMING! event by DRF will be the full card at SANTA ANITA, which includes the Derby prep, the G2 Robert B. Lewis Stakes. Video preview of Robert Lewis Stakes  Card also features the G2 Strub Stakes and the Arcadia, with Mr. Commons. Video preview of Arcadia, with favorite, Mr. Commons 

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

Triple Crown Insider - Jon Siegel and Joel Cunningham handicap the Triple Crown races - Feb 2, 2012

LET'S GO TO THE RACES - Jan 29-30


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.

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Florida and California take the stage Saturday to showcase each state's best runners.  DRF will LIVE STREAM the day's card at Gulfstream:  LIVE STREAM - FLORIDA SUNSHINE MILLIONS

Undefeated 4-year-old filly AWESOME FEATHER Race Preview , champion female sprinter MUSICAL ROMANCE, and popular 4-year-old MUCHO MACHO MAN are among the stars expected to run in one of six Florida Sunshine Millions Stakes Jan. 28 at Gulfstream Park.  Race Preview - Mucho Man tops deep field in Classic

In the California Sunshine Millions, CARACORTADO Race Preview has been scratched from the Sensational Star with a foot problem Story  and KILLER GRACES and CHARM THE MAKER will face each other once again, this time in the Santa Ysabel Stakes for 3 year old fillies at Santa Anita. Race Preview

Also on the Santa Anita card is the only Grade 1 event of the weekend, the $300,000 Santa Monica Stakes for 4 year old fillies and mares.  Race Preview  Last time out when Teddy's Promise and Sugarinthemorning met in the LaBrea Dec. 31, Teddy's Promise delivered a 16-1 upset.  The two are matched up again in the 7 furlong event, with Teddy's Promise at 8-5 and will tote 123 pounds as the highweight.  Rafael Bejarano will be aboard Sugarinthemorning, and Victor Espinoza will be up on Teddy's Promise.  Also in the race are Rumor (Mike Smith) 9-5, Home Sweet Aspen (Joel Rosario) 6-1, Big Tiz (Corey Nakatani) 9-2, and the two long shots round out the field with Bella Diamante (David Flores) 30-1, and She's Cheeky (Joe Talamo) 20-1.

On Sunday, the main feature is the Holy Bull for 3 year olds, in which HANSEN (Tapit), ALGORITHMS (Bernardini), CONSORTIUM (Bernardini), MY ADONIS (Pleasantly Perfect) will each make their 2012 debut.

LET'S GO TO THE RACES - Jan 21-22


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.


Front page of the DRF at the 1980 Kentucky Derby
Genuine Risk, the filly, won!

 WHAT'S UP, DOC! 
With so many races each week, it is sometimes hard to figure out what is important to watch, where is the most "action", and basically, is there an "order" to things in the sport.  Here is my take on how things "work" in horse racing, this time of year anyway.  (This discussion does not deal with "handicapping" the races.)

In the "stakes" category of races (there are graded and ungraded stakes races), there are basically two groups racing this time of year: the young 3 year olds on the "Derby Trail" or Road to the Triple Crown"; and, the 4 year olds and up in the "older" or "handicap" group. Within those groups, you will have sprinters, middle-distance runners, and longer races of 1 mile or more typically called the "route" races.  There are also races restricted to fillies and there are races open to both sexes.  You may have 3 year olds that start out in the sprint group and wind up in the route race group, as this time of year, the object is to find out where your three year old fits best. To be able to run in the three Triple Crown races, you have to be able to run in the route races: The Kentucky Derby is 1 1/4 mi (10 furlongs), the Preakness is 1 3/16 mi (9.5 furlongs), and the Belmont at 1 1/2 mile (12 furlongs).

The industry has unoffficially dubbed certain races the "Derby Preps", although there are other avenues to the Kentucky Derby and to the Triple Crown that a 3 year old might travel.  Most of these are "graded" stakes. Derby Prep Races

From the list, first up this weekend is the Lecomte Stakes at the Fairgrounds in New Orleans on Saturday. Other races for 3 year olds today include: the Silverbulletday at The Fairgrounds for fillies, Kittens Joy at Gulfstream; the California Oaks at Golden Gate Fields for 3 yo fillies. On Sunday, the Sweetest Chant for fillies at Gulfstream, and the San Pedro at Santa Anita.

The Grade 3 Lecomte at New Orleans’ Fairgrounds is 1 mile 70 yards, around two turns. Two of the entries in this race already have a graded stakes win under their belts: SHARED PROPERTY, and EXFACTOR, although neither has run around "two turns", which the Lecomte will test for today.

Others of note are TED'S FOLLY, riding a 6-race win streak; and MR BOWLING, each of whom has won a non-graded stakes race.  Mr. Bowling hasn’t raced since October, when he finished third as the 7-5 favorite in the Iroquois Stakes. His Jan. 9 workout in 58.80 seconds is among the fastest five-furlong works at this meet. His connections think he prefers two-turn races (the Iroquois was a one-turn event). Mr. Bowling won the Dover Stakes at Delaware, his only two-turn race, by more than seven lengths, and trainer Larry Jones thinks the Iroquois’s one-turn mile didn’t suit his horse.

Ted’s Folly, an Oklahoma-bred, doesn’t seem to care about the number of turns. He won five sprints in a row before capturing the $315,000 Springboard Mile, his route debut, with a strong late rally. Springboard Mile Race Result and Video Replay

The more important races this weekend are listed below, including those for older horses (4 yo and up).