Racebook Insider: The World of Horse Betting

Thursday, May 31, 2007

Kentucky Derby winner Street Sense won't compete in Belmont

Kentucky Derby winner Street Sense won't compete in the Belmont Stakes so trainer Carl Nafzger can prepare his colt for the Travers Stakes and Breeders' Cup Classic later this year.

"Mr. Tafel said let's not chase spilled water," Trainer Carl Nafzger said, according to AP. "We spilled our water during the Preakness. We got beat. We got outran."

"I know there's disappointment we're not going to the Belmont," Nafzger said. "But somewhere we want to make another stand."

The scratching of Street Sense leaves the Belmont with five probable starters, including Curlin and Kentucky Derby runner-up and Preakness third-place finisher Hard Spun. The other likely Belmont entries are Tiago, Slew's Tizzy and Imawildandcrazyguy.

Technorati tag(s):

Labels: ,

Wednesday, May 30, 2007

Belmont Decision for Streent Sense Due Thursday

Street Sense breezed four furlongs in 49 seconds, his first work since finishing second by a head to Curlin in the Preakness on May 19.

Trainer Carl Nafzger said, "here's something about this horse, he's a fast horse. I don't necessarily say that's an asset or not, but he worked :49 this morning and never did drop his head." He added, "That makes Mr. Tafel's decision harder. All I have to do is fill him in on where we're at."

Jockey Calvin Borel said he'd love to get another shot at Curlin, who is set for the Belmont Stakes. An announcement on the colt's status for the final leg of the Triple Crown is scheduled on Thursday.

Technorati tag(s):

Labels: ,

Tuesday, May 29, 2007

Great Hunter scratches from Belmont Stakes

Grade 1 winner GREAT HUNTER (Aptitude) has been withdrawn from consideration for the June 9 Belmont S. (G1) after a chip was discovered in his right-front ankle after five furlongs over Hollywood Park's Cushion Track on Thursday.

"He didn't cool out super well on Thursday, but we didn't think much of it at the time," O'Neill explained. "The next day, when the poultice was washed off his leg, we noticed some filling." X-rays uncovered the chip, which will be removed by surgery either Saturday or Sunday. O'Neill is estimating that Great Hunter will be out for 90 days.

"He's a strong, solid horse, so we'll be in good shape when he comes back."

Great Hunter, bred in Pennsylvania by Ivy Dell Stud, has scored victories in the Lane’s End Breeders’ Futurity (gr. I) and Robert B, Lewis Memorial (gr. II), while placing in the Bessemer Trust Breeders’ Cup Juvenile (gr. I), Del Mar Futurity and Best Pal (both gr. II), and Hollywood Juvenile Championship (gr. III).


Technorati tag(s):

Labels: ,

Monday, May 28, 2007

Preakness Winner Curlin Possible for Belmont

Trainer Steve Asmussen said Preakness Stakes winner Curlin remains on target for the Belmont Stakes on June 9 after the Smart Strike colt turned in an easy five-furlong breeze at Churchill Downs on Monday.

"I was very pleased with him," Asmussen said. "I just try to be pretty rhythmic with where we’re at with him. I feel that the familiarity for him with what we’re doing keeps his state of mind where we want it to be — nice and relaxed. With everything that’s been asked of him over a short period of time, I want to keep everything as close to normal as I possibly can."

Asmussen indicated that Curlin would breeze a half-mile next Monday and is scheduled to fly to New York the next day, June 5.

Street Sense stepped onto the track about a half-hour after Curlin's work. James Tafel's homebred son of Street Cry jogged six furlongs and galloped one mile under regular exercise rider Mark Cutler.

Trainer Carl Nafzger said a final decision on a possible Belmont Stakes bid for America's reigning 2-year-old champion would be made by Wednesday.

Technorati tag(s):

Labels: ,

Thursday, May 24, 2007

Watch Belmont Stakes at Belmont Park Racetrack

Belmont is known as The Championship Track because most every major champion in racing history since the early 20th century has competed on the racecourse -- including each of the 11 Triple Crown winners.

In addition to its importance to racing, "Beautiful Belmont Park" is often called one of the best-landscaped venues in American sports -- especially because of the stately backyard park behind the grandstand, which includes the paddock in which the horses are saddled before each race. The backyard and backstretch are notable for their huge, attractive trees and landscaping, and the infield is dominated by two picturesque lakes.

The Belmont is generally not a sold-out event unless a Triple Crown is possible. In fact, it is treated almost like any other race at Belmont Park. Tickets run as cheap as $5. Even if the race does sell out, there are thousands of first-come, first-served seats that go on sale the morning of the race. Gates open at 8:30 am.

The Belmont, unlike Derby and Preakness, does not have an infield party. However, coolers are allowed in the Grandstand Backyard and Grandstand Apron areas (although not in the clubhouse). The Grandstand Backyard is a large open area with access to betting windows, and is similar to an infield party; this is the place to be if you're looking for an infield party at Belmont.

If you live in New York or you are planning to visit New Yorkin June, go down to Belmont Park and watch the Belmont 2007.


Technorati tag(s):

Labels: ,

Tuesday, May 22, 2007

Belmont Field Will Not Feature Derby, Preakness Finishers

Street Sense, Hard Spun, Curlin. Curlin, Street Sense, Hard Spun. That's the finishing order of the horses in the 2007 Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes, respectively, but it's unlikely we'll see the same contenders in the 2007 Belmont Stakes.

Street Sense, the horse that posted an amazing come-from-behind victory at the Kentucky Derby, and then lost by a nose to Curlin at the Preakness (made you look!), will in all probability not make an appearance at Belmont Park on June 9th.

Street Sense's trainer, Carl Nafzger, was noncommittal, but was leaning against Belmont. "I'll talk to Mr. Tafel [owner of Street Sense], but if I was a betting man I'd take some bets against it," Nafzger said.

There's perhaps a better chance that the Preakness winner Curlin will complete the 2007 Triple Crown races, but this too, is still uncertain. "This is the stage this horse deserves and those are the caliber of races he is intended for," said trainer Steve Asmussen.

Finally, trainer of Hard Spun, Larry Jones, is also being cryptic. "I don't know," he said, referring to Belmont. "We'll discuss it."

Perhaps more likely are Chelokee, who easily won the inaugural Barbaro Stakes, and Peter Pan Stakes winner Sightseeing. Other possible Belmont contenders include four Derby horses -- Imawildandcrazyguy (finished 4th), Tiago (7th), Nobiz Like Shobiz (10th) and Great Hunter (13th).

Technorati tag(s): ,

Labels: , ,

Curlin denies Street Sense at Preakness

Curlin, the third-place finisher in the Kentucky Derby, won a tight stretch duel with Derby champion Street Sense to win the 132nd Preakness Stakes. Hard Spun was a well-beaten third.

After Curlin’s win by a head over Street Sense in Saturday’s Preakness Stakes, Street Sense’s trainer Carl Nafzger laments on his colt’s lost chance at being the first Breeder’s Cup Juvenile and Triple Crown winner.

"My horse ran great. I got outran. That’s horse racing. If you can’t enjoy watching a $5,000 claimer give you 110 percent, you shouldn’t be in the horse business." He went on to say, "Maybe he gave me 105. But Curlin (gave) 110. You have to enjoy watching Curlin run."

For a brief while, it looked like Street Sense might just win. Jockey Calvin Borel opened a small lead near the end of the race, but that lead didn’t stop Curlin from making one final kick to win the race.

"Curlin’s going to get better as he gets experience," Nafzger said. "It’s going to be interesting to see what happens down the road. I think we’ve got a great challenge going." He finished by saying that while Curlin ran a heck of a race, Street Sense will prevail in the next meeting of the two horses.

For now, it looks as if it could be a while before fans get to see another race pitting Street Sense, Curlin and Hard Spun against one another. Hard Spun is the only one of the three who looks to be heading to the final jewel of the Triple Crown, the upcoming Belmont Stakes.

Technorati tag(s):

Labels: ,

Friday, May 18, 2007

Curlin an Increasingly Unlikely Preakness Pick?


The Johnny-come-lately darling of the Derby, Curlin, has now become something of a Preakness pariah for horse racing handicappers.

The Associated Press carried a story this morning by David Ginsburg, variously titled things like "No One's Talking About Curlin at Pimilco" or "Preakness: Curlin Now an Afterthought". in which the author says Curlin may as well have been last at the Kentucky Derby "considering the lack of attention he's received at Pimlico Race Course this week before the Preakness." Ouch.

And while the Kentucky Derby third-place finisher is still holding in at 7-2, the "big matchup" at the Preakness Stakes is apparently between favorite Street Sense and Hard Spun. This is certainly the attitude of veteran thoroughbred handicapper Steve Davidowitz, while conceding that Curlin "seems in an excellent position to raise his game another notch," nonetheless focused on the two front-runners in his column yesterday.

Is anybody rooting for Curlin? John Eisenberg says that Curlin is the biggest roadblock that Street Sense faces in his attempt to capture the second jewel of the Triple Crown. And he points out that between 1985 and 1997, "when no fewer than nine Preakness winners stopped Triple Crown bids here after losing in the Derby." Something to chew on.

It's worth considering the factors that played out in Curlin's run at the Derby, where he faced 19 other horses. As Dick Jerardi says:
Unlike Street Sense and Hard Spun, Curlin was in traffic from the start of the Derby and never got a clear run until deep in the stretch. He had to come from 14th without the rail parting like the Red Sea.

Jerardi goes onto make a shrewd analysis of the odds, closing his discussion of Curlin with this sage observation:
So, it really comes down to Street Sense at, say, 4-5, Hard Spun at around 2-1 or Curlin at 5-1. Without a strong opinion, I would prefer the best price. So that puts me on Curlin.

While not exactly a lone voice, Jerardi at least has elevated the conversation surrounding the possible Preakness winner from "can Hard Spun beat Street Sense" to "where's the smart money?" While I'm still undecided, like Jerardi, I'm not yet counting Curlin out of the running.

Technorati tag(s): ,

Labels: ,

Thursday, May 17, 2007

Preakness Field of Nine, Odds Favor Street Sense


2007 Kentucky Derby winner Street Sense is heavily favored to win the 132nd running of the Preakness Stakes this Saturday at Pimlico Race Course.

At the post position draw yesterday in Maryland, both Street Sense and Derby runner-up Hard Spun drew outside posts, and will be racing from gates 8 and 7, respectively. Street Sense is currently the odds-on favorite to win at 5/4, followed by Hard Spun at 3/1 and Curlin at 7/2 - the exact order of these horses' finishes in the Derby.

Here are the [post positions] and current Preakness odds for the entire field:

[1] Mint Slewlep - 40/1
[2] Xchanger - 25/1
[3] Circular Quay - 5/1
[4] Curlin - 7/2
[5] King of the Roxy - 15/1
[6] Flying First Class - 25/1
[7] Hard Spun - 3/1
[8] Street Sense - 5/4
[9] C P West - 25/1

Hard Spun's trainer, Larry Jones, said the horse's post position isn't an issue, pointing out that Hard Spun took the Lane's End Stakes from post 10 against a field of strong horses. He also mused that seven was a lucky number for Street Sense in the Derby, so maybe it's the right starting number.

Technorati tag(s): ,

Labels:

Monday, May 14, 2007

Preakness Field to Include Zito's CP West

Trainer Nick Zito has confirmed that the CP West, runner-up in the Grade 3 Withers Stakes, will run in the 2007 Preakness this Saturday at Pimlico. This now brings to eight the number of horses expected to start in the middle jewel of horse racing's Triple Crown.

Zito made the decision after the colt breezed four furlongs in 0:47.24 at Belmont Park -- the second-fastest time of 105 timed workouts at that distance.

In other Preakness Contender news...
  • While Domenico Zannino's Xchanger missed the Derby, he will be at the post at Pimlico. While Zannino acknowledged the competition Xchanger faces from Curlin, Street Sense and Hard Spun, he expects some advantage from the fact that Xchanger has had a four-week layoff, rather than two.
  • Jockey Mario Pino will be the local favorite as he again rides Kentucky Derby runner-up Hard Spun in the Preakness.
  • Frozen out in yet another Derby, Todd Pletcher will make an appearance at Preakness 132 in the form of King of the Roxy, who came in second in the Santa Anita Derby. This will not be King's first race with Street Sense; the two horses shared the track at the Breeders' Cup. Street Sense, of course, won by a record-breaking 10 lengths, while King of the Roxy finished eight (can someone say "longshot"?).
  • Untested Mint Slewlep will be appearing in the Preakness Stakes. The 3-year-old son of Slew City Slew has run three times this year, posting a fifth in the Gotham and fourth in the Withers (both Grade 3).
In all, something in the range of 11 horses are expected to meet for this year's big race at Pimlico. Street Sense remains the Preakness odds favorite after his astonishing come-from-behind victory in the Derby.

Technorati tag(s): ,

Labels: ,

Friday, May 11, 2007

King of the Roxy Entering into the Preakness Stakes

King of the Roxy in Preakness
Horse trainer Todd Pletcher confirmed Friday that he would in fact enter King of the Roxy into the 132nd running of the Preakness Stakes in Baltimore Maryland next weekend.

This is the second horse Pletcher’s entered into the race during his tenure as a trainer—the first offering was in 2000 with Impeachment— and he expects the speedy horse will perform well at the Preakness.

In the horse’s seven career starts he’s finished in the money five times, the most recent payday coming after a second place finish in the Grade I Santa Anita Derby in April.

“We started focusing on the Preakness immediately after the Santa Anita Derby,” says Pletcher. “He has only been long a couple times and in the one start at Churchill (Breeders’ Cup Juvenile) it wasn’t his best effort. He lost some training time when we first got to Florida over the winter so we felt we didn’t want to rush him and pointed to the Preakness.”

Owned by Barry Irwin, King of the Roxy will be ridden by jockey John Velazquez, who makes his Preakness debut on board the horse.

In the starting gate King of the Roxy will join the Kentucky Derby’s top three finishers in Curlin, Hard Spun and Street Sense, all of which have confirmed for the Stakes.

Pletcher had a record tying five horses entered in the derby but once again failed to finish on top.

Technorati tag(s): ,

Labels: ,

Thursday, May 10, 2007

Preakness Stakes Contender, Curlin tasted defeat for the first time

Preakness Stakes Contender, Curlin
Trainer Steve Asmussen announced Thursday that pre-Kentucky Derby favorite Curlin will run in the Preakness Stakes on May 19, which means all of the top-three finishers from the Run for the Roses are officially in the field.

Curlin tasted defeat for the first time in his young career on May 5, finishing the Derby in third place, behind both Street Sense and Hard Spun. However, at 1 3/16-mile the Stakes is a much shorter race and Asmussen think this will favor his horse.

"The only hesitation was waiting for him to go back to the track'' said Asmussen of his horse during a conference call. "I was curious where he would be mentally. His appetite has stayed good. He's a very big, strong horse and we're very pleased how he came out of race physically. He was very relaxed going to the track, and I just wanted to make sure it was still him.''

Others Preakness probables include C P West, King of the Roxy, Xchanger, Flying First Class or Starbase and Mint Slewlep.

Technorati tag(s): ,

Labels:

Wednesday, May 09, 2007

The Hard Spun-Street Sense Preakness Rivalry

The Hard Spun-Street Sense rivalry is set to continue beyond the backstretch of the Kentucky Derby and on to the Pimlico Race Course for the Preakness Stakes.

Both horses will be in the field for the 132nd running of Maryland’s $1-million event and Hard Spun’s trainers figure he’s well suited to knock jockey Calvin Morel and trainer Carl Nafzger off their high horse and win this event.

“We have may to do something different here if we are going to spoil (Street Sense’s) Triple Crown,” says Larry Jones. “I like Carl a lot but I don’t intend for him to have the Triple Crown.”

Jones actually considered skipping the Kentucky Derby to have Hard Spun focus specifically on this leg of the Triple Crown.

“We just felt like the way this horse had trained on surfaces similar to Pimlico, we were not expecting to handle the Churchill surface as well as he did,” says Jones. “(But) he rode the picture perfect ride that’s supposed to win the Derby. That’s one reason we opted to be there. Plus that’s my horse, he’s got that high cruising speed to set out there and do that. We thought we did everything it took to win the race.”

Hard Spun was a 12/1 shot to win the Derby and led the entire race before being overtaken by pre-race betting favorite Street Sense on the backstretch to finish second by 2 ½ lengths.

The Preakness Stakes runs on Saturday May 19th.

Technorati tag(s):

Labels:

Friday, May 04, 2007

Kentucky Derby Contenders Are Drug Tested

Kentucky Derby Betting
For the first time in Kentucky Derby history, all entries for Saturday's race (in this case the full field of 20) were tested for performance-enhancing drugs. Thankfully these were blood tests, so those administering them were not faced with the awkwardness of having a thousand-pound animal pee in a cup.

The move was not prompted by any specific allegations of doping, but was iniatiated in order to more fully comply with Kentucky's anti-doping horse racing laws. Horses have been regularly tested for drugs after a race -- the change here is a pre-race test.

Drugs conceivably benefiting a racehorse include erythropoietin (increases red blood cells, increasing endurance), and darbepoetin (a synthetic form of erythropoietin). (Thoroughbred horses are rarely seen behind the stables hauling on a doobie, so it's unlikely they're tested for recreational drugs.)

What's potentiaally startling -- regarding the crowning of a Kentucky Derby winner -- is that the results of the drug test are not expected until after the race has been run. This raises the spectre of a Kentucky Derby winner (or any horse that places in the money) being stripped of his title.

So what impact does this have on Kentucky Derby wagers?

According to a story on AOL Sports, in the event that a horse tested positive, "the horse would be stripped of the Derby crown and the owners would lose the prize money, but for betting purposes, the horse would still be considered the winner."

Hmmm. A bit late, but had I known, I could have sent a gift of an envigorating drink, chock-full of "vitamins and nutrients" to the outfit stabling my pick to win. ;)

Technorati tag(s):

Labels:

Thursday, May 03, 2007

Seven Lucky for Kentucky Derby Contender Street Sense?


Street Sense has drawn the number seven post position for the 133rd Kentucky Derby, running this Saturday. The last time a horse has won the Derby from this position was (I believe) Pleasant Colony, who reigned victorious in 1981 with a time of 2:02.

How does the post position affect Street Sense's chances? The winningest gates in Derby history are 1 and 5 (12 wins each), followed by 4 and 10 (10 wins each). So while position 7 isn't on that list, either is 2 -- the post position drawn by Pletcher rival and favorite Curlin (current Kentucky Derby odds list Street Sense at 9/2 and Curlin at 9/5, a shift in Street Sense's favor since the draw took place yesterday).

Certainly Curlin got the worst of it in the draw, by most accounts. In theory, Street Sense will have a better chance of running with the pack from the start, and move toward the rail later in the race, whereas Curlin will be running by the rail from the start.

On the other hand, it was from the number 2 position that Curlin romped to his 10+ victory in the Arkansas Stakes. And if there's a historical precedent that Pletcher will be looking to repeat, it will be Affirmed's 1978 Derby victory from no. 2 -- which set the stage for his Triple Crown triumph.

Post positions aside, Street Sense seems to be in top form for this year's race. Three-time winning Derby jockey Gary Stevens is reserving final judgement until race day but he -- echoing the sentiments of many handicappers -- is of the opinion that "Street Sense is still the leader of the pack."

Technorati tag(s): , ,

Labels:

Kentucky Derby Drinks: The Mint Julep

If you’re going to the Kentucky Derby there are really only three things to do. Watch the races. Bet on the races. And, of course drink, drink and drink some more.

Hunter S. Thompson (a native of Louisville, Kentucky) described it best is his infamous story "The Kentucky Derby is Decadent and Depraved", in which he wrote: "By mid-afternoon they'll be guzzling mint juleps with both hands and vomitting on each other between races."

If you’re going to get a drink at the Kentucky Derby the only drink in town is a mint julep. Everyone’s heard of a mint julep, whether it was from Homer’s bathtub mint julep when he was the Beer Baron on "The Simpson’s", or more recently in the movie "Thank You for Smoking". But, how many of these people that have been introduced to the mint julep through pop culture references actually know what’s in one?

The ingredients in a mint julep are quite simple. All you need is ice, bourbon, mint, and sugar and water. Some folks prefer a sugar syrup to sugar and water, but if it was good enough back when the julep was first made it should be good enough today. Once you get all your ingredients perfectly balanced to suit your taste, a mint julep should be served in an ice-frosted silver julep cup. That tradition is slowly dying though as more people at the actual Derby will sip their juleps from Kentucky Derby collector cups – reminiscent of something you’d find at a fast food joint – rather than the classic silver cup.

It was estimated that last year on Derby day, and the preceding day when the Kentucky Oaks is run, that 80,000 mint juleps were served. That’s a whole lot of bourbon and mint. And I don’t even want to think about how many tons of ice that equates to. If you do attend the Derby, be sure to take part in the long tradition and order a cool mint julep. You don’t want to stand out from the crowd after all.

Take Thompson’s word for it: "…roaming around the clubhouse grounds with bit sketch pads, laughing hysterically at the natives and swilling mint juleps so the cops wouldn't think we're abnormal."

Technorati tag(s): , ,

Kentucky Derby Odds Shorten Following Workouts

As Col. Potter used to say, horse hockey.

We suspected the Kentucky Derby odds on Street Sense would shorten considerably based on Tuesday’s excellent workouts. And that’s just what happened. Before Wednesday night’s announcement of the 20-horse field, Street Sense was sitting pretty at 6/1; afterward, he was 9/2. Meanwhile, the favored Curlin shed some chalk by going from 3/1 to 9/5. He might be No. 2 on the futures market by the time it closes.

So much for value. Street Sense was worth investigating as an underrated horse, based in part on winning last year’s Breeders’ Cup Juvenile. That’s supposed to be some kind of curse; there have been 22 Juvenile champions in the event’s history, and not one has gone on to win the Run for the Roses. As they say, correlation does not equal causation. Otherwise, nobody would like Curlin’s chances – he had zero races as a 2-year-old, and no horse since Apollo has won the Derby under those circumstances. That was way back in 1882.

However much stock you care to put in either these trends, you’ll no longer find much value in either of the top two favorites. That sends us in a Brady Quinn-like freefall down the odds list to Great Hunter and Dominican. Even there, we’ve seen Great Hunter close up from 17/1 to 15/1 and now he’s at 20/1 (Dominican is holding at 19/1). (Bodog Racebook Kentucky Derby odds.)

Both horses performed well in their last prep race at Keeneland, the Blue Grass Stakes on Apr. 14. The three-week layoff is considered optimal for the Derby, but the fact that Keeneland is a Polytrack surface has raised more than one skeptical eyebrow about the results. The artificial surface has yet to win the confidence of bettors as a fair indicator of how a horse will perform on dirt or grass.

Regardless, we should at least give Dominican a look; he won the Blue Grass Stakes, and his competition there all had to perform in the same conditions.

Technorati tag(s):

Wednesday, May 02, 2007

Draw for Kentucky Derby Post Positions Complete

The draw for post positions for the horses running in the 2007 Kentucky Derby have just wrapped up. Here's the complete field for this year's Road to the Roses, with the current Kentucky Derby odds:

Post Position - Contender - Odds

1 - Sedgefield - 20/1 (Field)
2 - Curlin - 3/1
3 - Zanjero - 30/1
4 - Storm in May - 80/1
5 - Imawildandcrazyguy - 20/1 (Field)
6 - Cowtown Cat - 15/1
7 - Street Sense - 6/1
8 - Hard Spun - 12/1
9 - Liquidity - 30/1
10 - Teuflesberg - 50/1
11 - Bwana Bull - 20/1 (Field)
12 - Nobiz Like Showbiz - 8/1
13 - Sam P. - 60/1
14 - Scat Daddy - 8/1
15 - Tiago - 14/1
16 - Circular Quay - 7/1
17 - Stormello - 25/1
18 - Any Given Saturday - 12/1
19 - Dominican - 20/1
20 - Great Hunter - 17/1

Now that draw is complete, handicapping for the Derby can start in earnest, with the usual head-scratching over just what post positions mean. :)

Technorati tag(s): ,

Labels:

Kentucky Derby Field Narrows as Post Position Draw Nears

The field for the 2007 Kentucky Derby narrowed as Reporting for Duty and Delighful Kiss were excluded. Only 20 post positions are available for the race on Saturday, and final selections for the field are based on graded stakes earnings.

Reporting for Duty, who was a long shot with odds of 100/1, was 21st on the earnings list, and Delightful Kiss 23rd.

The last minute decision to pull Cobalt Blue by trainer Doug O'Neil, and the withdrawal of Federico Stakes winner Xchanger allowed Teuflesberg and Imawildandcrazyguy to enter the field.

The official post position draw will take place today at 5:00 PM ET, and will be televised live on ESPN2. The current Kentucky Derby field, in order of draw for post positions, is as follows:

Storm in May, Teuflesberg, Hard Spun, Liquidity, Bwana Bull, Street Sense, Cowtown Cat, Scat Daddy, Imawildandcrazyguy, Zanjero, Tiago, Circular Quay, Sam P., Nobiz Like Shobiz, Stormello, Curlin, Sedgefield, Any Given Saturday, Great Hunter, Dominican.

Technorati tag(s): ,

Labels: , , ,

Tuesday, May 01, 2007

Kentucky Derby Betting: Can Curlin Buck History?

Not since Apollo back in 1882 has an unraced 2-year-old won the Kentucky Derby. So what is it about Curlin that's got everyone betting on him to win?

Inexperienced horses have a poor track record in the Kentucky Derby, but there's a lot to be said for talent. And Curlin's got plenty of it.

Curlin has won all three of his starts, he's got some of the strongest speed figures and his versatile running style should allow his jockey, Robby Albarado, to find a favorable running position.

Proof of his racing skills was clearly displayed at the Arkansas Derby at Oaklawn, where he maintained a second place position for most of the race until Albarado turned him loose in the stretch. Curlin went on to win by an impressive 10 1/2-length margin of victory.

The question is, can Curlin perform as well against a deeper and classier field at the Kentucky Derby? Only time will tell...

Technorati tag(s): , , ,