Monthly Archives: April 2009

Brian’s Derby Wagering Guideline

You didn’t really think only 19 would line up, did you? Of course not! Ever the sportsman, Nick Zito threw Nowhere To Hide into the mix at the last minute and we have a full field of 20 in the … Continue reading

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Thursday morning quick picks

Or maybe this would be better called, “Bad news Thursday.” Last week, regular reader Rich from Boston sent me this incredibly disturbing link to a story from ABC News, about Sheikh Mohammed’s brother, Sheikh Issa bin Zayed al Nahyan, who … Continue reading

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Brian’s Derby preps: The Kentucky Derby! Part III

Our third and final installment takes a look at the remainder of the field. The Tuesday morning scratch of Square Eddie and the decision not to run Take The Points left the door open for Join In The Dance and … Continue reading

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"The World’s Finest Race Course"

One hundred and four years ago this week, Belmont Park opened. Hailed as a track that would appeal to the general public and not simply to bettors, Belmont occasioned a week of coverage leading up its opening, the day after … Continue reading

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Brian’s Derby preps: The Kentucky Derby! Part II

Part two of our installment was supposed to start with Quality Road, who would have vied for favoritism on Saturday. Sadly, he was declared from the Derby Monday morning as the result of a quarter crack. Let’s continue at our … Continue reading

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Reporting the breakdowns

When we watched the 2008 Kentucky Derby, we all wanted to know: How is Eight Belles? What happened? When we watched the 2006 Breeders’ Cup Distaff, we all wanted to know: How is Pine Island? What happened? When we saw … Continue reading

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Brian’s Derby preps: The Kentucky Derby!

We made it through the winter and the spring preps, so now it’s time to look over the prospective field for the 135th Kentucky Derby. Entries will be taken Wednesday afternoon, but it’s never too early to get a look … Continue reading

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Closing weekend

Late Saturday afternoon, I stood on the A train platform at Aqueduct for the last time until this fall. I wore a sleeveless shirt, sandals, and a skirt, no tights. No hat, no gloves, no scarf, no coat, no boots. … Continue reading

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Sobering moments at Aqueduct

At first, it was just another version of disturbing: shortly after the beginning of the eighth race yesterday at Aqueduct, jockey Mike Luzzi was working hard to pull up Cloud Nine. Watching the turf race from the winner’s circle, we … Continue reading

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Count Fleet in the Withers

The Rail, the New York Times racing blog, launched this week for the 2009 Triple Crown season, and this post appeared there yesterday. ***************************************** They certainly got the name right. One can imagine Mrs. John D. Hertz, breeder and owner … Continue reading

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