Blog

Did Churchill Downs Inc. Strike Again?

Disclaimer: I have no idea if what is being “reported” on Racing Twitter today with regard to CDI putting a stop to DraftKings’ Kentucky Derby future wager is true.  But I am going to comment anyway. According to an article on vsin.com, Churchill Downs Inc. has launched some sort of legal objection to DraftKings offering…

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Ups and downs on this day of days

It’s just past 9:00pm EST Sunday night as I begin typing this post.  And based on the agonizing emotional swings this day has brought, it feels like it should be Wednesday by this point. The day began with my decision to play only one horse all day, which then led to me trying to win…

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Sunday Price Alert!!!

I absolutely love a horse at Gulfstream Park today.  In fact, I love it so much that if she loses, I will turn off the laptop and spend the day outside in the warm Central Florida sunshine with the kids, away from the TV.  In fact, I might do the same thing if she wins,…

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Tourney Talk- This is it!

The NHC Tour ends today.  The last event where points can be earned takes place in less than an hour from now on Horseplayers.com, and by 7:00pm EST tonight, anyone who is more skillful than I am when it comes to using the scoring calculator on the NHC Tour page will know who the champion…

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Does class even matter?

We all put different degrees of emphasis on different aspects of handicapping.  Some people focus largely on pace.  For others, class is a bigger deal.  And then you add in recent form, connections, track conditions, trips, and all of a sudden you’ve got six handicappers identifying six different horses as the most likely winner of…

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Can Hanson continue the hotness with American Falls?

It’s Saturday. You’re playing Santa Anita.  And you’re in the mood to bet a filly that looks overmatched on paper but that might sneak up and get a piece of the pie at a price.  Well, you’re in luck.  Because have I got the filly for you!!! (Maybe.  We don’t make promises here.) First, let’s…

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What to do with Code of Honor?

One of my strongest opinions heading in to the Breeders’ Cup was that Code of Honor was a play-against in the Juvenile.  My basis for this stance was my opinion that his visually-impressive 2nd in the Champagne was dressed up by the fast pace he closed into.  But he scratched out of the BC, so…

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Tourney Talk- Saturday’s Santa Anita NHC Qualifier

As I type this, I am supposed to be landing at Midway Airport in Chicago to compete in the Friday and Saturday NHC qualifiers at Hawthorne while seated at a table with adequate electrical outlets alongside July Hawthorne contest winner Steve Decaspers.  But as you may have noticed from recent social media posts of mine,…

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Do jockeys really matter?

How much does a jockey matter in determining the outcome of a race? Each summer for about 5 years in the mid-1970’s my Dad packed up the family and we would head to Billings, Montana for a couple of weeks for the Yellowstone Exhibition.  There was a female jockey riding there named Susie Wilson. I…

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Goodbye to an a**hole of a year

As 2017 ended and 2018 began, I was sitting at what was then the peak of my career as a horseplayer.  August 2017 brought an in-the-money finish in the Wynn Handicapping Challenge and a prize of $8,500.  In the span of one week in November, I ended the Breeders’ Cup Betting Challenge with a bankroll…

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