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…and sometimes it’s the deciding factor. The two big turf stakes at Gulfstream Park on Saturday feature full fields and plenty of betting opportunity.  And in my opinion, each race includes a standout from a class perspective that should result in solid favoritism.  But in the case of each, can class carry the day? Capla…

I don’t know Sports Illustrated’s Tim Layden.  I know his name only because any time he writes an article about horse racing, Horse Racing Twitter goes nuts because the sport we love is finally getting attention from a mainstream publication.  I’m sure Tim Layden is a great guy with lots of friends and a wonderful…

A major weakness in my handicapping game is an occasional inability to walk away from a horse that I’ve been chasing.  Often, this is out of fear of missing the wedding after suffering through more than one funeral, if you know what I mean.  This fall, Prolific, a three-year-old Godolphin homebred trained by Michael Stidham,…

Hi folks, We are nearing the end of racing’s slow season, as Santa Anita is just weeks away and the action begins to heat up at Gulfstream Park.  Soon, we’ll be obligated to create a Kentucky Derby Top 10 list.  And before we know it, everyone will start at 0 points on the NHC Tour.…

You’re looking over the past performances for Saturday’s Starlet at Los Al, and you happen to notice that neither of the two Baffert-trained fillies, Mother Mother or Chasing Yesterday, have been two turns.  Then you decide to watch the replay of the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies, again.  And you come to the conclusion that Vibrance…

Bob Baffert appears, yet again, to have the field for a California Grade 1 juvenile stakes over a barrel in Saturday’s Los Alamitos Futurity. He’ll enter impressive Breeders’ Cup undercard winner Improbable as well as Bob Hope Stakes winner Mucho Gusto.  The two of them appear headed for heavy wagering support.  And while the field…

Many people that I know consider Jerry Bailey to be the greatest tactical rider of the modern era.  And while I don’t pay as much attention to the tendencies, skills, and deficiencies of jockeys as I should, I’d probably be hard pressed to argue with anyone claiming Bailey is at or very near the top…