READ, WATCH, & LISTEN TO STUFF
Not enough time has passed just yet for me to write about my performance at the NHC earlier this month. It’s just something I am not emotionally prepared to put to words. In short, I had a bad Friday, a great Saturday, and a Sunday that didn’t really matter. We’ll leave it at that for…
Don’t ask me how many days we have until the Kentucky Derby. I know it’s less than 90. Suffice it to say, a lot is going to happen between now and then. A lot! However, simple things like time and patience should not stop us from rampantly and irresponsibly speculating as to the make-up of…
It’s highly unlikely that anyone reading this isn’t already familiar with the Fourgate crew and how they came to be front and center in the NHC world back in March. But in case you have been living under a rock or just have a bad memory, I’ll recap. On March 2nd, Horseplayers.com hosted a free…
On July 7th, 2019, Melvin Simonovic finished in 4th place in an NHC qualifier on HorseTourneys.com. It was a solid effort, but unfortunately for Melvin, the contest only awarded NHC seats to the top there finishers. We’ve all been there, and it sucks. The July 7th contest was one of several impressive performances for the…
One way I like to logically work through an issue is to try to respond to opposing arguments in my mind before I am presented with them in real life. This often leads to me changing my mind on a topic before I take a stance in the meeting room at work, or in the…
Because I have listened to every song on my iPhone nearly 1,000 times while torturing myself on various cardio machines over the last decade or so, my new thing is to listen to horse racing podcasts in an attempt to make 40 minutes feel like the blink of an eye. It seldom works, but that…
(UPDATED: Please stop reading now. The race has been run, and I am embarrassed.) The last time Bill Mott ran a first-time starter going two turns on the dirt was on January 25th, 2017. The horse was named Frontliner. The race was at 1 mile and 40 yards at Tampa Bay Downs. Frontliner finished 7th…
Last year was my first time competing in the NHC. It was effectively only my second year attempting to qualify, and it took me until January to win my seat. There are many, many others with substantially more NHC experience than I have. And these days, there seems to be no shortage of info in…
Gulfstream Park Race 7- The Kitten’s Joy Saturday’s Kitten’s Joy Stakes at Gulfstream Park features a field of nine (including one MTO entrant) newly-turned 3yos going 7 1/2 furlongs on the grass, with the Graham Motion-trained Irish Mias the likely favorite coming off a solid 2nd in the Pulpit Stakes on November 30th. But it’s…
File this post under “Constructive Criticism”, and feel free to dismiss it as just another chance for a horseplayer to gripe if you wish. Tampa Bay Downs is hosting the High Rollers Handicapping Contest on January 11th. Up for grabs, based on 100 entries, are two seats to the National Horseplayers Championship plus cash prizes…
The sport of horse racing, at all levels, is suffering from a massive inferiority complex which has resulted in a pronounced and ongoing defensive posture that may well lead to the continuation of a string of bad decisions which, if allowed to persist, could bring about the end of horse racing in every state not…
The Breeders’ Cup Betting Challenge was, yet again, a losing proposition for me. And I don’t have the energy to go bet by bet and give you a complete rundown of the weekend. But who does’t love a good “almost” story? I think you’ll like this one. You might say this story began in 2010,…