Up for grabs are 10-4-2-1 Derby qualifying points to the top four finishers, along with another Derby prospect barometer. Keep in mind the last Kentucky Jockey Club participant to win the Derby was Super Saver in 2010.

Regardless, this inconvenient fact hasn’t stopped a Sig-Alert of colts and geldings taking on the 1 1/16-mile test. The Kentucky Jockey Club is one of four stakes on the Twin Spires’ Saturday card. The Grade 2 Golden Rod serves as the counterpart for fillies on the Kentucky Oaks trail. There’s also the ungraded Lively Shively and the Fern Creek.

The expected leader of that Kentucky Jockey Club post-Thanksgiving traffic jam is current 3/1 favorite Tiz the Bomb. We last saw the Kenny McPeek charge “winning�?the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf �?for pari-mutuel purposes �?after actual race winner Modern Games was improperly scratched, but allowed to run for purse winnings.

Tiz the Bomb back on dirt for Kentucky Jockey Club

“Tiz the Bomb was impressive last out at Del Mar after dealing with all the pre-race incidents in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf,�?McPeek told Churchill Downs media. “He’s handled really anything we’ve thrown at him so far, so going back to the dirt shouldn’t be a problem for him.�?/p>

Prior to that, Tiz the Bomb won his three previous races. That included the Grade 2 Castle and Key Bourbon Stakes at Keeneland in early October. Tiz the Bomb opened Thursday at 20/1 on the Kentucky Derby Future Wager Pool 1.

Not much has been a problem for Howling Time (7/2). The Dale Romans charge is unbeaten in two races, dismissing his rivals by 3 ¼ lengths in the Street Sense Stakes, the local prep for this race. That followed a September 1 ½-length debut win where the Not This Time colt came from six lengths back.

Howling Time screams value

“It seems like every race, he keeps improving,�?jockey Joe Talamo said. “Dale said he’s doing even better going into this race than the last one. He has the right mind to him. Coming out of a sprint in his first start, he had every right to get tired going two runs for the first time. But he was all class. That’s half the battle right there, especially with a young horse. He sure passed the test.�?/p>

Howling Time opened at 20/1 on the KDFW.

Along with Howling Time, one of the other “buzz�?colts right now is Classic Causeway (7/2). He opened at 15/1 on the KDFW, even after finishing a tired third as the 9/5 favorite in the Grade 1 Breeders’ Futurity. After winning his debut at Saratoga by 6 ½ lengths and breaking sharply from the gate in the Breeders’ Futurity, expect the Giant’s Causeway colt to do the same here.

Classic Causeway passed gate schooling early

“He’s always been a horse that breaks sharp from the gate,�?trainer Brian Lynch said. “We knew that going into the debut, so it really didn’t surprise us he broke on top like he did. But it’s always a pleasant surprise to see them win that impressively. Last out in the Breeders’ Futurity, he was hung wide from the gate and he battled pretty hard on the lead through fast fractions. I thought he gamely hung on for third after the field closed in on him. Going into this start, I’ve been trying to get him to relax a little bit in his training. I’ve worked him behind horses and in company, so he doesn’t have to be on the engine.�?/p>

Grade 2 Kentucky Jockey Club/Churchill Downs

Morning Line (Jockey/Trainer)

1. Classic Causeway, 7/2 (Joel Rosario/Brian Lynch)
2. Guntown, 15/1 (Tyler Gaffalione/Steve Asmussen)
3. Rich Strike, 50/1 (Rafael Bejarano/Eric Reed)
4. Texas Red Hot, 12/1 (Julien Leparoux/Randy Morse)
5. Howling Time, 7/2 (Joe Talamo/Dale Romans)
6. Tiz the Bomb, 3/1 (Brian Hernandez Jr./Kenny McPeek)
7. Vivar, 12/1 (Florent Geroux/Brad Cox)
8. Smile Happy, 12/1 (Corey Lanerie/Kenny McPeek)
9. Red Knobs, 15/1 (Ricardo Santana Jr./Dale Romans)
10. White Abarrio, 8/1 (Edgard Zayas/Saffie Joseph Jr.)
11. Ready Pursuit, 50/1 (Martin Garcia/Jerry Antonuik)
12. Ben Diesel, 15/1 (Jon Court/Dallas Stewart)
13. Mannix, 20/1 (Edwin Gonzalez/Mark Casse)

Call Me Midnight, 12/1 (Chris Landeros/Keith Desormeaux)

The “other�?McPeek in the field also bears watching: Smile Happy (12/1). Unlike Tiz the Bomb and his five races Smile Happy has one race on the resume. But that one race is a 5 ½-length romp in a Keeneland maiden special weight last month. More significantly, that came at 1 1/16 miles, the same distance as the Kentucky Jockey Club.

Smile Happy opened at 50/1 on the KDFW.

The post Derby Trail Traffic Resumes Saturday With Kentucky Jockey Club appeared first on nrxhb.shop | OG News.

Let’s look at 2019, asterisk and all. The $1 trifecta, starring 65/1 Country House, paid $11,475.30. How about 2017? Winner Always Dreaming was 5/1, but 10/1 Lookin at Lee and 20/1 Battle of Midway beating 6/1 second-favorite Classic Empire brought home an $8,207.20 payout for a $1 trifecta.

Between 2010 and 2020, the average payout for a $1 trifecta was $3,746.97. Only three times (2015, 2016, and 2018) did the payout fail to hit four figures. And this was in the age of favorites like Orb, California Chrome, American Pharoah, Nyquist, Always Dreaming, and Justify winning roses.

Detect a trend here?

Plenty of Derby long shots to choose from

The game in Kentucky Derby exacta, trifecta, and superfecta wagering sounds simple: finding the right double-figure odds horses who provide those four-figure payouts. And Churchill Downs morning-line author Mike Battaglia gives you a smorgasbord of choices. Only four horses, favorite Essential Quality (2/1), Rock Your World (5/1), Known Agenda (6/1), and Hot Rod Charlie (8/1) come in with single-digit odds.

Battaglia slapped 50/1 long-shot odds on six horses �?more than a quarter of the field. Three more are at 30/1, a trio including Grade 1 Arkansas Derby winner Super Stock. Four more, including stakes winners Midnight Bourbon and King Fury, are 20/1. Stakes winners Mandaloun and Medina Spirit are 15/1, while the highly regarded dark-horse, Highly Motivated, is 10/1.

That’s a lot of value sitting on the board. But if picking the right bomber was easy, you wouldn’t see those stunning, head-scratching payouts every year.

Finding Derby long shots backward, by elimination

Picking the right Derby long shot or long shots for the back end of trifectas and superfectas is an art. But there’s a science making it easier: crossing off the wrong long shots.

OG News looks at three horses best left forgotten when it comes to your tickets.

Bourbonic

He’s one of those 30/1 Derby long shots, but this was an easy choice made even easier by his far outside post draw. Bourbonic is 2-for-3 this year, with Todd Pletcher’s decision to add blinkers apparently making the difference.

But this is the same Pletcher who, along with Calumet Farm, once put Bourbonic up for sale. It’s also the same trainer who farmed Bourbonic out to Triple-A Parx in Pennsylvania after running him in two claiming races at Aqueduct. Does this sound like a Derby threat?

Oh, and Bourbonic won those two Aqueduct claiming races: a maiden claimer and starter optional claimer. He won those with subpar speed figures that make his fellow Derby contenders laugh in pity. That’s before he finished second in an allowance optional claimer at Parx.

Then, Bourbonic capitalized on a glacial pace, winning the Wood Memorial at 72/1 with a 100 Equibase that was 12 points above his previous career-best. His career 89 Beyer for the Wood doesn’t put him near the mix needed to hit the board.

This is the place to pile on, so did we mention Bourbonic is a deep closer? In a race full of better versions of that genus? So to recap, you have a freak Grade 2 stakes winner running a slow time over nine furlongs for a trainer who didn’t even bet on him in his last race. As we said above, this one’s too easy.

Keepmeinmind

Say this for Bourbonic: at least his form’s heading in the right direction. With Keepmeinmind, you have a colt not merely regressing to the mean. He’s just regressing.

This Laoban colt hit the board in all four of his 2-year-old starts (1-2-1). He finished third in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile, only two lengths behind Essential Quality. Keepmeinmind turned around and won the Grade 2 Kentucky Jockey Club three weeks later.

Then, Keepmeinmind turned 3. And when you think of the “Terrible Twos,â€�?remember “Threeâ€�?starts with “T” as well because, since the calendar flipped, Keepmeinmind’s form has been terrible. He finished a dismal sixth in the Rebel Stakes at Oaklawn Park, eight lengths behind Concert Tour.

Trainer Robertino Diodoro shipped him to Keeneland for the Blue Grass. There, he got a front-row view for Keepmeinmind’s fifth-place finish �?16 lengths behind Essential Quality and six behind fourth-place Hidden Stash, who barely missed making this list.

Along with his second-worst-ever 85 Equibase in the Blue Grass, Keepeminmind was no better than fourth at any call in either of his 2021 races.

Santa Anita Park morning-line author and Xpressbet columnist Jon White applies the coup de gras. One of the eight categories in his Derby Strike System is no adding or removing blinkers in a horse’s last start before the Derby. This is because no horse adding or removing them in a race before the Derby has ever worn roses.

Horse Racing Nation reports that Diodoro plans on removing blinkers for the Derby. That fishing-for-answers move means you can easily look away from this 50/1 Derby long shot.

Brooklyn Strong

Here’s another 50/1 Derby long shot. And you hate to put him here because Brooklyn Strong is a great story. A $5,000 purchase at the April Ocala Breeders’ Sale as a 2-year-old in training, Brooklyn Strong failed to meet his reserve price twice as a yearling. Owner Mark Schwartz shipped him to trainer Danny Velazquez. The Delaware-based Velazquez guided the New York-bred to three victories on three different tracks (Delaware, Belmont, and Aqueduct) in four starts.

The last came at December’s Grade 2 Remsen, which got Brooklyn Strong his 10 Derby points. But he’s run only once since: his fifth by 4 ¾ lengths in that glacial Wood Memorial that Bourbonic won.

And that’s the problem. Not so much the fifth, although that had Velazquez prepping for the Preakness until last Friday. But the four months off for an illness and Aqueduct’s closure due to cold weather. That’s not the recipe for Derby success, especially for a closer.

Brooklyn Strong comes with more Derby long-shot baggage. He’s a gelding, another no-no under White’s DSS. Brooklyn Strong would be the first gelding since Mine That Bird in 2009, and only the fourth since 1929 to win. Throw in his inside (post 3) starting position and Brooklyn Strong would need to be the Hemingway of horses to write a successful ending here.

The post Three Kentucky Derby Long Shots You Can Cross Off Right Now appeared first on nrxhb.shop | OG News.

On the futures front, however, it’s worth keeping in mind that winning the Kentucky Jockey Club means precisely nothing as a Derby predictor race.

Keepmeinmind won’t throw back the 10 Derby qualifying points he picked up with his Saturday victory and is now sitting with 18 points, second to Essential Quality’s 30 on the points ladder. Breaking his maiden in a Grade 2 â€�?by going from last to first — also ticks off a nice box for his connections.

But, those connections may want to hold off booking a Derby party come May 1, 2021. Since 2010, only four horses who won the Kentucky Jockey Club even ran in the following year’s Derby. McCracken’s eighth-place finish in 2017 was the only top-10 finish of the quartet. Enticed (14^th in 2018), Tapiture (15^th in 2014), and Gemologist (16^th in 2012) were the other three Derby runners.

Remember Silver Prospector? He won last year’s Kentucky Jockey Club, beating Tiz the Law in the process. After finishing sixth in the Rebel Stakes and seventh in one division of the Grade 1 Arkansas Derby, he was off the Derby trail by the spring of 2020. Last weekend, Silver Prospector finished seventh in the Grade 1 Clark Stakes.

Favorites Essential Quality, Life Is Good Stay Put

You can view runner-up Smiley Sobotka’s move from 100/1 to 75/1, and Inspector Frost’s Inspector Clouseau-like last-place finish �?and subsequent odds lift from 125/1 to 175/1 �?accordingly.

Movement on this week’s William Hill futures board largely reflected the weekend’s results. The top two choices, Essential Quality and Life Is Good, hold their positions as the obvious favorites. Essential Quality remains at 8/1 while Bob Baffert’s Life Is Good moved from 12/1 to 10/1.

Both colts debuted as the favorites on the first of Churchill Downs’ Kentucky Derby Future Wager (KDFW) pari-mutuel pools. Only Life Is Good came with his expected baked-in Baffert premium. He opened as a 4/1 favorite. Essential Quality opened at 8/1. That pool closed Sunday, with the next KDFW pool set for Jan. 22-24.

Super Sire Into Mischief Plays Part in Future Wagering

This weekend’s action trimmed the William Hill odds on Mandaloun to 75/1 from 110/1. He pushes numerous buttons among bettors due to his record (2-for-2 after winning an allowance Saturday), trainer (the hot Brad Cox), and sire (Into Mischief).

At the same time, another Into Mischief progeny â€�?Highly Motivated â€�?watched his odds go in the other direction. You can get him at 75/1 now, up from 30/1 last week. And Into Mischief closed as the 4/1 favorite in the Kentucky Derby Sire Future Wager. That pool allows bettors to wager on the father of next year’s Kentucky Derby winner.

Five horses joined the William Hill board this week: Beep Beep (125/1), Parnelli (125/1), Return the Ring (125/1), Swiftsure (125/1), and Swot Analysis (140/1). Beep Beep won his debut in a seven-furlong race at Churchill Downs, as did Return the Ring over six furlongs at Laurel Park, and Swiftsure over six furlongs at Fair Grounds.

2021 Kentucky Derby Top Contenders

Source: William Hill Nevada

Swot Analysis won his second start at Fair Grounds by 9-¾ lengths. Parnelli, however, holds the best story among the newcomers. He won as the 4/5 favorite in a two-turn mile at Del Mar on Saturday. While it was Parnelli’s fourth start, his two losses before that came by a neck to Hot Rod Charlie and Spielberg. Those two own Grade 1 placings.

William Hill now features 138 horses on its Derby futures board, with 25 now listed at 90/1 or lower. The board ranges from Essential Quality at 8/1 to familiar doormat, Valiant Thor at 350/1.

The post Keepmeinmind Enters Thoughts of Kentucky Derby Future Bettors appeared first on nrxhb.shop | OG News.

Along with that, Saturday’s Grade 2 Kentucky Jockey Club is held at Churchill Downs, the site of next spring’s Derby. The 1 1/16-mile test also offers 10-4-2-1 Kentucky Derby qualifying points to the top four finishers.

It also offers the opportunity to join the likes of Clyde Van Dusen (1928), Cannonade (1973), Run Dusty Run (1976), Captain Steve (1999), Super Saver (2009), Gemologist (2011) and Tapiture (2014) as winners of the 94-year-old race that dates to 1920.

Auditioning for that spot are eight 2-year-olds of varying pedigrees and levels of success. And it speaks to the wide-open nature of this year’s event that six of the eight horses are single-digit odds on the morning line. It also speaks to the free-for-all of this race that a maiden is your favorite. That would be Keepmeinmind (6/5).

Everything on the Resume — Except a Win

The counterintuitive nature of betting a maiden in a Grade 2 balances with Keepmeinmind’s resume: two seconds and a third. The third came in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile to Essential Quality and Hot Rod Charlie and the seconds came in the Grade 1 Breeders’ Futurity â€�?also to Essential Quality — and a maiden race to Arabian Prince. The latter is also in Saturday’s field.

Keep in mind that Keepmeinmind finished third in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile after being 17 lengths off the lead. So you’re talking about a true closer who needs a blistering pace for his late finishing kick to, well, kick in. Missing that pace means you bet Keepmeinmind to win at your peril �?especially at 6/5 or worse.

Behind Keepmeinmind, realistic possibilities abound. There are the two Brad Cox offerings: Swill (6/1) and Inspector Frost (8/1). Both broke their maidens with seven-furlong easy victories from the front: Swill at Churchill Downs in September and Inspector Frost at Keeneland in October. They are the lone speed elements in this race and how they break should illustrate how the race will go.

Sittin On Go Could Bounce Back From his Juvenile Bounce

Then, there’s Sittin On Go (5/1), the stronger of the dual entry with Smiley Sobotka (also 5/1). Last out, Sittin On Go failed to go in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile. His horrible start led him to finish ninth. But one start before that, Sittin On Go punched it hard down the stretch, winning the Iroquois Stakes under the Twin Spires. It’s not unrealistic to expect a bounce-back from his Juvenile bounce.

Nor is it unrealistic to expect King Fury (6/1) to run better than he did in that Breeders’ Cup Juvenile, where he finished a non-threatening seventh. Especially with trainer Kenny McPeek adding blinkers to a horse who seems to alternate good and bad races. Following that cycle means King Fury is due this time out, considering two races earlier, he won the Street Sense Stakes at Churchill Downs.

His stalking pace provides the perfect style in a race lacking true speed. He can keep up with Swill and Inspector Frost up front, then pounce when the time is right.

The Pick: King Fury. There’s his stalking style. There are the blinkers, which should provide more early speed if needed. There’s also the two victories at Churchill Downs, both at 1 1/16 miles. But don’t forsake Swill and Keepmeinmind in your exotics.

The post Kentucky Jockey Club Provides Another Glimpse of Derby Hopefuls appeared first on nrxhb.shop | OG News.

Churchill Downs plays host to one of the best end-of-year races anywhere, along with another glimpse at possible Kentucky Derby contenders. Aqueduct sends out seven, $100,000 stakes events this weekend. And Del Mar takes to the turf, closing its Bing Crosby Meet with seven graded stakes �?all on the grass.

Starting on Thanksgiving Day, the three tracks combine for 15 graded stakes races this weekend �?all where you’d expect to find them this time of year. There is something for every handicapper to pick through. And with that, OG News examines several of the better Thanksgiving weekend races.

Thursday

Falls City Handicap, Churchill Downs

The one to watch in this Grade 2, 1-1/8-mile race for fillies and mares 3 and up is Bonny South, who chased both Miss Marissa in the Black-Eyed Susan and Swiss Skydiver in the Alabama across the finish line. The 8/5 Bonny South is one of those good-but-not-great 3-year-old fillies who can thrive in this field. Pushing her will be Swiss Skydiver’s stablemate, 5/2 Envoutante, coming off a win in the Remington Park Oaks. At 5/1, Smooth With a Kick could provide one in her first graded stakes.

Red Carpet, Del Mar

Del Mar’s traditional Thanksgiving Day feature rolls out its green carpet for eastern shippers Orglandes (5/2) and Blame Debbie (3/1), your favorites for this 1-3/8-mile, Grade 3 contest for fillies and mares 3 and up. Orglandes ended a 54-week layoff with a second and a victory in allowance races. The 9-½ furlongs won’t be a problem for the Chad Brown charge, who won twice at 1-½ miles in her native France. After adding blinkers, Graham Motion’s Blame Debbie crossed the finish line first in her last three races: two victories and a disqualification.

Friday

Clark Stakes, Churchill Downs

Black Friday goes under the lights in one of the weekend’s best races. The 146^th Clark turns an overflow field of 15 older horses loose over 1-1/8 miles. The Grade 1 event also welcomes back last year’s runner-up and third-place finishers, Owendale and Mr. Freeze. Waiting for those two multiple graded stakes winners are two-time Grade 1 winner Code of Honor, and four-time Grade 2 winner By My Standards, seeking a return to his standards after finishing eighth in the Breeders’ Cup Classic. Title Ready and Aurelius Maximus provide more intrigue.

Comely Stakes, Aqueduct

The focus here is on Miss Marissa, who goes for her fourth consecutive victory in this 1-1/8-mile, Grade 3 contest for 3-year-old fillies. Fresh off an upset at 10/1 in the Black-Eyed Susan, Miss Marissa is one of seven fillies coming in with career-best speed figures. Look at Makingcents to push her early, and Thankful and Mrs. Danvers pushing late. Mrs. Danvers, who owns a victory over five-time graded stakes winner Finite, tackles two turns for the first time.

Saturday

Kentucky Jockey Club, Churchill Downs

This 1-1/16-mile Grade 2 race for juveniles throws more light on possible 2021 Kentucky Derby contenders. Taking some of that light is Keepmeinmind, who looks for his first victory after a runner-up to Essential Quality in the Breeders’ Futurity, and a third to the likely 2-year-old Eclipse winner in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile. Pushing Keepmeinmind are Iroquois Stakes winner Sittin On Go, coming off his ninth in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile, along with maiden winners Swill, Inspector Frost, and King Fury.

Hollywood Derby, Del Mar

Del Mar turf madness peaks with this 1-1/8-mile, Grade 1 jaunt for 3-year-olds featuring Christophe Clement-trained eastern imports Gufo and Decorated Invader. Belmont Derby winner Gufo is 4-for-5 in 2020, with his only loss a second to Domestic Spending in the Saratoga Derby. Speaking of Domestic Spending, he’s waiting for Gufo as one of the 13 horses in this stellar field. As for Decorated Invader, he seeks the form that produced three consecutive stakes wins opening the season, and not the form that produced a fifth and a second in his last two. Storm the Court returns for the first time since finishing sixth in the Kentucky Derby.

Discovery Handicap, Aqueduct

This 1-1/8-mile event for 3-year-olds is a Grade 3 with recognizable names brought to you from the Derby Trail. There’s Oklahoma Derby and Indiana Derby winner Shared Sense, who passed up the Derby. There’s Money Moves, a trendy Derby pick turned terrible pick after he finished 13^th. And there’s Attachment Rate, who finished right behind Money Moves in 14^th. The latter two come off allowance wins.

Sunday

Matriarch Stakes, Del Mar

Where do you start in this stellar, Grade 1, mile race on Del Mar’s turf for fillies and mares 3 and up? How about with Sharing, who’s won five of her last six races? The only time Sharing failed to find the winner’s circle came at Royal Ascot, where she finished second in the Coronation Stakes. There’s Newspaperofrecord, seeking to turn the page after a third in the First Lady, and a second in the Churchill Distaff Turf Stakes. And there’s Jolie Olimpica, who hasn’t finished worse than second in four stakes races this year.

The post Horseplayers, Fans Give Thanks for These Strong Thanksgiving Races appeared first on nrxhb.shop | OG News.

Many of these races feature some of 2020’s equine stars along with great duels between up-and-coming horses and established runners. Two of the races provide previews into possible Kentucky Derby contenders.

In chronological order, here are races to keep your eyes �?and your handicapping brain �?on coming down the 2020 stretch.

Clark, Nov. 27, Churchill Downs

This $500,000, 1-1/8-mile, Grade 1 race headlines Thanksgiving weekend at the Eastern tracks, largely because its winner’s roll includes the likes of Silver Charm, Blame, Shackelford, Wise Dan, and Gun Runner. Tom’s d’Etat won this race last year as a springboard to his stellar 2020. Possibles this year include multiple Grade 1 winner Code of Honor, last year’s runner-up Owendale, and Mr. Freeze. You could also see By My Standards, last seen finishing a poor eighth in the Breeders’ Cup Classic.

Hollywood Derby, Nov. 28, Del Mar

This is where the 3-year-olds who bypassed the Breeders’ Cup lie in wait. In 2014, California Chrome capped off his Eclipse Award-winning season by winning this 1-1/8-miile turf race. That, after winning the Santa Anita Derby, Kentucky Derby, and Preakness Stakes on the dirt. This year, you could see Belmont Derby winner Gufo, Grade 1 winners Decorated Invader and Storm the Court, and stakes-placed Shamrocket.

Kentucky Jockey Club, Nov. 28, Churchill Downs

In a nice piece of foreshadowing on how Churchill Downs disagreed with him, Tiz the Law lost this race last year �?his only loss until the Kentucky Derby. This 1-1/16-mile race provides 2-year-olds another showcase on the Derby Trail. Super Saver took the 2009 race five months before he won the 2010 Derby. He was the fifth Jockey Club winner to take the Derby.

Matriarch, Nov. 29, Del Mar

You’ve got 2018 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf winner Newspaperofrecord tangling with the 2019 winner Sharing. Now, throw in Juliet Foxtrot and this mile turf contest for 3-year-olds-and-up fillies and mares lives up to its Grade 1 status. Got Stormy and Uni were your last two winners of this race, further illustrating the field’s quality.

Cigar Mile, Dec. 5, Aqueduct

This celebrated race â€�?won impressively by Maximum Security last year — shapes up to be one of the best of the fall. Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile winner Knicks Go could go here. So could Tampa Bay Derby winner King Guillermo, who hasn’t run since the Arkansas Derby in May. Stakes winners Firenze Fire and Performer â€�?going for his sixth consecutive win â€�?are likely. And trainer Brad Cox intimated that Monomoy Girl could follow her Breeders’ Cup Distaff win by taking on the boys.

Los Alamitos Futurity, Dec. 19, Los Alamitos

Here’s your second glance at possible 2021 Derby hopefuls. Los Alamitos may be off the A-list Derby Trail, but winners of this race include Real Quiet, Point Given, Into Mischief, Pioneerof The Nile, Violence, Shared Belief, McKinzie, and Improbable. Considering he’s won the last six of these, expect Bob Baffert to play a prominent role, possibly with Spielberg and Classier.

Malibu Stakes, Dec. 26, Santa Anita Park

Horseplayers get to unwrap one of the best sprint races of the year on the Southern California track’s traditional day-after-Christmas opening day. The Grade 1, seven-furlong, free-for-all for 3-year-olds could feature Nashville vs. Charlatan �?with a side helping of Independence Hall. Steve Asmussen’s Nashville is 3-for-3 and hasn’t broken a sweat in all three starts. Bob Baffert’s Charlatan was the Kentucky Derby favorite before his injury. And one-time Derby hopeful, Independence Hall, brought new trainer Michael McCarthy an allowance victory last week in his first race in 7½ months.

La Brea Stakes, Dec. 26, Santa Anita Park

If Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Sprint champion Gamine runs again in 2020, here’s where you’ll see her. She’s undefeated around one turn, and the seven-furlong, distaff version of the Malibu provides the Bob Baffert charge the perfect distance and venue. Whether that scares away the connections of fine sprinters like Finite, Venetian Harbor, Frank’s Rockette, Sconsin, or Speech remains to be seen, but if any or all enter, this shapes up to be a monster race. Even without Gamine.

The post Don’t Take a Holiday on These Late-Season Races appeared first on nrxhb.shop | OG News.