Who’ll you take?

That’s exactly what most bettors are contemplating about these days heading to the 2009 Breeders’ Cup World Thoroughbred Championships.

And as far as the 2009 Breeders’ Cup Classic at Santa Anita is concerned, horse racing enthusiasts can look at the top three favorites to win it all over the weekend. The question is, who should they take come raceday?

First we have Zenyatta, who is listed as the favorite with 7/2 odds. The 2008 Breeders’ Cup Ladies’ Classic winner, is expected to start in the 1 1/4 mile race on Santa Anita’s synthetic track in an effort to get her named 2009 Horse of the Year.

Zenyatta has been the favorite in her last nine races and she’s never gone farther than a mile and an eighth. Zenyatta likes Santa Anita’s main track and it looks like she actually might thrive going a mile and a quarter.

Then we have Rip Van Winkle, who carries a 4-1 record in his career. The colt holds two wins in 2009, taking the Sussex Stakes and the Queen Elizabeth II Stakes. Rip Van Winkle has been the favorite only twice in eight career starts. He also will be running on a synthetic surface for the first time, so there will be bettors who have reservations about him on the surface.

Belmont Stakes and Travers champ Summer Bird should be…

Read More » Your Favorites to win the 2009 Breeders’ Cup Classic

Because you never really know what’ll happen until the fat lady sings.

And as far as the 2009 Breeders’ Cup Classic is concerned, the fat lady could be singing for these three thoroughbreds at the end of the day.

Yes, we’re going to take a closer look at them underdogs looking to make a name for themselves in the 2009 Breeders’ Cup World Thoroughbred Championships. Entries for the main event include Summer Bird at 6/1 odds, Gio Ponti at 9/1, Mastercraftsman and Twice Over both at 10/1, and Richard’s Kid at 18/1 odds. We’ll also have Colonel John, Mine That Bird, and Einstein at 20/1 odds, and Regal Ransom and Bullsbay at 25/1.

The three huge underdogs coming into this Saturday’s race are Girolamo at 30/1, and Chocolate Candy and Awesome Gem at 50/1. If you’re looking to win big this weekend, you better take a look at these thoroughbreds because each of ‘em just may have enough to steal it from the likes of Zenyatta and Summer Bird.

Girolamo, who recently won the Grade 2, $150,000 Jerome Handicap for 3-year-olds by 1 1/4 lengths at Belmont Park is owned by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum’s Godolphin Stable. Girolamo won for the third time in as many starts this year and fourth from six lifetime races.

Chocolate Candy, on the other hand, finished fifth in the Grade 1 Goodwood Stakes over 1 1/8 miles last month. Earlier this year, he won the Grade 3 El Camino Real Derby and California Derby at Golden Gate Fields.

Owned by Jenny Craig, Chocolate Candy is winless in…

Read More » Your Underdogs to steal the 2009 Breeders’ Cup Classic

The Breeders Cup World Championships is just a few days away.

Dubbed as one of the most prestigious events in horse racing, the 2009 Breeders’ Cup World Thoroughbred Championships will run run Friday, Nov. 6 through Saturday, Nov. 7 from Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, California.

The Breeders’ Cup annually attracts the best horses from North America and Europe. It is the richest prize-money event in sports, consisting of 14 races and purses totaling to $25.5 million. Once again, this year’s Breeders’ Cup will be highlighted by the 2009 Breeders’ Cup Classic, the feature race of the weekend.

Opening odds have listed Zenyatta as the favorite with 7/2 odds. Other favorites include Rip Van Winkle (5/1) and Summer Bird (6/1).

Zenyatta holds wins this year in the Milday Handicap, the Vanity Handicap, and the Clement L. Hirsch Handicap. Last June, Zenyatta won the Vanity Handicap at Hollywood Park for the second straight year. She carried 129 pounds, spotting her rivals 13 to 18 pounds, and became the first horse to win under such a weight assignment since 1977.

In 2008, she won it under 126 pounds.

On August 17, 2009 Zenyatta’s connections ruled out Pacific Classic Stakes at Del Mar on September 6. On October 10, she won her second Lady’s Secret in her same, come from behind fashion. Zenyatta will be looking to become the first filly to win the Breeders’ Cup Classic since its inception. Zenyatta won the Breeders’ Cup Ladies’ Classic in 2008, but has yet to run against males in her career.

Other big hitters include Rip Van Winkle, who carries a 4-1…

Read More » Betting on the 2009 Breeders’ Cup Classic

Yep, a lot of guys will be gunning for Mine That Bird this weekend.

In case you don’t know it yet, the 141st Belmont Stakes is on this weekend as the top horses in the country will be looking to win the last leg of this year’s Triple Crown trail and end the season on a high note.

With Rachel Alexandra out, Mine That Bird took over the reigns as the heavy favorite at Belmont Park. After all, he is the reigning Kentucky Derby champion and came an inch close from winning the Preakness as well.

However, there will be others looking to challenge the horse this weekend, one of which is Luv Gov. Named after disgraced former New York governor Eliot Spitzer, the horse was last seen making his stakes debut in the Preakness. He was never a factor in the race. He settled early at the back of the pack, got forced eight wide entering the stretch, and was only able to hold his ground as a few fast fading stragglers went past him in reverse.

He wound up eighth.

On the plus side, he never exerted any real effort in the race, so he’ll be reasonably fresh and ready for the Belmont.

Luv Gov is a homebred son of Ten Most Wanted. His first crop of foals are just three…

Read More » Can they beat Mine That Bird in 141st Belmont Stakes?

No, there won’t be any flying privates making any escapes this weekend.

What we are trying to imply here are two of the contenders looking to make a big impact on the 141st Belmont Stakes at Belmont Park this weekend. Yes, the hroses are named Flying Private and Miners Escape.

Flying Private continued an impressive move which saw him open at 25/1 before moving to 20/1 earlier this week and now to 16/1 where he currently resides. Flying Private finished fourth beaten 4 lengths in the Preakness for trainer D. Wayne Lukas, which ”just” qualifies as a sharp prep race with a Beyer Speed Figure of 102, not quite par but earns points for breaking 100.

Flying Private ran 4th in an optional claimer at Oaklawn for his 2009 debut, then was 2nd and 4th in similar races also at Oaklawn. Ran 2nd by a head in the Mountain Valley Stakes there then shipped to Turfway to run 2nd in the Lane’s End Stakes. Put in an even effort to finish 5th in the Arkansas Derby. In the Kentucky Derby, he was 5 wide on the first turn then stopped badly after 1 mile finishing 19th and last. In the Preakness he raced 10th early and put in a mild rally to finish 4th beaten 4 lengths.

On the negative side he has too many starts at both 2 and 3, lacks a stakes win…

Read More » Can Flying Private do a Miners Escape at Belmont Park?

Because you can’t really go wrong with a kickass name like Mr Hot Stuff.

The 141st Belmont Stakes is on this weekend as the final leg of this year’s Triple Crown trail will conclude the horse racing season. Unfortunately, we won’t be having a new Triple Crown champion.

What we have, however, is a jockey looking to win all three legs of the Triple Crown trail. That being Calvin Borel. He’ll be aboard Mine That Bird again with Rachel Alexandra ruling out of the race. Can Borel lead Mine That Bird to win at Belmont Park? Maybe, but we’ll still be rooting for Mr Hot Stuff.

Mr Hot Stuff didn’t get that nickname for nothing. The horse was a late developer. He first tried to break his maiden in October, but it took him four months and five tries to earn his first win. He followed that up with third place showings in two California stakes, the Sham and the Santa Anita Derby.

He finished behind three other Derby runners in those races; Take The Points, Pioneerof The Nile, and Chocolate Candy. Overall, he has faced some classy fields, but he has just the maiden win to show for it. He’d also raced exclusively on synthetic tracks up to the Derby, so we don’t yet have a sense of whether he has an aptitude for dirt.

In his last race, Mr Hot Stuff ran in the Kentucky Derby, but it was far from notable. He was squeezed and bumped repeatedly at the start, and that seemed to take the life out of him. He settled near the back of the pack, moved wide on the final turn, and didn’t show any interest in responding when he was asked to move in the stretch. Some horses just don’t take to the spectacle that is the Derby, and this was clearly one. He finished 15th and was never better than that.

Mr. Hot Stuff is typically at or near the back of…

Read More » Our pick for the 141st Belmont Stakes? Mr Hot Stuff. (Yup, we really like the horse’s name a lot…)

The final leg of this year’s Triple Crown race is finally here.

The final leg of the Triple Crown will be the 141st Belmont Stakes on June 6th, and sadly, there will be no rematch between Kentucky Derby winner Mine That Bird and Preakness winner Rachel Alexandra.

Rachel Alexandra (was 9/4 on the 2009 Belmont odds) has been withdrawn and two more horses have been added to the betting options.

There are a ton of quality horses with a chance at the title remaining in the race and this one could very well come down to the final wire with a photo finish being the only way to decide who takes home the 2009 Belmont Stakes title.

Kentucky Derby winner and Preakness runner-up Mine That Bird becomes an ever bigger favorite with the withdrawal of Rachel Alexandra. The three-year-old thoroughbred currently sits at 2/3 on the 2009 Belmont Stakes odds.

His runner-up finish at Pimlico earned him a 106 Beyer, his career best, and qualifies as a sharp prep and a stakes win this year to go with his Kentucky Derby victory. Although he has rallied from off the pace in the first two legs of the Triple Crown trail, he won using a stalking trip during his championship juvenile season in Canada so we awarded him the point for running style, as stalking the pace 1-5 lengths behind is preferable in the Belmont over front-runners or…

Read More » Can Mine That Bird win the 141st Belmont Stakes now that Preakness champ Rachel Alexandra is ruled out?

Apparently, BetUS.com thinks so.

Then again, they probably just want to squeeze out the last drop of money you might still have in you with the last leg of the Triple Crown series, that being the 141st Belmont Stakes, set this June 6 at Belmont Park in New York City.

So who the heck is this jockey BetUS.com is claiming to have a shot of winning the 2009 Triple Crown title?

In case you didn’t know, jockey Calvin Borel made a name for himself in this year’s Triple Crown trail after winning the Kentucky Derby riding Mine That Bird. Then, he surprised everyone when he decided to abandon the Derby champ and decided to ride Rachel Alexandra for the Preakness, a move many horse racing fans felt reckless and disloyal since he virtually abandoned a shot of winning the Triple Crown.

When Borel won the Preakness Stakes with Rachel Alexandra, those horse racing fans who were cursing at him for leaving Mine That Bird, all of a sudden, were singing a different tune and Borel was a hero again.

You really can’t blame them. After all, Calvin Borel just became the very first jockey to win the first two legs of the Triple Crown trail on different horses. If he stayed on top of Mine That Bird and won the Preakness Stakes, he would’ve been overshadowed by…

Read More » Can a Jockey win the 2009 Triple Crown Title?

Because we know some of you would rather watch a steaming pile of horseshit and like it.

If you are one of these people and if you’re wondering who to put your money on for the 134th Preakness Stakes at Pimlico Race Course, we have you covered. Of course, we don’t guarantee wins here but since you’re probably dumbfounded at this point, you need all the advice you can get.

While Mine That Bird resumes his quest to become the 2009 Triple Crown champion, the rest of the field will be looking to put an abrupt end on the horse’s Triple Crown trail. One of which is Papa Clem. And yes, there is a lot to like about the thoroughbred.

Papa Clem comes into the 2009 Preakness Stakes with odds that seem to indicate he’ll play a big part amongst top finishers in this race. The Kentucky Derby was a decent enough race for the three-year old and you should keep an eye out for this horse at the finish line because he has a legitimate shot of taking home the 134th Preakness Stakes title.

Papa Clem started off pretty slow with 6th and 5th place finishes at Maiden Special Weight races but has since turned it on quite a bit. In his last 5 starts, he has two 1st place finishes to go along with two 2nd place finishes. And after finishing at Churchill Downs fourth fastest, riding Papa Clem’s bandwagon could prove to be…

Read More » Is Papa Clem a good bet for the Preakness Stakes?

After all the rumors about these two missing the Preakness, it turns out that they’ll run after all.

The second leg of the Triple Crown trail will be held at the Pimlico Race Course where the 134th Preakness Stakes will be featured. Kentucky Derby champion Mine That Bird will, just like any other horse that won at Churchill Downs, look to win the second leg and be that closer from winning the Triple Crown. Of course, that’s easier said than done.

For those of you who didn’t know, Mine That Bird, despite winning the Kentucky Derby, wasn’t scheduled to run in Pimlico. The horse’s handlers felt that running the second leg of the trail won’t be ideal for the derby champion and they would rather skip the Preakness and run in New York for the Belmont Stakes instead, just like the horse’s dad.

On the other hand, Friesan Fire didn’t have the luxury to choose what race to skip. Just a few days after the Derby, the thoroughbred was found to be in bad shape after injuring his left front foot while coming out of the gates at Churchill Downs. Everybody thought the horse was a goner for sure and would be forced to miss the Preakness Stakes.

But since Friesan Fire WAS the heavy favorite to win the Derby, (before Mine that Bird came up with the flukiest win ever in horse racing…) and his handlers know how much money is at stake in the 2009 Triple Crown trail, they’re giving the thoroughbred the green light to run and probably injure his left front foot.

So who would you rather be riding on..?

Read More » Mine That Bird vs Friesan Fire in 134th Preakness Stakes