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?

For the second time in this year’s Triple Crown trail, one horse is pulling the entire ”to run or not to run” fiasco on horse racing fans.

Yup, after Mine That Bird hinted that he’ll be missing the second leg of the Triple Crown, that being the Preakness Stakes, after winning the Kentucky Derby, it is now Rachel Alexandra’s turn to pull the same sick joke because after winning the Preakness, she is flirting with a NO SHOW for the 141st Belmont Stakes on June 6.

How come? Well, for some reason, Rachel Alexandra has her owners wondering if getting her to run at Belmont Park would still be necessary considering that the quest for the Triple Crown this year is once again, gone, after Mine That Bird failed to win the second leg at Pimlico.

Rachel Alexandra’s owner Jess Jackson feels getting the filly to compete for the 2009 Belmont Stakes is unnecessary considering that she wasn’t suppose to run for the Preakness Stakes anyway and since Rachel Alexandra already proved that she can run with the big boys when the filly won the Preakness, there’s not much to prove anything else on June 6.

”What else does she have to prove?” Jess Jackson said. ”The Preakness was a gamble. We don’t have to gamble anymore.”

Jackson claims that Rachel Alexandra, despite the stunning win at Pimlico…

Read More » Rachel Alexandra not running in 141st Belmont Stakes?

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

In case you haven’t heard, one of the biggest events in the horse racing calendar is set this Saturday.

And in case you have no idea what that is, it’s the 134th Preakness Stakes, the second leg of the three-legged race for the Triple Crown title. You see, the Triple Crown is horse racing’s Holy Grail since winning all three races of the series is not a walk in the park. And if you’re wondering, we haven’t had a Triple Crown champ for quite a while.

But since Mine That Bird won the first leg, that automatically makes him the prime and ONLY candidate to become the new Triple Crown champion. You can bet your ass that there will be a lot of people rooting for this thoroughbred once the gates are opened at the Pimlico Race Course.

And while the rest of the field prepare to stop Mine That Bird from his 2009 Triple Crown bid, there are some horses out there that were initially primed to run at Pimlico but were later canned.

One of which is West Side Bernie. Handled by trainer Kelly Breen and owned by Bernstein, West Side Bernie is a multiple Irish Group 3-winning son of Storm Cat who was unplaced in his only start beyond a mile in the 2000 River City H. (G3).

Another no-show in the Preakness Stakes is Mr. Hot Stuff. The thoroughbred boasts a strong pedigree for 1 1/4 miles. His sire, $6.4 million earner and 2009 Hall of Fame inductee Tiznow, scored all of his most notable victories at…

Read More » More No-Shows in the 134th Preakness Stakes

The second leg of the Triple Crown trail is this weekend and right now, I’m not liking the Derby champion’s chances.

While people who have a thing for the dramatic will likely root for Mine That Bird in the 134th Preakness Stakes at the Pimlico Race Course, these guys better realize that the Derby champ is really not that good of a bet if you’re looking to earn a lot of dough during the weekend.

You see, while Mine That Bird had an amazing run at Churchill Downs, the horse is just not that good of a contender on paper. And while some of the horse’s handlers believe that they have a shot of winning the 2009 Triple Crown title, they know deep down inside that their win at Churchill Downs was the flukiest win to ever transpire in the sport of horse racing.

So if Mine That Bird won’t win at Pimlico, who will? In case you haven’t realized it yet, we have a lot of contenders lined up for the Preakness that are solid choices to win the second leg of the Triple Crown trail. The obvious choice is of course, Mine That Bird’s nemesis Friesan Fire. The heavy favorite to win the Kentucky Derby, the horse had a somewhat problematic start out of the gates at Churchill Downs, leading to a disappointing 18th place finish. On the positive side, he has run a triple digit Beyer, a 104 in the Louisiana Derby, is exiting the Kentucky Derby, has made 4 starts this year…

Read More » The 2009 Triple Crown Trail continues, who can stop Mine That Bird in the 134th Preakness Stakes?

I have no idea why we’re wasting our time on some horses you can’t bet on.

But since we are, and if you are looking forward for this weekend’s running of the 134th Preakness Stakes at the Pimlico Race Course, then you’re probably reading this anyway.

And if you go this far, we will be bringing to ya’ll the thoroughbreds that won’t be able to challenge Mine That Bird and stop him in his bid for the triple Crown title.

Horse racing fans have been looking forward for the second leg of the 2009 Triple Crown trail ever since we saw Mine That Bird came up with that fluke win at Churchill Downs. The second leg, that’s the 2009 Preakness Stakes, will run in Baltimore, Md., at the Pimlico Race Course on May 16.

And while some people will probably root for Mine That Bird this weekend, one horse who won’t be having the same luxury is Mr. Fantasy.

Winner of the Gr. 3 Withers Stakes on April 25 at Aqueduct in only his fourth start, the son of El Dubai was taken off the Derby trail after a disappointing third-place finish in the Gotham Stakes in March. He regrouped in the 1-mile Withers Stakes and showed his affinity for shorter distances.

Another horse who won’t be seeing the light of day in Pimlico is This Ones For Phil. Florida-bred This Ones For Phil kicked off his…

Read More » Horses that will miss the 134th Preakness Stakes