On an obscure afternoon last August, I was exhausted and couldn’t have been happier. My family had made the annual early morning drive from Long Island to Saratoga Springs, New York. The drive upstate had brought me from a couch in Oceanside to the gleaming white fence surrounding the paddock at Saratoga Racecourse, and I considered it a significant improvement in scenery. As I watched the horses walk around in preparation for the fourth race that day, an old man walked up to me and struck up a conversation.
Month: July 2020
Saratoga Analysis: Thursday, July 16, 2020
I hope everyone made some money at Belmont. It’s that time of year again for bettors to roll those profits right into some impossible races upstate at Saratoga, the single most competitive track in the country. This is a lovely opening day with the Schuylerville (G3) and Peter Pan (G3) serving as a sort of double feature. No one will be able to make the pilgrimage upstate this year, but racing continues all the same.
Belmont Analysis: Sunday, July 12, 2020
This is a fair day of racing, and the weather is much improved, so Paddy’s Picks is returning to Belmont today. Let’s take a look at an occasionally interesting card.
Keeneland Analysis: Saturday, July 11
This Saturday card in Kentucky is so much more than a Kentucky Derby prep race. Yes, the winner of the G1 Blue Grass Stakes will earn a one-way ticket to The Most Exciting Two Minutes in Sports. But in addition to that epic feature race, a favored filly sparring with the boys, there are five other graded stakes to discuss. Some of the best horses in the country will be facing off today on two different surfaces and every distance imaginable. If you’re playing Belmont today with a tropical storm warning in effect, then I’d suggest you change the channel. Let’s get into it.
Belmont Analysis: Friday, July 10, 2020
If I were to identify an ordinary day at Belmont, this would be the card. There’s nothing too special scheduled, but it’s still a perfectly acceptable card to pass some time with should you have the day to mull it over.
Belmont Analysis: Thursday, July 9, 2020
As Thursday cards go, this one was actually rather interesting, with a variety of different races all providing competitive fields. If anyone happens to find the time, I recommend they give it a look.
Belmont Analysis: Sunday, July 5, 2020
This card begins with some awful racing, but progressively improves throughout the day. After a chalky Saturday, many handicappers are still looking for that long shot to make their weekend, and there’s no better place to find one than in the cellar of New York racing.
Belmont Analysis: Saturday, July 4, 2020
Handicappers can celebrate the Fourth of July in style this year at Belmont with this stacked Saturday card. Every stakes race later in the day has its own narrative playing into season championships, and the names should become pretty familiar as this star-studded card progresses.
Belmont Analysis: Friday, July 3, 2020
Tomorrow’s card at Belmont is the one most worth playing, but this is a fairly inoffensive card for hardcore handicappers to peruse on a long holiday weekend.
For many years now, July 3 has been a designated Belmont day on my calendar, and a fun one at that. Today, one of my friends and handicapping mentors celebrates his birthday, and like so many that read this blog, his idea of the perfect day is one spent playing the horses with his friends and family in the backyard at Belmont. Unfortunately, we’re unable to celebrate this year as we usually do, but if he’s watching at home, I’d like to wish him luck. Hopefully there are some jazzy selections that get him jumping, today and for many years hereafter. Let’s take a look at the card.
Belmont Analysis: Thursday, July 2, 2020
This card starts off like a typical Thursday card, but there are some races later in the day that I actually look forward to watching. This is the beginning of a very exciting holiday weekend at the races.