Month: December 2022

Building A Super: 2022 Malibu Stakes w/ Kristina Stevanovic & Niko Konstantellis

Santa Anita, Race 10                                                                   

Malibu Stakes (G1) for Three-Year-Olds and Upward, Seven Furlongs on the Dirt

Welcome back one and all to a holiday edition of the Paddy’s Picks Podcast! Today, we’ll be looking at the G1 Malibu Stakes at Santa Anita in a slightly altered format. After speaking to an army of contributors for this year’s Breeders’ Cup and enjoying the process immensely, I received an idea from guest Kristina Stevanovic, who suggested that a few people should return someday to put together a superfecta live for listeners. In other words, come to an agreement on a bet that includes the four horses that we believe will finish first, second, third and fourth in the race. I’ll be doing just that with her help, along with Niko Konstantellis, another longtime Paddy’s Picks contributor. For those of you who were expecting fellow Fordham alum George McKnight to join as well, that was the plan at one point but he unfortunately had to cancel at the last minute. The quartet became a trio but we eventually came to an agreement after some bickering. Please enjoy. read more

A Look Back: Reviewing Guest Picks for the 2022 Cigar Mile

Who wants an introduction? This article is nearly 9,000 words long and it’s taken me two weeks to put together, but if an introduction is what you all want, then I’m more than happy to provide. I wish I could hear all of you clamoring.

As is always the case in these guest articles, I asked too many people to pick the winner of a high-profile horse race. I introduce them, they make a pick and explain, and then I either dole out quaint praise or hard-hitting criticism. This time, it was the G1 Cigar Mile at Aqueduct, an excellent dirt race that lived up to the hype despite a short field. read more

Race of the Day: 2022 G1 Cigar Mile Analysis

This year’s Cigar Mile at Aqueduct Racetrack will likely be the last big race on the New York racing calendar in 2022, as the track eventually makes way for claiming races and subpar allowances for a time. 

A slate of Derby preps early next year should bring back some exciting competition as they always do, but until then, bettors with a preference for class may find themselves starved for a while in the Northeast. Let’s take advantage of the time we have.

This year’s Cigar Mile didn’t draw many runners, as the scratch of O Besos brings the field down to six. But it’s a solid sextet with a few key storylines between them, as some runners look to finish their three-year-old seasons strong against some salty older horses. read more