Tag: Race of the Day

Race of the Day: Amsterdam Stakes, July 31, 2022

The Amsterdam Stakes is typically one of Saratoga’s hidden gems in a meet full of phenomenal racing. In the last three years, Shancelot, Yaupon and Jackie’s Warrior have won the event and went on to become top-level sprinters. There may not be any world beaters in this year’s field, but there’s plenty on display to make it interesting.

The 2022 Amsterdam field features a lot of interesting handicapping angles and some decent prices on competitive runners. Many of the favorites are coming off of layoffs and the long shots aren’t out of it on paper, while one precocious gelding may end up being more dangerous than all of them. It may be the sort of race that’s a little too complex to consistently make money on, but it has more than enough to qualify as Sunday’s Race of the Day. Let’s take a look. read more

Race of the Day: Jim Dandy Stakes, July 30, 2022

It feels irresponsible to consider the Jim Dandy Stakes anything other than a premier horse race worthy of fans’ attention. The argument can be made that short fields are ruining horse racing and that the Race of the Day today is an uninteresting one, but I consider those arguments blasphemous.

Regarding complaints of a small field, I disagree with the notion that there aren’t enough horses to go around. That’s true at some tracks, but it’s an absurd thing to say about Saratoga. Yesterday’s Curlin Stakes featured a full field of nine three-year-olds at the same distance, including two Triple Crown runners and many more contenders. The problem isn’t a lack of competition; no one wants to run into a buzzsaw until they have to.  read more

Race of the Day: Curlin Stakes, July 29, 2022

Today’s Race of the Day is the Curlin Stakes at Saratoga, a restricted race for three-year-olds without a graded stakes win. It’s reminiscent of my Derby prep analyses from earlier this year and features some familiar faces, mostly Triple Crown rejects and runners looking to take a step forward this summer. It’s an exciting mix of talented horses and there are multiple angles worth examining closely.

Before we take a look, I feel the need to make a halfhearted apology. After rushing to publish yesterday’s Race of the Day on a tight schedule, I checked in later on to discover that all my work was in vain, as a sudden rainstorm in upstate New York took the event off the turf. I would fully apologize to my readers for giving them meaningless analysis, but I also feel compelled to hold my head high, as my top selection was apparently ready to go on both surfaces and won at 5-2.  You’re welcome? Let’s try to make it two in a row in the Curlin. read more

Race of the Day: Saratoga Optional Claiming, July 28, 2022

A job that I prepared to take on last night was delayed after I crashed, but the Race of the Day for July 28 is finally here! The choices today were a little sparse, as the only stakes race at Saratoga today is the Birdstone, a marathon on dirt dominated by Fearless and Lone Rock. Rather than state the obvious, I decided to look further down the card, and I’ve landed on a race I like.

This allowance optional claiming field is essentially in the same division as many of the runners who competed in the Colonial Cup, yesterday’s Race of the Day. I promise to branch out soon, but these turf races are very enjoyable to handicap and they’re sure to come up again. I hope readers are with me. read more

Race of the Day: Colonial Cup, July 27, 2022

I’ve tried this format in the past and I’m going to try it again. Stick with me. Nearly every time I open a racing form, I find a race that catches at least some of my attention. The problem is that I don’t always have time to play a full card and share my thoughts with Paddy’s Picks readers. So… Race of the Day.

In what I hope will be a consistent segment on the site, I’m going to provide analysis for a single race that caught my eye on that particular day. The horses will usually be classy, turf racing will come up often and oddities will be prioritized. You know, the usual on this website. read more

Race of the Day: Oaklawn Park, January 29, 2021

Contrary to popular belief, and sometimes to my own surprise, my coursework and extracurricular responsibilities at Fordham University actually take up a significant amount of my time. Another semester is about to begin, and for the past few days, I’ve been mulling over potential solutions to a nonexistent problem: How do I subject myself to increasingly stressful, soul-crushing life as a young adult while also finding time for my horse racing website?

This is the second of two solutions I came up with. The first is a historical series, of which I’ll be releasing the first episode later today. “Millenials Legends: The Brief Resurgence of the Superhorse” will tell the story of six star horses that took over the American dirt racing scene between 2014 and 2018. It’s an exciting longform endeavor that I look forward to preparing, but I needed something more causal to accompany it. That brought me to my second solution, the “Race of the Day,” which is exactly what it sounds like. read more