Tag: Triple Crown

New Wave: Novice Handicappers Bet the 2021 Kentucky Derby

My apprentice handicappers have to have their say as well, especially on racing’s biggest day. For the Kentucky Derby, four of my friends continue to hone their craft and tackle one of the toughest events of the year. 

It may serve as more of a warmup for them as a very active summer of gambling approaches, and what better way to get going than a 20-horse stampede?

Niko Konstantellis

Horses That Have a Shot: Mandaloun, Medina Spirit, Hot Rod Charlie, Midnight Bourbon, Essential Quality, Rock Your World, Highly Motivated

Horses That Won’t Win: Like the King, Keepmeinmind, Sainthood, O Besos, Dynamic One, Hidden Stash, Bourbonic, Soup and Sandwich

My Pick

Rock Your World and Midnight Bourbon create a bad trip for Essential Quality, his first bad trip ever.  Essential Quality is the favorite for a reason and will get out in the front of the pack but will be beaten today.  Rock Your World got the nod from jockey Joel Rosario and he’s getting the nod from me today.   read more

The Casual Bet: 2021 Kentucky Derby “Analysis”

The Casual Bet is one of my favorite articles on big race days, and there’s no bigger day than the Kentucky Derby. Regulars and newcomers alike come together here to bet on instincts, hunches and an unparalleled amount of enthusiasm. On a day that especially appeals to fans and experts alike, their perspectives truly capture the essence of horse racing.

Paddy’s Picks 2021 Kentucky Derby Preview

I know what you’re all here for. At this point, I would usually take this opportunity to talk about the Kentucky Derby, its meaning to horse racing and its deep roots in American culture. But I’m approaching the end of another semester in college here, and to be honest, I’m a little fatigued. 

After months of building up hype for Fordham Athletics, which I dutifully cover for The Fordham Observer, I’m finally covering an event that needs no introduction. This is the Kentucky Derby, the Run For The Roses, the Most Exciting Two Minutes in Sports. To try to excite my audience about this race would be to pour a bucket of stagnant water into a river. So for once, I’m not going to wax poetic about the feats of Secretariat or Tom Durkin or Hunter S. Thompson. All that came yesterday. Now is the time to analyze some horses. Welcome back folks. read more

Derby Sommelier: Finding a Derby For Every Fan’s Taste

There are no uneventful runnings of the Kentucky Derby, and even if there were, the event would never be such a monumental waste of time that a viewer could be angry about it. Baseball fans can gripe when 20 or more hours of buildup results in an anticlimactic World Series sweep, and any amount of time watching a Super Bowl featuring Tom Brady passes like dental surgery for football fans in New York. The greatest event on the horse racing calendar is two minutes long, and it’s often filled with more excitement than some sporting events fit into hours or days. It’s perfect. read more

Can Gamine Beat the Law?

This past weekend, in a world desperately wandering from distraction to distraction in a particularly dark time, Belmont Park provided, as it always does for those in need.  However, as the day came to a close, only two horses remained on the minds of many as they begrudgingly flipped the channel back to the news.

Before the tenth race, all six NYRA handicappers selected three-year-old colt Tiz the Law to win the Belmont Stakes. At 4-5, he entered as one of the heaviest Belmont favorites of the decade, tied with California Chrome and Justify while only entering the gate five cents behind American Pharoah. All three of them were contending for the Triple Crown, while he was merely entering the first leg. There was a world of expectations for him, but he lived up to the hype. read more