For the eighth year in a row, America’s Best Racing is challenging some of the brightest minds in horse betting to come up with their top three picks for key races every weekend leading up to the 2024 Triple Crown and then continuing through the 2024 Breeders’ Cup World Championships. The handicappers face off in what we like to call the “Big-Race Showdown.”

The players’ picks will be posted here and a running bankroll will be kept to track their success all year long. Bankrolls will be tabulated on the basis of $2 exacta and $2 trifecta box bets of each player’s top three selections. We will also be keeping track of which player correctly selects the most winners.

Your players for the 2024 Big Race Showdown season are Edison Hatter (In The Money Media Podcast Host & Track Announcer), Thomas Kearney (Track Announcer, Shenandoah Downs), Ashley Mailloux (freelance racing analyst), Jessica Paquette (Racecaller for Parx Racing, Thoroughbred Retirement Foundation), John Piassek (Communications Manager, Maryland Horse Breeders Association),  Roberto Rodriguez (El Potro Roberto, DRF en Espanol), Mike Somich (VSiN Host; The Magic Mike Show – The Racing Dudes), Darwin Vizcaya (Handicapper and Host), Rowan Ward (Chartcaller at Hawthorne Race Track and a Freelance Writer), and Alexa Zepp (Handicapper, DRF).

This week’s Big-Race Showdown races are: the $400,000 Fair Grounds Oaks Presented by Fasig-Tipton Saturday at Fair Grounds, the $700,000 Jeff Ruby Steaks Saturday at Turfway Park, and the $1 millions Twinspires.com Louisiana Derby Saturday at Fair Grounds. The Fair Grounds Oaks is a qualifying points race for the 150th Longines Kentucky Oaks May 3 at Churchill Downs, while the Jeff Ruby Steaks and the Louisiana Derby both are qualifying races for the 150th Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve May 4.

The Louisiana Derby and Jeff Ruby Steaks will both be televised on CNBC and streamed on Peacock during a one-hour show as part of NBC Sports’ Road to the Kentucky Derby series. The show will air from 6 p.m.-7 p.m. ET. All three races will also be shown live on FanDuel TV along with other stakes races from Fair Grounds and Turfway Park and action from Gulfstream Park, Santa Anita Park, and many other tracks as per their usual comprehensive schedule.