For the 10th 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 2026 Triple Crown and then continuing through the 2026 Breeders’ Cup World Championships at Keeneland. 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 2026 Big Race Showdown season are Thomas Kearney (Track Announcer, Shenandoah Downs), Ashley Mailloux (Freelance Racing Analyst), NoelMichaels (Racing Analyst, Tournament Handicapper), Jessica Paquette (Racecaller for Parx Racing, Thoroughbred Retirement Foundation), John Piassek (Assistant Racing Secretary, Yonkers Raceway),  Roberto Rodriguez (El Potro Roberto, DRF en Espanol), Darwin Vizcaya (Handicapper and Host), and Rowan Ward (Chartcaller at Hawthorne Race Track and a Freelance writer).

This week’s Big-Race Showdown races are: the $1 million Curlin Florida Derby Presented by Hill ‘n’ Dale Farms at Xalapa, the marquee qualifier at Gulfstream Park for the Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve; and the $1.5 million Arkansas Derby, the track’s fourth and final qualifying race for the Kentucky Derby. Both races offer a total of 200 points to the top five finishers toward reserving a spot in the Derby starting gate, distributed on a 100-50-25-15-10 basis.

The 75^th Florida Derby will be broadcast live on NBCSN and streamed on Peacock during a one-hour show that’s part of NBC Sports’ 1/ST Racing Tour, with a post time set for 6:42 p.m. ET. FanDuel TV will also televise the Florida Derby along with the rest of a stacked Saturday card at Gulfstream including nine other stakes. The 90^th Arkansas Derby will also be showcased on FOX Sports as part of “America’s Day at the Races” Saturday afternoon along with other races from Oaklawn Park and Aqueduct. FanDuel TV also will show the Arkansas Derby, which has a post time set for 7:48 p.m. ET.