The Road to the Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve continues at Colonial Downs on Saturday with the $500,000 Virginia Derby, offering a total of 105 qualifying points on a 50-25-15-10-5 scale to the top five finishers.
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.”
A field of more than 1,000 handicappers descended on the Horseshoe Las Vegas for one final opportunity to earn a spot in the field for the 27th annual National Horseplayers Championship (NHC) in the NTRA Last Chance/First Chance tournament on Thursday, March 12. The contest winner was Michelle Mount of Glendora, Calif., who took home a first prize of $30,130 and qualified for the NHC main event starting on Friday.
Welcome to Noel Michaels’ Weekend Winners, the place to go for weekend best bets and spot plays from veteran handicapper and tournament-play pioneer Noel Michaels. Check back every week for a couple of highlighted selections designed to help you cash a few bets and make some money.
Quite a lot has changed on the future-book front for the Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve since the first edition of this blog for 2026 was published Jan. 15.
