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 $300,000 Gotham Stakes on Saturday at Aqueduct, the $400,000 Coolmore Fountain of Youth Stakes on Saturday at Gulfstream Park, and the $300,000 DK Horse San Felipe Stakes on Sunday at Santa Anita Park. All three races are Road to the Kentucky Derby qualifying races that offer points to the top five finishers on a 50-25-15-10-5 scale. 

The Gotham will be televised during Saturday’s “America’s Day at the Races” show along with other races from Aqueduct and Oaklawn Park. The Fountain of Youth will be showcased on NBC Sports’ 1/ST Racing Tour series during a Saturday program that starts at 5 p.m. ET airing on CNBC. The show will also be streamed live on Peacock. All three races will be shown live on FanDuel TV.