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. Noel's selections have been featured just about everywhere horse racing picks can be found, including in print in the Daily Racing Form, The HorsePlayer Magazine and American Turf Monthly, online at DRF.com, Twinspires.com and USRacing.com, from the paddock on-track at Arlington International Racecourse, and on the air on HRTV, TVG, NYC OTB Extra, NYRA's Talking Horses, and on broadcast TV on WAVE-3 Louisville, ABC KOLO-8 in Reno, Nevada, and channel 72 Long Island Cablevision.

Six Beginner Betting Tools

1. Start simple with an easy guide for how to bet on horse racing.
2. Not sure what that word means? Horse racing terminology is a language of its own. Allow us translate for you
3. What the heck is a speed figure? This beginner’s guide to speed figures has everything you need to know.
4. Betting on horse racing can be intimidating. Team ABR put together some Dos and Don’ts for the new fan getting started betting on racing.
5. We all make mistakes when it comes to betting on horse racing, here are eight lessons learned from experience.
6. Figure out how much each bet will cost in advance with our Gambling Calculator, presented by NYRA Bets.

Saturday, Dec. 20

Saturday is Fair Grounds’ “Road to the Derby Kickoff Day” with the $100,000 Gun Runner Stakes being the next official prep race on the Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve trail. The Gun Runner Stakes is the feature race amongst four stakes races on the 12-race Fair Grounds program on Saturday. For this weekend’s winners, let’s take a crack at two of the stakes races on the Fair Grounds program including the Gun Runner Stakes and the turf feature on the card, the $100,000 Buddy Diliberto Memorial Stakes. If we can pick the winners of these two excellent Saturday races, we will be well on our way to a successful day at the Fair Grounds. Best of luck.

Fair Grounds, Race 9, $100,000 Buddy Diliberto Memorial Stakes, post time 5:45 p.m. ET

The Buddy Diliberto Memorial has drawn a quality field of nine older horses set to race 1 1/16 miles on the grass and it’s a great race because you can make a case for seven or eight of the entrants. One of the longest shots on the board in this field is #8 Idratherbeblessed, who looms a legitimate contender at 12-1 odds on the morning line. He got a comeback prep race under his belt last time off nearly a five-month break and will have a chance to return to best form in this second race off the layoff. He’s already a Grade 2 winner on this turf course from last season when he won the Muniz Memorial Classic Stakes Presented by Horse Racing Nation back in March, and his losses this past April and May came when he stretched out too far to 1 ½ miles. Idratherbeblessed will show speed and can go call the way at this better 1 1/16-mile distance for trainer Chris Hartman. Hartman is off to a fast start at this meet with four wins with his first eight starters. #2 Kupuna didn’t even appear to be a turf horse until his last race when he switched to the grass off the claim by trainer Norm Casse. He exploded to score a fast turf mile win at Churchill Downs with a strong speed figure, and while this race will be a tougher spot, you certainly have to like what you saw last time. Finally, if you like Idratherbeblessed, you also should include #9 Gigante on your exacta and trifecta tickets. Gigante and Idratherbeblessed squared off on three occasions here at Fair Grounds last season and Gigante won two of those races including this same stakes race a year ago.

The Play: Bet on #8 Idratherbeblessed (12-1) to win and play him in exacta and trifecta boxes along with #2 Kupuna (7-2), and #9 Gigante (3-1).

Fair Grounds, Race 11, $100,000 Gun Runner Stakes, post time 6:45 p.m. ET

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The Gun Runner Stakes drew a field of eight soon-to-be 3-year-olds ready to run 1 1/16 miles for Kentucky Derby qualifying points and a purse of $100,000. It’s another good betting race with a competitive field and if you ask five different people for their picks you might get five different answers. Let’s chime into the discussion with a pick on #2 Chip Honcho for trainer Steve Asmussen, who also trained this race’s namesake Gun Runner. Chip Honcho ran a solid career debut effort for second going seven furlongs at Keeneland behind the speedy Dr. Kapur, who came back to finish sixth in last month’s Grade 2 Kentucky Jockey Club Stakes at Churchill Downs. Chip Honcho stretched out last time and got the win at a mile in the slop with a gate-to-wire performance after setting completely legitimate fractions. He looms a threat to go all the way in this race around two turns with a similar type of effort. The big X-factor here is #5 Crown the Buckeye, an Ohio-bred apparent monster based on his back-to-back state-bred stakes wins in his last two races by a combined margin of 16 ½ lengths. He won easily at the distance last time with a stalking trip and seems fast enough to beat this field despite the fact this will be his first outing against open company. Mike Maker trains and Jareth Loveberry, who won aboard the horse last time, has the mount. #3 Liberty National is the morning-line favorite based on a big Churchill Downs maiden win last time out. He was soundly beaten by Chip Honcho when the pair met two races ago at Keeneland, but Liberty National flashed enough ability when stretched out to this route distance to at least deserve a spot in exactas and trifectas.

The Play: Bet on #2 Chip Honcho (9-2) to win and play him in exacta and trifecta boxes along with #3 Liberty National (7-2), and #5 Crown the Buckeye (5-1).