Tom Pedulla presents five key takeaways from the $1 million Jockey Club Derby Invitational at Belmont Park, the Ricoh Woodbine Mile at Woodbine Racetrack, and other major developments this past weekend:
For the fifth 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 Breeders’ Cup World Championships. The handicappers face off in what we like to call the “Big Race Showdown.”
Believe it or not, it’s time to start thinking about the Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve once again. Saturday’s Grade 3 Iroquois Stakes for 2-year-olds at Churchill Downs starts the long and winding road to the run for the roses, with the top four finishers earning 10-4-2-1 points that could come in handy next year on the first Saturday in May.
Another year, another summer, another exciting race meet at Saratoga Race Course in the books.
As usual, “the Spa” was a steady source of high-class juvenile racing from July through early September. Over the course of eight weeks, we saw a seemingly countless number of promising 2-year-olds take center stage, both in graded stakes and ordinary maiden races.
