Weekend Winners Club

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Kentucky Downs has the largest average purse sizes in North America

September 2023 Thoroughbred Horse Racing Stakes Calendar for North America, Japan, and Britain.

Kentucky Downs will have $16.2 million in purse money for stakes races alone, and another few mil after that.

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Del Mar and Saratoga will kick off the month and then close, giving way to big stakes racing at Kentucky Downs, Churchill Downs, and some good racing at Parx and Delaware, et al.

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September 2023 Thoroughbred Horse Racing Stakes Calendar NTRA and JRA

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August 2023 Thoroughbred Stakes Racing Calendar for North America and Japan has been updated at the beginning of August.  There are 7 Breeders’ Cup qualifying races this month as the BC trail heats up.

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High stakes racing epicenters for this month are of course at Del Mar and Saratoga.  But with 230 stakes races scheduled, there is lots of great stakes racing all around the continent from Emerald to Gulfstream.

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Get the Grid for all these tracks and races here!

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August 2023 Thoroughbred Stakes Racing Calendar: NTRA and JRA

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Saturday, July 22.  Monmouth will host multiple stakes races including the coveted Grade 1 Haskell Stakes and Grade 1 United Nations.  There are over 130 horses slated to run on 14 race card beginning at 12PM ET.

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Monmouth Park

First, get today’s free grid to follow along.

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R12 5:45ET 9f D Haskell-G1 3 YO

The short field is headlined by 3 strong virtual co-favorites.

Arabian Knight (5-2) undefeated in all 2 races including the Southwest G3, staying with Bob Baffert, who has a great record in this race.

Mage (3-1) the Kentucky Derby winner coming off 3rd in the Preakness, giving Delgado his best trainee ever.

Tapit Trice (3-1) comes off the highest PF with the Belmont 3rd and is this year’s Blue Grass G1 winner for Pletcher.

Others to watch out for:

Salute the Stars (8-1) out of a stakes win at Monmouth for Brad Cox.

Geaux Rocket Ride (9-5) is also a stakes winner for Mandella.

Extra Anejo (5-1) has won 2 of 3 for Steve Asmussen.

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R11 5:06ET 11f T UnitdNtn-G1 3 UP

You can go with the chalk all day here, but won’t win much. My top long shot is So High at 30-1, try to integrate this old gelding into your exotics so you can get paid more than $10.

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You can get THE GRID for all your favorite tracks and races here. 

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Saturday, June 3, 2023.  Churchill Downs continues to host some great racing, 4 weeks after the fabled Kentucky Derby weekend.  On Saturday, 6 stakes races including 4 G3’s, worth $225k in purse money each, will join the other 5 races for a race day worth $1.73 million in payouts.  Churchill has labeled this Stephen Foster Preview Day, as several of these will be preps for that race day July 1.

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Stakes races on the card:

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First post is 12:45ET and the slew of 5 stakes races begins at 2.45PM with the Regret, and the beginning of the all-stakes Pick 4.   The Pick 5 will begin in race 4, and the Pick 6 in race 6.  Weather is set to be sunny and hot in Louisville today.

Churchill Downs

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Let’s break down some of the stakes action and try to develop some long shot specials. To follow along, get today’s Free Grid which will also help you make your own picks.

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R5 2:45ET 9f T Regret-G3 3 YO F

Regrettably, this year’s Regret suffers from a short field and heavy co-favorites, the top 3 in the field.

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R6 3:18ET 6f D AristidesL225k 4 UP

This suffers from even a shorter field, with no entry over 5-1, but it’s wide open, with all but Strava having a chance to win.

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R7 3:50ET 9f T Audubon-L225k 3 YO

The field of 7 3yo’s is headlined by a stakes winning Webslinger for Casse, and Sharar, who has been transferred to Todd but has never raced outside of Meydan, where he won his last 2. My favorite longshot is probably the 4 at 20-1, since he could explode on turf.

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R8 4:22ET 8.5f D Shawnee–G3 4 UP FM

Favored Frost Point here looks very strong after winning 3 in a row including 2 stakes, and the rest of the exotics likely completed by the other single digit entries.  The 3 double digits don’t look too promising except for my LSS#1 at 20-1 with 2^nd in LP.

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R9 4:55ET 8.5f T Arlngtn-G3 4 UP

More chalk. It’s the top 2 ML choices followed by a wheel all.

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R10 5:26ET 9f D Blame-G3 4 UP

The favorite comes off two straight G3 wins and won 3 of his 4 Derbies last year including the American Derby here at CD. He will want the pace to set up for him though, which is questionable since there aren’t any true frontrunners. But they will still have to beat his lowest PF on his last 4 of this distance which is 94.  Only 4 others are capable of doing that, and yes I include Santin, although I assume there’s a legitimate reason he doesn’t race on dirt.

That’s all we got for today on Churchill.  Remember, Lone Star has a big card today and Evangeline kicks off its Louisiana Legends night card at 630ET and will run 6 Legends stakes races.

Get the Grid for all your favorite tracks and races here!

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The June 2023 Horse Racing Schedule includes all NTRA stakes racing in the United States and Canada, graded stakes for the JRA in Japan, and the graded races at the Royal Ascot meet.

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Belmont Park will be the epicenter of racing the second week end of June with over 14 stakes races, 12 graded.

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Belterra, Penn, Evangeline, and Lone Star kick off the opening weekend of June, joining with Churchill for 27 total stakes races.  Belterra will also close out the month with the last 2 stakes races on 29-30 June.

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Belmont will light up its 3 tracks with 14 stakes races the second weekend of June, and 23 total for the month, Churchill will have 18 stakes races scattered throughout the month. .

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The legendary Royal Ascot meet will be the focus of the Tbred world in late June, hosting 22 graded stakes races from 20-24 June.

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June 2023 Thoroughbred Stakes Schedule for NTRA, JRA, and Ascot

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Get the Grid for all your favorite tracks and races here!

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Thursday, May 18, 2023.  Pimlico is heading into its biggest weekend of the year, featuring Saturday evening’s coveted 2^nd jewel of the Triple Crown, the Grade 1 Preakness Stakes, which will be run at about 6:50PM after 9 other stakes races, 4 graded.

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But to kick things off on Friday, we have 6 stakes races including 3 graded contests including the Miss Preakness G3 for 3yo fillies, and the Pimlico Special  G3 for all 3 and up.  The Black-Eyed Susan G2, also for 3yo fillies, will headline the excellent 14 race card.

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Racing on Friday  begins at 11:30AM and the stakes contests begin at 3:36PM with The Very One.  Weather should be very pleasant with high around 74 both Fri and Sat and virtually no chance of rain.  We’re going to break down the Preakness and Friday’s stakes races. Follow the Grid Snapshot here.

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R9 3:36ET 5f T The VryOne B100k 3 UP FM

You can forget 7 Golden Effect, she’s main track only, which won’t happen, this will stay on grass.  A 5f race is usually over before you know it, and the focus has to be on early speed. Thus it’s difficult to look past the 6 horses that actually run with any kind of early speed.

You can see who they arer, the E’s and EP’s. 3 of them have short odds and 3 do not. We focus on not.

4 has good 6-1 ML odds and won a 5f here 3 races ago posting that 91.

1 at 15-1 tries turf again, which wasn’t bad last time out, losing by only 1 length. Long shot special!

11 at 15-1 had success again cutting back to 5f, and won the GPH last out. LSS alert!

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R10 4:07ET 6f D MsPrekns-G3 3 YO F

Contrary to the name, this race is NOT the filly equivalent of the Preakness and at 6f it goes by much faster around the one turn. Yes, speed often holds up at Pimlico, but you may be surprised to know that in sprints here, the midpack runners usually dominate. We have 3 E types and 5 early runners total.

The 2 favorites indeed look formidable, with the 2 filly winning 2 straight, and the 6, which should be the favorite, undefeated in 3 impressive races.  But you may want to try a tri, or suppose a super.

4 at 8-1 won at 2^nd asking, first on a dry track last out at 7f posting a 91. Irad up. LSS alert!

The two longest shots, 3 or 7, could even figure in.

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R11 4:38ET 8f T HilltopB100k 3 YO F

On the surface, this race does look like a chalk fest. But let me use a little logic on you here.

1 at 2-1 ML has a great trainer and won a stakes race her 3^rd time out.

6 at 20-1 beat the 1, two races back at about 8.3f.  Different surface, who cares. She can do turf too.

3 at 8-1 is undefeated in two and the higher priced of the Chad Brown pair.

10 at 12-1 ML won at 2^nd asking last out and posted the 2^nd highest turf PF on the board.

12 at 30-1 actually has the highest EP and high PF on the board, 2 races ago at Parx.  Super LSS alert!!

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R12 5:10ET 9.5f D PimSpcl-G3 3 UP 

This is the 2^nd most historic race at Pimlico, begun in 1938 as the famous match race between Seabiscuit and War Admiral.  If you haven’t read the book or watched the movie, do yourself a favor.  If not, at least look it up online and watch the epic race.

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In this year’s edition, it’s tough to look past the two favorites for the exacta, but it does take 3 to make a tri and 4 to make a super if you want to, key, wheel, or box something together.

5 Cooke Creek at 10-1 has a great running style for this

7 Speed Bias at 8-1 is the only one with QP of 8 and will hope for a speed bias.

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R13 5:44ET 9f D BlkEySsn-G2 3 YO F

This is the filly equivalent of the Preakness, run ½ furlong shorter at 9f.  An excellent field of 12 fillies are slated for this contest, and although there is only one true frontrunner, 10 of the 12 have QP of 5 or above.  There may not be a speed duel but it will be crowded at the front.

I do expect Baffert’s favored filly Faiza, undefeated in 5 including 4 graded stakes and the Santa Anita Oaks G1 last out, to get a good ride by Prat and be in great position to take off at the end.

Todd’s pair:  5 is 1^st in LP at 15-1; 6 at 10-1 is 2^nd in Power

It’s also hard not to consider the 1, GP Oaks runner up and S4 running style.

So after the favorite, which almost certainly will figure in, there are a lot of options here.

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Alas, let’s fast forward for a preview of Saturday’s big race, the Preakness.

R13 7:01ET 9.5f D Preaknes-G1 3 YO 

After all the hype before the post draw, we are stuck with another short field of 8, which is average for the Preakness. And, the chalk looks very strong, especially the favorite, who in this rare instance, is the only Kentucky Derby runner in the race.

3 Mage 8-5 was 2^nd only to heavy Kentucky Derby favorite Forte in the Fla Derby, and 2^nd to none in KY.

8 First Mission 5-2 comes off a Lexington G3 win in his 3^rd lifetime start for the red hot Cox barn.

1 National Treasure 4-1 has hit the board in 4 straight graded stakes for Baffert.

But I want to make the case for a couple long shots to join the superfecta.

10 Red Route One 10-1 has the 4^th highest PF, scored last out in an Oaklawn Stakes (Asmussen)

6 Perform 15-1 came back from a stumbled start to win the Tesio last month for Shoog.

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That’s all we’re gonna cover for today. Stay tuned for more Preakness day coverage tomorrow.

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Get the full Grid for the Preakness and Pimlico all day Friday and Saturday here.

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Good luck!

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May 2023. The thoroughbred horse racing stakes schedule includes all the stakes races scheduled in the continent of North America, and the graded stakes in Japan.

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Pimlico is the focal point for the 2nd half of May, boasting 15 stakes races over their prized Preakness and Black Eyed Susan weekend May 19-20.

Preakness Stakes at Pimlico

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May 2023 Thorougbred Stakes Schedule for North America and Japan

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Get the Grid for Pimlico, the Preakness, and all your favorite tracks and races here!

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Saturday, April 29.

Golden Gate has a rare great race card today including 6 stakes races featuring the San Francisco Mile.  Other stakes include the Cal Oaks and Derby, the west coast version for those not good enough to ship to Kentucky next weekend.

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Fortunately for San Fran, the weather is moderate and cool, with the temp not exceeding 60 degrees and very little chance of rain.  Lucky for you, we are providing the Grid for Golden Gate today. Racing starts at 4:15pm so you can get a head start. Get Grid here 

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Unfortunately for all of us, the Cal Oaks has a short field of 5, so not really any good for betting, but there are a lot of possibilities.

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Lost in the Fog stakes scheduled for 7:51PM, named after the famous speedster who dominated California for a while.  The chalk looks good, but there are a lot of options for the super.  Consult the Grid.

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Moving forward to the California Derby, there are some good non-Kentucky Derby steeds.  There’s a lot of early speed on paper, so we don’t know yet whether the riders will be strangling their mounts.

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If they let it ride, Passarando, who will go off at less than ML of 5-1 but may still have good value, Chase the Chaos will be chasing the hot pace, and Prince Abu Dhabi looks good here, as well as Harcyn.

But I’m here to get you a longshot here and there.

Nauvoo at 20-1 has the best EP and the best last race PF.

Egon at 12-1 ML had a nice debut and can improve here.

Sea Dog 20-1 has a right to finish in the super.

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The San Fran Mile G3 does NOT have much early speed lined up, but it’s only 8f so anything can happen.  If the only two frontrunners are running early then you’re getting some great value according to the morning line:

Lamplighter Jack 8-1

Bob and Jackie 6-1

Tarantino 12-1

Lamplighter Jack: winner.

Yes, the chalk looks good, especially if the early speed fires up, but don’t sleep on Il Bellator at 15-1 or Rio King at 12-1 coming back to turf from some nice races on poly.

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Go here to get the Grid for all your favorite tracks and races, including the Kentucky Derby!

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The Ben Ali G3 and Elkhorn G2 at running at Keeneland today.  Free Grid here to help you handicap.

Keeneland Grid Sat.Apr.22

Good luck.

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Monday, April 10.  9 days ago we released a last minute Dirty Dozen for the purpose of Kentucky Derby Pool 6 which closed on April 1 at 6pm, before the Florida and Arkansas Derbies were run, and well before the Big 3 prep races of April 8: The Wood, Bluegrass, and Santa Anita Derby.

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Here’s what we said and how it all unfolded.

April 1:  Florida Derby G1

Forte:  Ours (and everyone else’s) top ranked colt won the Florida Derby in a great stretch run.

Mage: 11^th in the Derby Dozen, ran an impressive 2^nd after we called on him to rebound from a bad trip.

“Mage will almost certainly be a single digit entry and may even be 2nd choice. He had an impressive debut maiden win but ran into a horrible trip after hitting the gate in the FOY.”

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April 1:  Arkansas Derby G1

Angel of Empire, who we had ranked 8^th, won the Ark Derby going away.

King Russell, who was on nobody’s radar, closed for 2^nd at 58-1.

Reincarnate and Rocket Can, who we had 14^th and 10^th ranked for Kentucky, rounded out the superfecta.

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Fast forward to April 8^th with the last 3 of the Big 5 Preps.

April 8:  Wood Memorial G2

Lord Miles, who was not a Pool 6 entry by any means, decided to win at 59-1.  If you saw that coming somehow, please tell me about it.

Hit Show, the Withers G3 winner and favorite, got second  whereas he was supposed to win.

Dreamlike, ranked 13^th in our last Dozen, got a strong 3^rd, only losing by a half length.

The thing about the Wood, is that it hasn’t made any noise in the Kentucky Derby for 20 years.  That was the year the top two, Empire Maker and Funny Cide, ran 2^nd and 1^st at Churchill, and then ran 1^st and 3^rd in the Belmont. It’s difficult for me to assign credence to the NY runners nowadays.  But of the top 3 here, I still like the potential of Todd’s Dreamlike as the best hope.

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April 8: Toyota Blue Grass Stakes Grade 1

Tapit Trice, who we had ranked 3^rd for Kentucky, won by a neck, giving Todd another entry.

To be perfectly honest as we always are here, I didn’t like any of the others in this race, but Verifying did take a big step up in class in holding on for 2^nd by a neck.  He may be ranked next week.

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April 8:  Santa Anita Derby G1

Practical Move, 2^nd ranked in our Dozen, got it done by a nose; his Derby ticket was already stamped.

Mandarin Hero, from Japan, first career race, 2^nd in a Grade 1 by a nose.  Hard to see that coming.

Skinner and National Treasure, who disappointed us again, ran 3 and 4 for Tim Yakteen.

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So the Dirty Dozen held up well, among those who have actually competed since then.  One that we would have liked to see on this continent but won’t until he shows up at Churchill Downs next month, is the Japanese bred Derma Sotogake.  His UAE Derby G1 win was quite impressive and we have him ranked 4^th.

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Another one of our highly ranked colts, #5 Geaux Rocket Ride, was scheduled to run in the SA Derby at 3-1 ML but was scratched with a fever and apparently has been pulled out of the Kentucky Derby as well, which is disappointing, but the health of the horses is the most important thing.

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Others that we didn’t mention here, they already ran their last prep, but don’t forget about the Louisiana Derby G2 exacta of Kingsbarns (Todd again) and Disarm (Asmussen).  They are likely to be back shelved from most minds on the first Saturday of May, but they are both contenders.

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We’ll do another Derby Dirty Dozen after the Lexington Stakes on April 15, after which we shall have a better gauge as to who will actually Run for the Roses.  A lot will change between now and May 6 as to who will actually race, so stay tuned to this site for the latest rankings and info.

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You can get the Derby Grid as well as the grids for all your favorite tracks and races, right here.