Horse Race Betting and Handicapping Articles

2019 Breeders' Cup Distaff Predictions and Expert Betting Picks
by Trevor Whenham - 10/29/2019

The Breeders' Cup Distaff was long the main event of Friday's program, but it has jumped to a more prominent position now, lined up right before the Turf and the Classic on Saturday afternoon. Whenever it takes place, the Distaff often provides some of the best drama and competition of the weekend.

2019 Santa Anita Derby Expert Picks with Odds and Betting Predictions
by Trevor Whenham - 4/4/2019

The spring of racing at Santa Anita has been, to be frank, a total disaster. Far too many breakdowns caused an unprecedented shutdown and the cancellation of a key prep race. Now they are back racing, but there is an air of nervous uncertainty looming over the track. This race has been the most important Derby prep in the country for the last seven years, producing not only Triple Crown winner Justify last year but also Derby and Preakness winners I'll Have Another in 2012 and California Chrome in 2014 and Preakness winner Exaggerator in 2016.

2019 Wood Memorial Expert Picks with Odds and Betting Predictions
by Trevor Whenham - 4/4/2019

The Wood Memorial, the last of the Kentucky Derby prep races in New York, has not been particularly productive in terms of Triple Crown success lately. The last winner to win a Triple Crown race was Empire Maker, who won the 2003 Belmont. He's more famously recently, of course, for siring Triple Crown winner American Pharoah. And the last winner of both this race and the Kentucky Derby was Fusaichi Pegasus in 2000.

2019 Blue Grass Stakes Expert Picks with Odds and Betting Predictions
by Trevor Whenham - 4/4/2019

The Blue Grass Stakes is unquestionably a major Kentucky Derby prep race, and it has the points on offer to prove it, but it has been a long time since it has been relevant. It came close last year when winner Good Magic was second in the Derby and a tight fourth in the Preakness. But it has been a long time, not helped by the fact the race was run on a synthetic track for too long, since the race has really mattered.

2019 Florida Derby Picks with Odds and Expert Betting Predictions
by Trevor Whenham - 3/28/2019

The Florida Derby is the most successful of all the Kentucky Derby prep races, with 15 horses having won both races. It has been particularly hot lately, producing three of the last six winners - Orb, Nyquist and Always Dreaming. And with the road to the Derby this year being as wide-open as I remember, the opportunity for the winner here to again be a big factor in Louisville certainly exists.

2019 Dubai World Cup Picks with Odds and Expert Betting Predictions
by Trevor Whenham - 3/27/2019

It's hard to keep track because it changes so often, but right now the Dubai World Cup is back to being the richest race in the world, with a $12 million purse. The race started in 1996 when Cigar, the greatest horse I ever saw with my own eyes, won the race. Two years later Kentucky winner Silver Charm won the race, and he really elevated it into a major target for the best older horses on this side of the pond.

2019 UAE Derby Picks with Odds and Expert Betting Predictions
by Trevor Whenham - 3/27/2019

When Steve Asmussen sent his colt Reride to finish third in the UAE Derby last year, it wasn't much of a story. But, in hindsight, it feels like it could have been a turning point for the Kentucky Derby prep season. Asmussen treated the race like any other major prep race - an alternative to the Florida or Santa Anita Derby.

2019 Louisiana Derby Picks with Odds and Expert Betting Predictions
by Trevor Whenham - 3/19/2019

The Louisiana Derby, taking place Saturday at Fair Grounds in New Orleans, marks an important milestone on the Road to the Kentucky Derby. It is the first of the seven 100-point Kentucky Derby prep races. These are the big ones. It typically takes about 30 points to get in to the Derby starting gate. The winner gets 100 points in this race, and the runner-up gets 40, so at least two horses in this race will wrap up a trip to Louisville.

2019 Sunland Derby Picks with Odds and Expert Betting Predictions
by Trevor Whenham - 3/19/2019

I am frankly surprised that the Sunland Derby hasn't become a more prominent Kentucky Derby prep race. Sunland Park, in New Mexico but effectively in the suburbs of El Paso, is a long way from the center of the horse racing world. But the race is a Grade III with an $800,000 purse, so it would be worth winning just for its own sake. And it is the last of the 50-point prep races, meaning that the winner gets 50 Kentucky Derby points and the runner-up gets 20.

2019 Rebel Stakes Expert Picks with Odds and Betting Predictions
by Trevor Whenham - 3/14/2019

Chaos at Santa Anita has had a major ripple effect throughout racing, and it has created the most memorable Rebel Stakes I can remember. The cancellation of the San Felipe when Santa Anita was closed led to some very good horses suddenly needing a prep race, and the Rebel was the obvious spot. As a result, the Rebel has been split into two divisions - one with 10 horses, and another with nine.

2019 Tampa Bay Derby Picks with Odds and Expert Betting Predictions
by Trevor Whenham - 3/7/2019

The Tampa Bay Derby has been run since 1981, but only in the last dozen years has it become a relevant stop on the road to the Triple Crown. Everything changed in 2007 when two-year-old champion Street Sense made his season debut at three by breaking the track record to win this race en route to Kentucky Derby glory. Three years later, Super Saver was third here and then won the Derby. And in 2017 Todd Pletcher won this race for the fifth time with Tapwrit, the eventual Belmont winner.

2019 Gotham Stakes Picks with Odds and Expert Betting Predictions
by Trevor Whenham - 3/7/2019

The Kentucky Derby trail took a bizarre and unprecedented turn this week. Something has been very wrong with the Santa Anita track, and far too many horses have been fatally injured. It got so bad that they had no choice but to shut the track down for an undetermined amount of time to figure out what is wrong and fix it. That really matters for two reasons, and both have an impact on this race in an indirect way.

2019 Fountain of Youth Expert Picks with Betting Odds and Predictions
by Trevor Whenham - 2/27/2019

The Fountain of Youth Stakes at Gulfstream Park on Saturday is the first great Kentucky Derby prep race of the 2019 season. Or at least I hope that it will be. The field of 11 horses includes some very interesting, high-quality runners. And we are absolutely desperate for a great race after a prep race that just hasn't been that exciting or inspiring so far this year.

2019 El Camino Real Derby, Southwest Stakes, and Risen Star Stakes Expert Betting Picks
by Trevor Whenham - 2/14/2019

It's both a busy weekend of Triple Crown prep races and a significant one. The El Camino Real Derby at Golden Gate Fields in San Francisco isn't typically a big prep race, but 10 points are available to the winner, and it has a couple of interesting horses. The Southwest Stakes at Oaklawn Park in Arkansas is another 10-point race and has a couple of interesting horses in it, too.

2019 San Vicente and Sam F Davis Free Picks with Odds and Betting Predictions
by Trevor Whenham - 2/8/2019

There is only one race this weekend that offers points towards a berth in the Kentucky Derby - the Sam F. Davis Stakes at Tampa Bay Downs on Saturday. But the San Vicente Stakes at Santa Anita, while technically not a Derby prep, is quite possibly the more interesting race. And it is quite capable of being relevant in May - in 2016 both Derby winner Nyquist and Preakness winner Exaggerator were in the race. There is a decent chance that both races will feature horses that could wind up in the Derby starting gate, so it only makes sense that we look at both now.

Expert Horse Racing Picks for Holy Bull, Robert B Lewis, Withers 2019
by Trevor Whenham - 1/31/2019

There are three races on the road to the Kentucky Derby this weekend, and though it is still early all three could factor into the first Saturday in May. There is quality in the Holy Bull Stakes, Robert B. Lewis Stakes and Withers Stakes - perhaps not as much in the last two as would be ideal, but still enough to make us take notice. Let's look at each race in turn:

2019 Pegasus World Cup Expert Picks with Odds and Betting Predictions
by Trevor Whenham - 1/23/2019

The third running of the Pegasus World Cup takes place on Saturday at Gulfstream Park. The race was the richest in the world the first year it was run with a $12 million purse, and that jumped to $16 million last year. But it is no longer the big dog as the purse has fallen to $9 million, and the Dubai World Cup has jumped to $12 million.

2019 Lecomte Stakes Expert Picks with Betting Odds and Predictions
by Trevor Whenham - 1/16/2019

On paper, the Lecomte Stakes, which makes its annual appearance on Saturday at Fair Grounds in New Orleans, isn't exactly a major race. After all, it's only a prep race for the Risen Star, which is the major prep for the Louisiana Derby. And the Louisiana Derby hasn't produced a winner of a Triple Crown race since Grindstone won the Derby in 1996. But despite that, this race, which is run at a mile and 70 yards has produced some interesting winners in recent years.

2018 Breeders' Cup Betting Advice: Live Long Shots with Wagering Value
by Trevor Whenham - 11/1/2018

There is a tradition we have every year when we are nearly finished writing about the Breeders' Cup - and therefore finished with writing about horse racing until the new year. We sit down, pick out a few Breeders' Cup live long shots, and take a shot at a big payday. I haven't done the math accurately, but I would bet that, though last year's list yielded nothing, we have come out ahead over the many years we have done this now.

2018 Breeders' Cup Expert Handicapping: Horses to Watch
by Trevor Whenham - 11/1/2018

We have spilled a lot of virtual ink about the Breeders' Cup by this point. I just wrote about live long shots who are interesting. Our picks of the most likely winners will be available to purchase on Friday. What I want to look at for the last article of the year about horse racing is the horses that fit between those two groups. These are horses that aren't the most likely winners in their races, but they are horses which, as I have looked at the races, have burrowed into my brain. They've captured my imagination, and I can't let them go. These are my Breeders' Cup horses to watch: