Educational Archives - Page 27 of 33

October 23, 2015October 25, 2015

Awesome Autumn

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Yesterday was my last day at Keeneland’s Fall meet. It was nothing short of spectacular. I captured a little of autumn’s beauty to share with each of you. I was also thrilled to see yesterday’s tip win as was our contributing handicapper, so he shared another.

Our tipster says “(In) race 3, (bet on horse) #1, Maziette. (She) was very wide last time out, at this level, and should improve if given a better trip.” Maziette is a 3 year old filly, bred in Kentucky, with 1 win in 7 starts. She has already raced at Keeneland this month and she finished third. Maziette is trained by Ron Moquett and her jockey is Ricardo Santana, Jr. Moquett had 2 horses at Keeneland this past Wednesday. Santana won 2 of his 3 Keeneland races yesterday.

Today, 10/23/15, race 3 will post at 2:12 P.M. EST. It is a 6 and 1/2 furlong claiming race on the dirt for fillies and mares 3 years old or older. Only 6 horses are entered.

Enjoy your day. My countdown to the Breeders’ Cup is in full effect. We have less than a week until the Prelude to the Cup! I will be there. Leave a comment to share your Breeders’ Cup plans.

Update: Maziette placed 2nd at a good price. Maziette was in the back but came in from the outside late in the race. She finished behind Tiz Sexy Now who lead from the break and held that position throughout.

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October 22, 2015October 22, 2015

Last Look for Luck

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This is it folks! Alas, this is the final day of the Keeneland Fall meet for me. This live racing meet officially ends there October 24th. I am sad that it is coming to an end but it couldn’t be a more gorgeous Fall day here in Lexington, KY. It is dry, sunny and in the upper 70s. In addition to horse photos today I want to get some tree pics too. All the leaves are changing colors and it is so beautiful, until I have to rake. For now, it is breathtaking.

While I am enjoying this glorious day I am excited to have 9 races to watch and perhaps wager on. Our handicapping friend gave us a tip for the final race. He says, “Race 9, Horse #1, Copus (is his pick.) Chris Richard (trainer) has been very successful this meet, especially with claimers. This hard knocking gelding has enough speed to get to the front and hold on in the short stretch at Keeneland’s 1 1/16th (miles) finale this Thursday.”

Race 9 will post at 5:30 P.M. EST today, October 22, 2015. The purse is $16,000 and it is a claiming race on the dirt for 3 year olds and upward. Copus is a 6 year old gelding with 39 career starts. He has shown or better in 15 of these races. He has had 7 starts this year. His trainer, Chris Richard, has won grades stakes in his over 3 thousand starts. Florent Geroux is the jockey. He has had over 5 thousand races in his career, several graded stakes wins and he won the Breeders’ Cup Sprint last year with Work All Week.

I’m going to bet Copus across the board. Have a nice week. My pre Breeders’ Cup story is coming soon!

Update: Copus took the lead from the gate then Barrister Jim and Copus traded leads mid race finally Copus finished first as Ephram S hurried past Barrister Jim to get the 2nd and 3rd place positions respectively. Great job Copus on another career win!

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October 18, 2015October 18, 2015

Just Beachy

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Today is Sunday and I am just about to head to Keeneland for the third day in a row! I always have such a nice time there. Our handicapper friend drew my attention to today’s 6th race.

“Beach Walk (horse #9) was a pricey filly purchased for $435,000 and over 4 times the price of the stud fee of $100,000 for Distorted Humor. Catalano (trainer) is heating up after a slow start this meet and this filly looks like she has been very fast in the morning”, he says. Beach Walk has never raced before. She is 2 years old and she will have Brian Joseph Hernandez, Jr. for her jockey. He has won multiple graded stakes including the Breeders’ Cup Classic in 2013 with Fort Larned. He has an Eclipse award as well. Wayne Catalano is the trainer. He is from Louisiana and has trained multiple stakes winners and 3 Breeders’ Cup winners including Stephanie’s Kitten. Gary and Mary West own Beach Walk. Race 6 today (10/18/15) is a Maiden Filly race for 2 year olds. It is 6 furlongs and has a purse of $65,000. Post time is 3:51 PM EST.

Now, I’m off to the races!

Update: Beach Walk ran most of the race in the top 3, leading in a brief moment near the end, to show third in a photo finish!

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October 17, 2015October 18, 2015

Money on my Mind

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It is day 2 of a long Keeneland weekend for me, 10/17/15. I am having a great time as usual. I met up with Jean Cruguet, Triple Crown winning jockey, here this morning to talk about an upcoming project. Cruguet rode Seattle Slew in all 3 legs of the series! It is almost race time now and our handicapper has another tip to share with us.

The tipster says, “Race 6, (horse) #3, Great Minds, ran well here in the Spring but may not have enjoyed the speed, favoring a turf course in upstate New York in July. Al Stall (trainer) is very good with horses coming off a 61 to 180 day layoff.” Great Minds is a 4 year old gelding, bred in Kentucky at Claiborne Farms. He has had 12 career starts. He raced at Keeneland in Lexington, Ky on April 17th, 2015. His last race was at Saratoga this July. Today at 3:51 PM EST he will race on the turf and once again he is at Keeneland. His jockey is Miguel Mena. Mena is from Lima, Peru. He is a multiple graded stakes winning jockey and won the Breeders’ Cup Las Vegas Marathon Stakes last year. Great Minds’ trainer is Albert Stall, Jr. He has also won multiple graded stakes and has 2 Breeders’ Cup wins. One was the Classic in 2010 with Blame. Great Minds is owned by Vince Wilfork. He has 14 career starts. Four of those are 2015 races.

Enjoy the tip! Thank you for following and sharing.

Update: Great Minds finished fifth. He ran most of the race as last in the group. Then he came around wide and with an increased speed at the races end but it was too little too late.

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October 15, 2015October 16, 2015

This Race is for the Ace

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Our tipster is on fire! Please, be especially thankful that our contributing handicapper has given us two back to back first place winning tips on the past two days of Keeneland’s Fall meet. He isn’t finished. We have another tip for today.

On this fine 15th of October, at Keeneland, look to race #7. Our tip guy says, “#5, Holding Aces, was very impressive in his first start. He should be forwardly placed but will have to hold off a late charge form #4, Watershed. Catalano (Holding Aces trainer) looks like he has a nice colt here and could hold on at a good price.”

Holding Aces in a 3 year old colt owned by Gary and May West. The West’s have had multiple grades stakes wins in their over 1,600 starts including a 1st place Breeders’ Cup win. The jockey is multiple graded stakes winning Shaun Bridgmohan. Bridgmohan has an Eclipse award for outstanding apprentice jockey. He has come in 2nd in the Kentucky Derby and both 2nd and 3rd in several Breeders’ Cup races. Wayne M. Catalano has over 12 thousand career starts and is the multiple graded stakes winning trainer to Holding Aces. Catalano has had several 1st place finishes in Breeders’ Cup races. Holding Aces ran 1st in his only career start. That happened last month at Churchill Downs, in Louisville, KY.

Watershed, is also a 3 yer old colt. He is owned by Godolphin Racing, LCC. They have 2 Eclipse awards and multiple graded stakes wins in over 1000 starts. Those include many first place finishes in the Breeders’ Cup, and they finished 2nd with Frosted in this years Belmont Stakes. Joel Rosario is the jockey for Watershed. He has finished repeatedly at 1st, 2nd or 3rd in all legs of the Triple Crown. He has over 11 thousand starts with multiple grades stakes wins and has several Breeders’ Cup wins too. Kiaran P. McLaughlin trains Watershed. He is a multiple graded stakes winner as well. He was the trainer for Frosted at the Belmont Stakes. He has over 6 thousand starts to his credit and has done very well in Breeders’ Cup races too. Watershed has 2 career starts. Both were at Saratoga this past August. He came in 1st then 4th. His 1st race, of course, was his maiden and his second was the King’s Bishop Stakes. Grade 1 is very impressive, I believe, for his second race.

Fingers crossed, and all that superstition that we get another win today. Thanks for reading and sharing. I return to the live action Friday!

Update: Watershed won after being last place for most of the race. He went wide to win by 1 and 3/4 lengths. Holding Aces finished 5th after taking the lead straight out of the gate and holding in the front three for most of the race until Sharm and Watershed came up from the back.

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October 11, 2015October 12, 2015

Sunday’s Selection

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Today our handicapper brings us one final tip for this weekend’s racing. He says “Race 9 (bet on)#4, Queen of Scat. Dale Roman’s trained daughter of Scat Daddy ran a solid second at Kentucky Downs last time out and should get to the wire first against a nice group of fillies in a nice allowance race on the turf Sunday.”

Today, at Keeneland, in Lexington, KY there are only 9 races. The 9th race is an allowance with a purse of $58,000 for fillies and mares 3 years or older. It is a turf race of 1 and 1/16th miles. Queen of Scat is a 3 year old filly owned by Frank L. Jones Jr. Her trainer is Dale Romans and her jockey is Corey J. Lanerie. Queen of Scat has had 12 career starts. She has won once, placed 4 times and came in third twice. Her sire, Scat Daddy, is a multiple graded stakes winner and a fantastic sire. He stands at Ashford Stud in Lexington, KY.

I like to visit another Scat Daddy filly at The Thoroughbred Center, also in Lexington. Her name is Titled, seen in the pictures above with Ma’am. Sharing their trainer and owner, these 2 year old horses live and train in the same barn. Ma’am was sired by Colonel John. It is a lot of fun for me to watch them do their morning workouts and get bathed. I am hoping they develop into fantastic race horses.

Please, enjoy the tip and have a great day at the races!

Update: Queen of Scat won. She came in 1st. I hope each of you made some money on this.

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October 10, 2015October 11, 2015

Royal Racing

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I hope that everyone is having an excellent weekend. I will be working today so no live racing for me but that won’t keep me from day dreaming about it. There are plenty of great races today including the Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup Stakes!

Keeneland will feature the QEII today, 10/10/15. This race was inaugurated in 1984 when the British monarch, Queen Elizabeth II , visited Keeneland in Lexington, KY for the stakes race. Crown Queen won the race last year. It is an invitational turf race for 3 year old fillies of 9 furlongs (1 and 1/8 miles). The Grade 1 purse is worth $500,000.

Mt tipster suggests that for race 9 at Keeneland bet on #9, Sentiero Italia. He says, “The Queen Elizabeth II, on Saturday, has several nice 3 year old fillies. Kiaran McLaughlin (trainer) is extremely high on (the) daughter of Medaglia D’Oro and he should be. She (Sentiero Italia) has 4 wins from 6 starts and has earned $621,000 including 2 recent grade 2 routes at this same 9 furlong distance. McLaughlin hopes to stay red hot as he has won 3 of his 4 starts at Keeneland this meet.”

Medaglia D’ Oro is a multiple graded stakes winner and a great sire with a 2nd place finish in the 2002 Belmont Stakes and 2nd place in both the 2002 and 2003 Breeders’ Cup Classic.

Kiaran Mclaughlin is a Lexington, KY native who has won at Keeneland this meet with Robillard on October 7th, Farz on October 4th and Pin Up on October 2nd. He has had a lot of international success in his over 6 thousand starts. McLaughlin has been the trainer for multiple graded stakes wins including the Belmont Stakes in 2006 with Jazil and the Breeders’ Cup Classic in 2006 with Invasor. He won the QEII in 2008 with Alwajeeha.

Joel Rosario will be the jockey for Kentucky bred Sentiero Italia owned by Godolphin Racing LCC. Rosario won the QEII race with Harmonious in 2010. Godolphin has yet to win the QEII. Rosario will enter the gate at 5:30 PM EST.

Have a great time at the track and tell me something about the experience in a comment. Thank you, fellow race fans!

Update: Senteriro Italia showed in third place.

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October 9, 2015October 9, 2015

Fourth Doesn’t Pay

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Say Cheese! I love this picture, I took, of Edeline in the winners circle for the last race, the 10th race, at Keeneland on Sunday, October 4, 2015. She looks so happy to finally break her maiden in her 5th career start. I’m also using this photo because of the significance of the number 4.

Today, 10/9/15, our tipster notes, “fourth doesn’t pay!” He has been kind enough to kick in some free tips, for me to share, the past 2 days of racing but they both came in 4th. Hopefully, this is the end of that streak and he is giving us something to look forward to about the number 4. He wants us to look to today’s 4th Keeneland race and go with, what else, the #4. He says, “Ken Ramsey (owner) looks like he wants to get his picture made today. #4 Thank You Marylou named after Marylou Whitney has been running against much better and will be tough to beat from just off the pace.”

Ken and Sarah Ramsey have won leading owner titles at Keeneland as well as several other tracks. I frequently bet on their horses because not only are they great Thoroughbred owners with a winning history but they frequently use Sarah’s nickname, “Kitten”, in the naming of their horses.

Marylou Whitney is an Eclipse winning owner and from the family with the most stakes winning horses. She operated her own Marylou Whitney stables and was a founding member for the Thoroughbred Retirement Foundation. She is the primary contributor to the Secretariat Center at the Kentucky Horse Park. Her gifts to the Thoroughbred industry and to horse and human charity, nation wide, are remarkable.

Thank You Marylou, a 4 year old filly, will be ridden by Julien Leparoux. Michael Maker is the owner. The 4th race, at 7 furlongs, has a purse of $62,000 and is an allowance optional claiming race. This is Thank You Marylou’s 15th career start. Post time is 2:45 PM EST.

Go, Thank You Marylou, go!

Update: She sure enough came in 4th. Sorry. Check out tomorrow’s tip!

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October 7, 2015October 8, 2015

Weekday Wagering

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Good morning race fans! I am headed back for the 4th day of Keeneland’s Fall Meet today, 10/7/15, and I have a little gift, or two, for you from our contributing handicapper!

On the 8th race you may want to go with the 8th horse. He says, “Stand Guard could improve dramatically, from last start, and be a nice price!” Race 8 at Keeneland today is 1 and 1/16 miles on the dirt . It is a maiden special weight race for 2 year olds with a purse of $65,000. The race should occur at 4:47 PM EST. Stand Guard is a Kentucky bred horse sired by Awesome Again. His dam is North Cork. He has only raced once previously. That was at Churchill Downs this past September when he finished 5th. His jockey is Shaun Bridgmohan. Wayne M. Catalano is the trainer with Gary and May West Stables, LCC for owners. I’m hoping this colt has a big day at the track today and maybe makes each of you some money.

As for gift number 2… here’s one more tip. On Thursday, 10/8/15, look to race #6 at Keeneland and perhaps pick #7. The tipster said, “Cha Mono ran well last time, at Kentucky Downs, after being in tight early. Greg Foley (trainer) is a solid 23% switching from turf to dirt.” Race 6 is scheduled to go off at 3:51 PM EST. It is a race for 3 year olds and up which have never won 2 races. The purse is $58,000 and the race is 6 and 1/2 furlongs on the dirt. Cha Mono has had 11 career starts. In his 1st four races he was always 2nd or third. Then he won 1st at Ellis Park in July of 2014. Since then he struggled for the next 4 races before coming in at 2nd and 3rd in his last two starts. If his history repeats, it looks like he is due for a win this time. This 4 year old gelding is Kentucky bred between First Samurai and Gregoriana. His jockey is Corey J. Lanerie. He is owned by Golden Shamrock Farms, LCC. and trained by Gregory D. Foley. It would be sweet if Thursday is Cha Mono’s day to win!

I hope each of you enjoyed the tips! Have some great weekdays at the races. I wish to see you there. Drop me a comment, please. Thanks again!

Update: Both Stand Guard and Cha Mono came in 4th in their races. Look for my next post. Hoping for better luck tomorrow!

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October 5, 2015October 5, 2015

Wise and Winning

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For the remaining two days of Keeneland’s Fall Stars Weekend I had only two things on my mind, Wise Dan and “Win and You’re In”! My objectives were fulfilled in whole and I was not disappointed with seeing the two times Breeders’ Cup champion or the automatic Breeders’ Cup entries.

Right before and after Keeneland’s third race on Saturday, 10/3/15, Wise Dan, Breeder’s Cup Mile Champion in both 2012 and 2013 and now our retired and beloved OTTB (off the track Thoroughbred), was taken through the barns, into the paddock and walking ring and then paraded before the grandstands. I was granted barn and paddock access and then watched from the J.E. Bassett, III box as fans clapped and cheered for Wise Dan! I had been wanting to see him for so long. It was truly a dream come true.

As if I could stand any more excitement, I was treated to three “Win and You’re In” graded stakes that same day. That term means that the winner of the race is automatically selected to race in this year’s Breeders’ Cup. The Thoroughbred Club of America Grade II was won by Fioretti, seen above wearing orange #7. She will race next in the Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Sprint Division at the month’s end.

Two races later, featured The Claiborne Breeders’ Futurity for entry into the Juvenile Division of the Breeders’ Cup. This race was won by #5, seen above in the green, Brody’s Cause. He had a nice break from the gate and a good ride.

The following race I watched as Grand Arch, #4, won The Shadwell Turf Mile to earn himself a spot in the Breeders’ Cup Mile Division. He was full of energy in the paddock and a strong leader on the wet turf.

Returning to Keeneland on Sunday , I witnessed two more “Win and You’re In” stakes races. The Dixiana Bourbon race allows the winner to participate in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf Division. Airoforce, seen in the brown #13, won this race!

The next to last race, on Sunday, was The Juddmonte Spinster. The winner, of this race, is guaranteed a place in the Breeders’ Cup Distaff Division. #4, Got Lucky, truly got lucky or is one skilled race horse because she won! Look at her racing into position shortly before the finish line on the top photo of the above collage.

Finally, I can share with you some photos of most of the additions Keeneland has made for hosting the Breeders’ Cup. The top and middle left of the photo collection above shows the new Breakfast Marquee located between the North Grandstand and Racing Office. The top right picture and directly below it shows the Grandstand Loge Boxes. The middle row on the far left is the underside of the Loge Boxes as seen from the ground level beneath the Grandstand. The photo dead center and bottom left are views of the area where the Clubhouse Lawn Chalets and the Trackside Chalets are located. The bottom right shows the Saddling Paddock Chalet. Perhaps not pictured, is the Bourbon Lounge. It is located at the entrance of the stretch furthest to the South of the Grandstands. In the very middle picture, that last bit of white, in the right, could be a piece of that structure but I really must drive in and go left at gate 2 to get close enough to take a picture because it is too far from the general admission area to see it.

I hope I brought you all of the highlights each of you were hoping for. Racing resumes this Wednesday, 10/7/15. If there is anything you want a picture of send me a comment. You can get more up to the moment info by following me on Twitter and Facebook. Please, read my former posts as well. Like and share away my fellow race fans! Thank you in advance.

http://twitter.com/Thoroughbred_U

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