Can Zenyatta win the Breeders’ Cup?
Saturday, November 7th, 2009
The Breeders Cup World Championships is this Saturday.
Dubbed as one of the most prestigious events in horse racing, the 2009 Breeders’ Cup World Thoroughbred Championships will run run Friday, Nov. 6 through Saturday, Nov. 7 from Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, California.
The Breeders’ Cup annually attracts the best horses from North America and Europe. It is the richest prize-money event in sports, consisting of 14 races and purses totaling to $25.5 million. Once again, this year’s Breeders’ Cup will be highlighted by the 2009 Breeders’ Cup Classic, the feature race of the weekend.
Opening odds have listed Zenyatta as the favorite with 7/2 odds. Other favorites include Rip Van Winkle (5/1) and Summer Bird (6/1).
Zenyatta holds wins this year in the Milday Handicap, the Vanity Handicap, and the Clement L. Hirsch Handicap. Last June, Zenyatta won the Vanity Handicap at Hollywood Park for the second straight year. She carried 129 pounds, spotting her rivals 13 to 18 pounds, and became the first horse to win under such a weight assignment since 1977.
In 2008, she won it under 126 pounds.
On August 17, 2009 Zenyatta’s connections ruled out Pacific Classic Stakes at Del Mar on September 6. On October 10, she won her second Lady’s Secret in her same, come from behind fashion. Zenyatta will be looking to become the first filly to win the Breeders’ Cup Classic since its inception. Zenyatta won the Breeders’ Cup Ladies’ Classic in 2008, but has yet to run against males in her career.
Other big hitters include Rip Van Winkle, who carries a 4-1 record in his career. The colt holds two wins in 2009, taking the Sussex Stakes and the Queen Elizabeth II Stakes.
We also have Summer Bird, the 2009…
Bet on the 141st Belmont Stakes now!
Thursday, June 4th, 2009
The final leg of this year’s Triple Crown race is finally here.
The final leg of the Triple Crown will be the 141st Belmont Stakes on June 6th, and sadly, there will be no rematch between Kentucky Derby winner Mine That Bird and Preakness winner Rachel Alexandra.
Rachel Alexandra (was 9/4 on the 2009 Belmont odds) has been withdrawn and two more horses have been added to the betting options.
There are a ton of quality horses with a chance at the title remaining in the race and this one could very well come down to the final wire with a photo finish being the only way to decide who takes home the 2009 Belmont Stakes title.
Kentucky Derby winner and Preakness runner-up Mine That Bird becomes an ever bigger favorite with the withdrawal of Rachel Alexandra. The three-year-old thoroughbred currently sits at 2/3 on the 2009 Belmont Stakes odds.
His runner-up finish at Pimlico earned him a 106 Beyer, his career best, and qualifies as a sharp prep and a stakes win this year to go with his Kentucky Derby victory. Although he has rallied from off the pace in the first two legs of the Triple Crown trail, he won using a stalking trip during his championship juvenile season in Canada so we awarded him the point for running style, as stalking the pace 1-5 lengths behind is preferable in the Belmont over front-runners or closers.
His only negatives include too many starts as a juvenile, has no starts at Belmont Park and a dosage index of above 4.
Rachel Alexandra, the Preakness-winning filly, is out of the 2009 Belmont Stakes, freeing jockey Calvin Borel to ride Kentucky Derby winner Mine That Bird in the 1 1/2-mile ‘’Test of the Champion.’’
Rachel Alexandra’s majority owner Jess Jackson…
134th Preakness Stakes Betting Tips
Friday, May 15th, 2009
The second leg of the Triple Crown trail is this weekend and right now, I’m not liking the Derby champion’s chances.
While people who have a thing for the dramatic will likely root for Mine That Bird in the 134th Preakness Stakes at the Pimlico Race Course, these guys better realize that the Derby champ is really not that good of a bet if you’re looking to earn a lot of dough during the weekend.
You see, while Mine That Bird had an amazing run at Churchill Downs, the horse is just not that good of a contender on paper. And while some of the horse’s handlers believe that they have a shot of winning the 2009 Triple Crown title, they know deep down inside that their win at Churchill Downs was the flukiest win to ever transpire in the sport of horse racing.
S
o if Mine That Bird won’t win at Pimlico, who will? In case you haven’t realized it yet, we have a lot of contenders lined up for the Preakness that are solid choices to win the second leg of the Triple Crown trail. The obvious choice is of course, Mine That Bird’s nemesis Friesan Fire. The heavy favorite to win the Kentucky Derby, the horse had a somewhat problematic start out of the gates at Churchill Downs, leading to a disappointing 18th place finish. On the positive side, he has run a triple digit Beyer, a 104 in the Louisiana Derby, is exiting the Kentucky Derby, has made 4 starts this year (the optimum range is 3 to 6), and lacks professional points.
Big Drama is another new shooter in the Triple Crown wars, coming to Baltimore off a front-running victory in the Swale Stakes at Gulfstream Park back on March 28. Although this is a sharp prep and earned a 108 Beyer it is a negative as this is a 7 week layoff (the maximum layoff is 30 days). He only has made the 1 start this year, and does have points in the professional wing, both negatives. He did, however, have four stakes wins as a juvenile, 3 against state-breds at Calder followed by the Delta Jackpot.
General Quarters, the 10th place Derby entrant, will be given another chance by trainer Tom McCarthy to make amends for his dull and unexplainable effort, and although the off track could have been an excuse, he still should go off at 20 to 1 or more. General Quarters who lacks professional points (which is a positive for the Preakness unlike in the Derby), ran a 102 when winning the Sam F. Davis, usually runs a stalking trip (stalkers or ralliers are favored over front-runners), and has two stakes wins this year. He lacks a stakes win as a juvenile, and did not have a sharp prep, having finishing a well-beaten 10th in the Kentucky Derby.
Luv Gov, who is winless in six starts…
Mine That Bird uncertain for Preakness
Monday, May 4th, 2009
In case you missed it, a longshot won the first leg of this year’s Triple Crown trail.
You read it, it was a huge payday for some people who like underdogs as virtual longshot Mine That Bird came out of nowhere to win the 135th Kentucky Derby last weekend.
It was a shocking result to what has been a disappointing outing for some of the Derby favorites. One of the favorites, Friesan Fire, deemed by some as the horse that will finally give the sport its first Triple Crown champion in years, finished second to last.
Who would’ve thought that Mine That Bird would go on and win the Kentucky Derby after being listed by sportsbooks with 51-1 odds of winning? Heck, who would’ve thought that the thoroughbred would snatch the race lead after running in dead last coming to the final turn?
Incredible.
And while many bettors are now probably putting their money on Mine That Bird already for the next leg of the Triple Crown, that being the 2009 Preakness Stakes at the Pimlico Race Course, we found out that the Kentucky Derby champion’s availability for the next big race is still uncertain.
Yes, after shocking horse racing fans, Mine That Bird is still far from being a certainty to head to the second leg of the 2009 Triple Crown trail. This year’s Preakness Stakes is scheduled on May 16 and as of press time, the thoroughbred’s owners are not giving their prized property the green light for Pimlico just yet.
‘’We’ll let the horse tell us,’’ Mark Allen, who owns Mine That Bird with Dr. Leonard Blach, said. ‘’We’ll run some blood work on him, make sure it’s where it should be.’’
‘’The plan was that if he showed something here, to skip the Preakness and go to the Belmont, like his dad.’’
Mine That Bird is a son of Birdstone, who won the…
2008 Breeders’ Cup Early Favorites
Tuesday, October 7th, 2008
If you’re fond of horse racing, feel free to read this.
The 2008 Breeders’ Cup world championships are coming and it will feature top class thoroughbred racing that will decide the year-end championship honors slated on October 24 and 25 at the Santa Anita Park.
The main event, if you will, is of course, the 2008 Breeders’ Cup Classic where the very best thoroughbreds will compete with some of the favorites to win it this year. Who are the favorites? Thoroughbreds like Big Brown, Colonel John, Pyro, Well Armed and Curlin should be some of ‘em and here’s why.
Big Brown has a record of 7-6-0-0 and is arguably the top contender to win the 2008 Breeders’ Cup. Trained by Richard E. Dutrow, last year’s Kentucky Derby champion was the second winner in history to break from post position 20. This colt is also the first horse since 1915 to win the Derby after only three lifetime starts.
Next we have Colonel John, the winner of the $1 million Travers Stakes Grade 1 by a nose at Saratoga last August 23. The contender worked four furlongs last September 14 on Santa Anita’s Pro-Ride surface in 48 4/5 for trainer Eoin Harty. The colt is listed in the top three favorites headed for the $5 million 2008 Breeders’ Cup Classic at the Oak Tree in the Santa Anita meet.
A Kentucky homebred son of Tiznow-Sweet Damsel, by Turkoman, Colonel John won both the Sham Stakes Grade III and Santa Anita Derby Grade 1 on Santa Anita’s main track earlier this year. However, those races were run on a hybrid synthetic track consisting of both Pro-Ride and Cushion Track materials.
Well Armed could create some noise as well. Owner…
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