#Smooth Like Strait

This will be the 39th renewal of the great transatlantic horseracing shemozzle that is the Breeders' Cup and, while some races are a lot newer than that, most have a historical profile worth noting. What follows are some observations based on what we've seen previously in the hope that it might help to predict what will happen in Keeneland on the…

Santa Anita Barn Notes: Friday's Card Gets 8.5 Starters Per Race From the Santa Anita Media Team: FRIDAY'S ALL-DIRT CARD ATTRACTS 8.5 STARTERS PER RACE With more rain in the forecast for Arcadia this week, the decision was made to run Friday's eight-race program exclusively on dirt. After entries were taken and the program finalized yesterday,…

These four plays at Gulfstream and Santa Anita meet the criteria for good superfecta key betting opportunities on Saturday.Read on after the plays to learn more about those selection standards. At Gulfstream Race 7 The Suwannee River Stakes (G3) is a one mile turf race for fillies and mares 3-year-olds and up and this year's rendition attracted a…

Saturday's Grade 3, $150000 Harlan's Holiday at Gulfstream Park isn't the richest or most prestigious of the eight graded stakes to be run on the last day of 2022, but it grabs the marquee spot on Horse Racing Nation's stakes roundup by virtue of its possible impact on next month's Grade 1, $3 million Pegasus World Cup Invitational. The key local…

This week's TwinSpires Jury - James Scully and Kellie Reilly - convenes to discuss opinions for the New Year's Eve stakes action at Santa Anita, Gulfstream Park, and Oaklawn Park. James Scully: #5 Anacapa (4-1) in the Las Flores (G3) at Santa Anita. The progressing three-year-old filly won't face an imposing group in her stakes debut, and she…

Keeneland Barn Notes: Basin Gets Final Prep for G2 Blue Grass Stakes (Trainer Steve Asmussen / Photo by Holly M. Smith) From the Keeneland Media Team: GRADE 1 WINNER BASIN WORKS FOR TOYOTA BLUE GRASS Toyota Blue Grass (G2) hopeful Basin, who races for Terry Green's Jackpot Farm, was the first horse to breeze over Keeneland's fast track Monday when…

Regal Glory, shown winning the 2021 Matriarch at Del Mar, takes on male rivals in Saturday's Grade I Fourstardave at Saratoga. Benoit photo, courtesy of Del Mar Turf Club Aug. 12 (UPI) -- Turf racing at Saratoga, Del Mar and Churchill Downs tops the weekend agenda, with a pair of Breeders' Cup "Win and You're In" slots up for grabs. A third…

The Michael McCarthy-trained Smooth Like Strait will try to end a five-race losing streak when he leaves the starting gate in the 2022 Shoemaker Mile on Memorial Day at Santa Anita Park. A son of Midnight Lute, Smooth Like Strait has not won since going gate-to-wire to win last year's Shoemaker Mile over Say the Word. In five races since, he has…

Sconsin, shown winning the 2021 Winning Colors Stakes at Churchill Downs, tries for a repeat in the Memorial Day renewal. Photo courtesy of Churchill Downs May 27 (UPI) -- The long Memorial Day weekend is not short on racing action with two "Win and You're In" events, one in California amid a flurry on Grade I races and the other in Chile. The…

The Breeders' Cup is behind us, but Team Tuley continues to look for value at tracks from coast to coast. I'm joined by regular contributors Ed Sehon (aka Mr. Ed from his Saratoga and Keeneland columns here at VSiN.com/horse-racing) and Rampart race and sports manager Duane Colucci. We live up to the coast to coast claim with plays at Aqueduct in…

Nine juvenile colts whose connections harbor Kentucky Derby dreams are expected to go to post Saturday in an intriguing edition of the Grade 2, $400000 Kentucky Jockey Club at Churchill Downs. Instant Coffee, a lightly raced son of Bolt d'Oro trained by Brad Cox, is the 5-2 morning line favorite in the 1 1/6-mile race for 2-year-olds, a Derby…

For me, one main attraction to superfectas is that a superfecta probable payout pool is not displayed making this bet an unknown endeavor relative to an exacta and even trifectas in some circumstances where the probable payouts are available. However, if you observe the pool results over a long period of time, you will come to realize the heavily…

After a record-setting $28.1 million was bet at Keeneland for Blue Grass Day, Week 2 of the four-week spring meet features five more prominent stakes races going off Friday or Saturday. The Kentucky Derby trail quiets a bit after a flurry of major preps in recent weeks, but potential Preakness players will be in action in Keeneland's Lexington…

The two-day Breeders' Cup World Championships will conclude Saturday at Del Mar. Saturday's nine Breeders' Cup races will start at 3:05 p.m. EDT with the Filly & Mare Sprint and finish with the Classic at 8:40 p.m. Here's the TV schedule: NBC Sports (2:30-8 p.m.), NBC (8-9 p.m.). Here's an analysis of each race. All times EDT. The pick: Gamine…

Cal-bred champ doing'Super' for Santa Ana; Mandella says United up to speed in training ARCADIA, Calif.- Doug O'Neill hopes The Great One rebounds from his disappointing fifth-place finish behind recently sidelined Life Is Good in the Grade II San Felipe Stakes on March 6 when he runs in the Grade I Runhappy Santa Anita Derby next Saturday, April…

Going Global, who is 7-for-9 on U.S. soil, aims to make it 8-for-10 on Monday while adding a second-top level score to her ledger. The Phil D'Amato-trained Going Global (8-5) is morning-line favorite for the Grade 1, $400000 Gamely Stakes. Post time from Santa Anita is 9 p.m. EDT, with TVG showing the 1 1/8-mile turf event for fillies and…

The Arlington Million, which has been rerouted to Churchill Downs following the sale of Arlington Park, is one of the big weekend graded-raced this Saturday. But we've also more top-notch contests at Saratoga and Del Mar to look forward to. Let's take a look at the best races this Saturday and the probable runners. We've three Grade 1 turf races to…

BALNIKHOV TO WAIT UNTIL THE DEL MAR DERBY SEPTEMBER 3 Little Red Feather Racing, et al's Balnikhov brought a baggage full of promise with him when he arrived from Ireland at the first of the year. He finally met those expectations Friday afternoon on Opening Day at Del Mar when the 3-year old son of Adaay dropped down on the rail and surged to…

A busy weekend of Breeders' Cup challenge series races already is underway as Santa Anita Park kicked off its fall meet Friday with three "Win and You're In'' races. Hopefully, your handicapping is about complete for Santa Anita's opening day, which features the $300000 American Pharoah Stakes (G1) for 2-year-olds. Post time for this one is 8 p.m.…

The Breeder's Cup began in 1984. The idea was simple, the public falls in love with the Triple Crown, and then moves on to other sports. By creating a year-end spectacle, with all the best horses, it would not only be a day for the sport to get a lot of attention and crown champions, but it would make all of the summer and fall stakes races into…

The two-day Breeders' Cup World Championships will conclude Saturday at Keeneland. Saturday's nine Breeders' Cup races will start at 11:50 a.m. with the Filly & Mare Sprint and conclude with the $6 million Classic at 5:40 p.m. TV coverage will be on USA Network (1-3:30 p.m.) and NBC (3:30-6 p.m.). Here's an analysis of each race: The pick: Frank's…

Friday of the Breeders' Cup features the rising stars of racing. Saturday however, is a chance to see some the best of the best competing to be a world champion in their division. The two-day card from Del Mar can be a war of attrition for even the most experienced handicappers. Along with more races and larger fields foreign form makes the puzzle…

Tarnawa, defending champion and favorite for Saturday's Breeders' Cup Turf race, stretches her legs over the Del Mar track Monday. Photo courtesy of the Breeders' Cup DEL MAR, Calif., Nov. 4 (UPI) -- The 2021 Breeders' Cup World Championships have attracted a record 56 international entries for the two-day event that opens Friday at Del Mar in…

Saturday is a major day of racing at Keeneland Race Course, with five stakes races, including three Grade 1s. The card is highlighted by the 2022 Claiborne Breeders' Futurity and 2022 Coolmore Turf Mile. The Todd Pletcher-trained Forte is the 3-1 morning-line favorite in the Claiborne Breeders' Futurity odds, while the Brad Cox-trained Loggins is…

Keeneland Barn Notes: 10 Fillies Invited to $600000 QEII Challenge Cup (Keeneland / Coady Photography) From the Keeneland Media Team: TEN FILLIES INVITED TO $600000 QUEEN ELIZABETH II CHALLENGE CUP PRESENTED BY DIXIANA Bobby Flay's Pizza Bianca, winner of last fall's Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf (G1), and Klaravich Stables' McKulick (GB),…

Ivar wins the Jonathan B. Schuster Memorial Stakes at Horseshoe Indianapolis on July 9, 2022 The 2022 edition of the Grade 1, $1 million Coolmore Turf Mile, an opening weekend staple at Keeneland and run since 1986, drew a full field of 12 plus four also-eligibles. The race will be held on Saturday, Oct. 8. Among the group vying for the top share…

Did you know active subscribers receive our Inside Track wagering guides absolutely FREE? Subscribe today and be the first to receive our upcoming MONSTER wagering guide to the 2022 Breeders' Cup! Godolphin's Santin and Cannon Thoroughbreds' Smooth Like Strait, the 1-2 finishers in the Arlington Million (G1) at Churchill Downs in August, head a…

Cox Hopes That Set Piece Is "Set" For Saturday's G1 Arlington Million Stakes (Set Piece / Photos by Holly M. Smith) From the Churchill Downs Media Team: Set Piece (GB) arrived in the United States two years ago to the care of multiple Eclipse Award-winning trainer Brad Cox and since then owner Juddmonte has been rewarded with seven victories. The…

Set Piece (GB) arrived in the United States two years ago to the care of multiple Eclipse Award-winning trainer Brad Cox, and since then owner Juddmonte has been rewarded with seven victories. The one missing link in Set Piece's résumé is a Grade 1 win but Cox hopes that could change in Saturday's $1 million Arlington Million (G1) at Churchill…

The Grade 1, $1 million Arlington Million Stakes, run in its traditional place during the summer but now run at Churchill Downs and on a special one-day of racing at the storied track this Saturday, still packs a lot of horsepower. Nine turf stars have signed on to run, including two horses who have already earned over $1 million in their career.…

Churchill Downs' News: Santin, Smooth Like Strait May Be Showdown in Saturday's G1 Arlington Million (Santin / Photos by Holly M. Smith) From the Churchill Downs Media Team: Godolphin's Old Forester Bourbon Turf Classic (Grade I) winner Santin will face six fellow turf specialists, including Cannon Thoroughbreds' 2021 Shoemaker Mile (GI)…

Godolphin's Old Forester Bourbon Turf Classic (Grade 1) winner Santin will face six fellow turf specialists, including Cannon Thoroughbreds' 2021 Shoemaker Mile (GI) hero Smooth Like Strait, in Saturday's 39th running of the $1 million Arlington Million (Grade 1) at Churchill Downs. Thanks to cooperation from Ellis Park, the Kentucky Horse Racing…