Time for a board tradition.
I'm not sure if this is year of mediocre horses or a lot of good ones playing off each other. There could be a Triple Crown winner or a different horse in each race.
It looks like the top tier horse will be the ones to look at.
Omaha Beach- Hall of Famer trainer Richard "Papa" Mandella has won basically everything in racing other than the Derby. He rarely has Triple Crown horses. Omaha Beach has beaten Improbable and Game Winner fairly easily. Add to this, Hall of Fame jockey Mike Smith chose to ride Omaha Beach over co-favorite Roadster. I'm leaning towards Omaha Beach at this point.
Maximun Security hasn't beaten much, but has been really impressive. One the keys in the race is whether Omaha Beach and Maximum Security will get into a speed duel on the lead. If they rate, it could be very tough to catch either of them. MS is definitely a contender.
Roadster - the little horse that can. He will be closing. Like Justify, he's a Baffert horse who got started late. Like Justify, he seems to be peaking at the right time. Post position may be critical. The only negative for him is that Mike Smith chose Omaha Beach over him to ride in the Derby.
Game Winner -Until a month ago, the Breeders Cup Juvenile champ was the clear favorite. Then he lost to Omaha Beach and Roadster in consecutive races. He could have been conserving energy or maybe he's just not as good. But there's a long-held concept of betting the higher odds Baffert horse in big races.
Improbable -looked like a monster coming into this year, but seems to have flattened out. His loss in the Rebel could be chalked up to being his first race in several months and a wide trip. Baffert's price horse?
Tacitus -won the Wood Memorial to get into the Derby. His daddy is the world's leading sire. He can the distance, but i'm not sure if he's good enough.
Others:
Vekoma- Won the Bluegrass impressively, but looks a little cheap. Maybe he'll get lucky.
War of Will- son of international super star racer and sire War Front. The Belmont could even be a better distance for him. Early this year year, he was the "wise guy" horse and favorite in the futures book. Then, he threw in an absolute stinker in the LA Derby and dropped like a rock. Young horses often have a bad race. He might be a play a decent price.
Anothertwistafate isn't in the race at this point, but could get in with a couple of scratches. I don't think he can win, but if he's in the race, I will be including him exactas, tris and supers.
Like every year, the post draw and weather will come into play.
Right now, I'm leaning towards Omaha Beach for emotional and racing reasons. Papa Mandella is one of the good guys and I'd love to see him win. On the mind part of it, he has fended off Improbable and Game Winner without seeming to exert himself fully.
I'm getting more into Pick 4s and will do this as well.
I'm not sure if this is year of mediocre horses or a lot of good ones playing off each other. There could be a Triple Crown winner or a different horse in each race.
It looks like the top tier horse will be the ones to look at.
Omaha Beach- Hall of Famer trainer Richard "Papa" Mandella has won basically everything in racing other than the Derby. He rarely has Triple Crown horses. Omaha Beach has beaten Improbable and Game Winner fairly easily. Add to this, Hall of Fame jockey Mike Smith chose to ride Omaha Beach over co-favorite Roadster. I'm leaning towards Omaha Beach at this point.
Maximun Security hasn't beaten much, but has been really impressive. One the keys in the race is whether Omaha Beach and Maximum Security will get into a speed duel on the lead. If they rate, it could be very tough to catch either of them. MS is definitely a contender.
Roadster - the little horse that can. He will be closing. Like Justify, he's a Baffert horse who got started late. Like Justify, he seems to be peaking at the right time. Post position may be critical. The only negative for him is that Mike Smith chose Omaha Beach over him to ride in the Derby.
Game Winner -Until a month ago, the Breeders Cup Juvenile champ was the clear favorite. Then he lost to Omaha Beach and Roadster in consecutive races. He could have been conserving energy or maybe he's just not as good. But there's a long-held concept of betting the higher odds Baffert horse in big races.
Improbable -looked like a monster coming into this year, but seems to have flattened out. His loss in the Rebel could be chalked up to being his first race in several months and a wide trip. Baffert's price horse?
Tacitus -won the Wood Memorial to get into the Derby. His daddy is the world's leading sire. He can the distance, but i'm not sure if he's good enough.
Others:
Vekoma- Won the Bluegrass impressively, but looks a little cheap. Maybe he'll get lucky.
War of Will- son of international super star racer and sire War Front. The Belmont could even be a better distance for him. Early this year year, he was the "wise guy" horse and favorite in the futures book. Then, he threw in an absolute stinker in the LA Derby and dropped like a rock. Young horses often have a bad race. He might be a play a decent price.
Anothertwistafate isn't in the race at this point, but could get in with a couple of scratches. I don't think he can win, but if he's in the race, I will be including him exactas, tris and supers.
Like every year, the post draw and weather will come into play.
Right now, I'm leaning towards Omaha Beach for emotional and racing reasons. Papa Mandella is one of the good guys and I'd love to see him win. On the mind part of it, he has fended off Improbable and Game Winner without seeming to exert himself fully.
I'm getting more into Pick 4s and will do this as well.
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