Time To Fire Up The Cigar

A pair of 3-year-olds headline the field of 11 drawn for Saturday’s Grade 1, $750,000 dollar Cigar Mile at Aqueduct Park on Saturday.  MAXIMUM SECURITY and SPUN TO RUN are expected to be the top two choices. The one-turn mile is the final race on a card of 10 with Post Time scheduled for 4:16 pm. Here then is a look at the field. 1.  WHITMORE  … Continue reading Time To Fire Up The Cigar

The Cigar Mile

The final Graded Stakes of the year in New York is Saturday, and it appears as though MAXIMUM SECURITY will have plenty of company in the $750,000 dollar, Grade 1 Cigar Mile Stakes on December 7th. The New York Racing Association officials have listed 11 entries in the Cigar Mile, one of four Graded Stakes on Saturday’s card at Aqueduct Park. MAXIMUM SECURITY, figures to … Continue reading The Cigar Mile

Trainers To Watch At Gulfstream

While the 2019 racing season is quickly winding down, there are some places where things are just beginning to heat up. The starting gates open for the winter season at Gulfstream Park on Friday, kicking off a meet that will bring some of the East’s best horses and horsemen to the South Florida track through late March. Given the length of the meet and a … Continue reading Trainers To Watch At Gulfstream

You May Always Ask Questions

Horse racing is a world of its own, and every racing newcomer has a few questions when they first dive into the sport (sometimes even after they’ve been in it for a while!).  Here are the answers to 11 questions that perhaps neophytes are too embarrassed to ask. 1. Why are horses scratched from a race? A scratch is when a horse is entered for … Continue reading You May Always Ask Questions

Making Strides For Safety

Many of the major United States track owners and racing associations have combined resources in a collaborative effort to bring meaningful improvements to the safety of horses and humans who compete in Thoroughbred racing. At the Keeneland library on November 19th, those industry leaders announced the formation of the Thoroughbred Safety Coalition.  The group includes Churchill Downs Inc., the New York Racing Association, The Stronach … Continue reading Making Strides For Safety

Donna Takes On P.E.T.A.

Donna Brothers is a former jockey turned NBC broadcaster.  Last week she penned a lengthy op-ed piece in response to animal rights activist group P.E.T.A. writing that the organization is “not pro-animals, and they are behaving like a bully.” Ms. Brothers dug into the numbers, such as P.E.T.A.’s high kill rate of animals in its care, and she documented the group’s legal battles over the … Continue reading Donna Takes On P.E.T.A.

What Are Speed Figures?

In the course of the last 45 years, the biggest advancement in handicapping has probably been the emergence of speed figures. What is commonplace now was in its infancy back then when speed variants ruled the land. The variants were simplistic.  They were averages based on how many lengths above or below the track record the races on that day were. Speed figures took that … Continue reading What Are Speed Figures?