Weekend Winners Club

Sat.Nov.2 Breeders’ Cup Day 2: The Classic and 8 other G1’s.  Precap, Picks, Predictions

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Saturday November 2 2024.  Day 2 of the Breeders’ Cup World Championships is underway at sunny Del Mar today, with 130 horses competing for over $23 million USD in purse money, making it the most expensive race day in North American history.

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The highlight is the Grade 1 Breeders’ Cup Classic is the featured race, with 14 of the finest racers in the world, aging from 3 to 6 years old, competing for a new record $7 million purse.  It will be the 8^th race, scheduled for 5:41PM ET.  Let’s start with the Classic then work our way to other races.

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The most expensive Breeders’ Cup races in 2024:  The Grade 1 Turf and Classic sponsored by Longines.

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Get the full Breeders’ Cup Grid and all the other weekend races here.

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The most expensive Breeders’ Cup races in 2024: The Grade 1 Turf and Classic sponsored by Longines.

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R8 5:41ET 10f D BCClasic-G1 3 UP 

I like the morning line odds here, but if yesterday was any indicator, the real competitors including those that I mention here, will come way down in price closer to post time.

First of all I’m throwing out the morning line favorite City of Troy.  He may have the highest Timeform figure for his win last out at York in the Juddmont but is unraced on dirt. Aidan O’brien yesterday tied Wayne Lukas for the most Breeders’ Cup wins, but only two on dirt, and never this race.

13 Newgate 20-1:  Bob Baffert has won this race 4 times, and enters this horse with the tied highest Grid PF and second highest Timeform dirt PF, last out in the 9f Cali Crown G1, finishing 3^rd by a neck.  The top two finishers there are notedly not racing today.

4 Mixto 30-1:  Virtually tied for the highest Grid PF, achieved last out in the Pac Classic G1 win, right here at Del Mar at the same distance.  Doug O is no stranger to the Breeders’ Cup and this horse like Newgate, has a great running style for this race.

9 Fierceness 3-1:  The best last out pair of PF’s and highest Timeform rating, achieved last out in the Travers G1.  Post time favoritism will likely go to this Pletcher trainee.

14 Next 8-1:  The 6 year old gelding brings not only vast experience, but the best trio of PF’s in his last 3, all stakes wins.  He rides a 7 race winning streak by a combined 92 lengths, or an astounding average of 14 lengths per victory for Bill Cowans.  He also has the best two PF’s overall.

11 Sierra Leone 12-1:  The youngster hasn’t registered a win for a while, but finished 3^rd in the Travers, 2^nd in the Jim Dandy, 3^rd in the Belmont Stakes, and 2^nd in the Kentucky Derby this year.  He likely won’t get the fast pace up front for his best race but should hit the board for Chad Brown.

2 Highland Falls 20-1:  Brings some competitive races and PF’s and a very competitive trainer in Brad Cox.  Last out he won the Jockey Club Gold Cup G1 at this distance.

1 Forever Young (JPN) 6-1:  He would be undefeated except for his narrow 3^rd place finish in this year’s Kentucky Derby, with all his victories coming in Japan, Dubai, and Saudi.

Those are your top 7 and I don’t see a good reason to include any others in your wagering.

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R7 5:01ET 12f T BCTurf-G1 3 UP 

Again I have 7 contenders, and against conventional wisdom, I’m going with Americans at the top two positions, but I can justify it with Christophe Clement and Todd Pletcher.

6 Far Bridge at 6-1 has the best PF’s and Timeform ratings, and has won two straight G1’s at this distance.

7 Grand Sonata comes off a G1 win at this distance for Pletcher.

After that I like the Charles Appleby favorite, followed by the other two single digit runners.

Give long shots Shahryar and Luxembourg a chance to hit the board.

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R4 3:00ET 7f D BCFMSprt-G1 3 UP FM

The first Breeders’ Cup race of the day feature 8 females going 7 furlongs for $1 million.

6 4 2 9 is my call with not many good odds.

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R5 3:41ET 5f T BCTrfSpt-G1 3 UP 

I’m not going to argue against the two favorites but it takes more than that to make up a trifecta or superfecta.  A 5f turf race will be over in 55 seconds so I’m looking for speed.

5 Ag Bullet fits the bill and has the highest Grid and Timeform PF and 10-1 ML.

7 Howard Wolowitz is young, improving, and coming off a G1 win, at 30-1.

10 Isivunguvungu is fun to attempt to pronounce and offers 20-1 ML.

Sprinkle in the horses trained by people with last name of Appleby for good measure.

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R6 4:21ET 9f D BCDistaf-G1 3 UP FM

Boxing Sugar Fish and Honor Lady with the two favorites for a superfecta.

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R9 6:25ET 11f T BCFMTrf-G1 3 UP FM

I would love to see Full Count Felicia hold on to a gate to wire victory at 12-1, with Dida at 12-1 and Moira at 8-1, defying Appleby and O’brien’s attempt to sweep the trifecta.

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R10 7:05ET 6f D BCSprint-G1 3 UP 

There aren’t really great odds for the horses I like here except for maybe Raging Torrent and Skelly, but they could well burn out in a speed duel. Nakatomi could have the upper hand here.

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R11 7:45ET 8f T BCMile-G1 3 UP 

There isn’t much speed for an 8f race so I would like Carl Spackler and Goliad to finish ITM with big late runs by More Than Looks and Chili Flag.

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R12 8:25ET 8f D BCDirtMi-G1 3 UP 

Unlike the turf mile, this one does have a lot of early speed for 8f, so I’m looking for Post Time to gobble them up, and some good late running by Katonah. At least 2 of the 3 favorites will finish in the super.

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Good luck!

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November 2024 Thoroughbred Stakes Schedule and Results for North America and Japan.  This month blasts off with the Breeders’ Cup World Championships at Del Mar.  See table below.

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Del Mar will once again host the Breeders’ Cup Championships

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Get The Grid for all your favorite stakes races and tracks. 

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November 2024 Thoroughbred Stakes Racing Schedule and Results for NTRA and JRA.

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October 2024 Thoroughbred Graded Stakes Results for North America, Great Britain, and Japan. See table below for all graded stakes race results.

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October 2024 Thoroughbred Graded Stakes Results for NTRA, BHA, JRA Results:

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Get The Grid for the Breeders’ Cup World Championships here.

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Thursday October 31, 2024.  Futures Pool 1 for the 2025 edition of the Kentucky Derby is open for business and will close on Friday November 1 at 6PM ET, which is about two hours before the Grade 1 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile will be contested at Del Mar.

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10 great young colts will be competing for the $2 million dollar BC Juvenile purse money scheduled for 19:45PM Pacific.  About 100 other juvenile colts, geldings, and fillies will be competing in 4 other BC Grade 1 stakes for $5 million more in purses, and 3 juvenile stakes on the undercard.

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Here is a snapshot of the Kentucky Derby Futures Pool 1 Grid free, as promised, no strings or springs attached.  You can also download below that: just right click, touchpad-hold, or press-hold on mobile, then select download link.  It’s that simple.

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Kentucky Derby 2025 Futures Pool 1 Grid

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You can see that the 10 BC Juvenile G1 competitors are all highlighted in the Pool 1 Grid, along with 28 other individual entries, and the two field bets.  You will note that All other 3yo (who are now 2yo) males is the 4-5 ML favorite.

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This is a normal occurrence in KDF1, as most people including the initial oddsmakers, don’t think the real Derby winner is on the radar yet.

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However, you will see the name Bob Baffert listed 5 times, including the unraced 22 All American Dream (not a typo.)  Also, betting on a 4-5 field or as it currently is 3-5, is just a stupid wager.  Any horse you wager on Derby day will be higher than that.

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But the most interesting young colt to me is Rated By Merit, at 60-1 ML, undefeated in 3, with not only the highest PF but the highest two PF’s on the board, which increased with the additional furlong last out at 7f in the Affirmed Stakes.

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Rated By Merit (Battalion Runner / Banner Waving) Affirmed Stakes winner

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The only caveat I include about the Yates trainee is the winners coming up thru the state-restricted Florida circuit usually have a bad record in open company, but at 60-1 who cares? If he does end up making the Derby field, the odds will likely be lower on that day.

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Before you leave the site, make sure you visit the Breeders’ Cup Juvy Day page for some picks and predictions for the full Friday race card.

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And as usual, you can get the Breeders’ Cup Grid and all the weekend’s major track grids here.

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Friday, November 1 2024.  The much anticipated Breeders’ Cup World Championships begins on Friday with Juvenile Day.  All 5 Breeders’ Cup races are Grade 1’s for two-year-olds in various categories, each worth $1 million in purse money, except the BC Juvenile and BC Juvenile fillies, worth $2 million each.

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Del Mar will once again host the Breeders’ Cup Championships in 2024

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The 5 race BC card begins at 5:45PM Eastern, giving plenty of time for the eastern half of the USA to get involved.  The 5 race undercard begins at 2:35PM ET and includes 4 more races for 2yo’s.  West coasters shouldn’t have any problem getting up by 11:35AM after their Halloween hangovers.

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Let’s highlight some of the races here using the Grid, with an emphasis on long shots.

Get the Breeders’ Cup Grid and grids for all your favorite tracks and races here!

(What is the Grid? Hint, it looks like that below but full sized.)

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Intriguing Breeders’ Cup Juvenile undercard stakes races at Del Mar Nov.1

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R3 3:45ET 7f D GldStJuvFB175k 2 YO F

Watch out for #9 In the Air Tonight at 15-1 ML with a couple of the best PF’s on the board.

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R4 4:25ET 8f T TBAftrcAlB200k 2 YO 

This big field of 14 after alternates processed, has a lot of talented turf juvies.

2. Smash It is the fastest horse, with ML 10-1.
3. Cavallo Bay is also representing the east coast looking good at 15-1.

9 and 10.  Ditto above comment.

13. Test Score has top LP at 15-1ML and should have plenty of speed to run at.

15-18 won’t draw in unless others scratch.

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R5 5:05ET 7f D GoldStJuvB175k 2 YO 

The SAX MSW pair of 2 and 7 could run 1-2 in this also, but the two favorites are solid.

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R6 5:45ET 5f T BCJvTfSp-G1 2 YO 

Favored Ecoro Sieg is supposed do battle with the Doncaster Carlsberg pair for the title, but…

Smash It is the fastest US horse in the race at 20-1 but is an alternate.

Governor Sam is the fastest US horse that is in the main entry list, at 12-1.

Keep in mind that the fastest US horses usually win this race even though it’s on turf.

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R7 6:25ET 8.5f D BCJuvFil-G1 2 YO F

2yo fillies?  Say Bob Baffert.  The two favorites plus Vodka With a Twist and Quickick will challenge.

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R8 7:05ET 8f T BCJvFlTf-G1 2 YO F

Another big field that will reduce to 14 after scratches. It’s hard to argue against an Aiden O’Brien / Ryan Moore favorite in a BC turf race, but the slew of 5 American fillies from posts 3-7 look just as strong and have actually run 2-turn races.  4 of them have double digit odds.

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R9 7:45ET 8.5f D BCJuvnle-G1 2 YO C&G

Ah, the long awaited BC Juvenile! A solid field of 10 will take to 2-turns, including 3 from Baffert’s barn.

If you told me nothing but that, I would just box the 3 Baffert horses, especially if you told me that the odds were 8-1, 10-1, and 20-1, and 2 of them ran 1-2 in the American Pharoah.

But the single digit ML horses all have strong preps too.  The only easy thing about handicapping this one is that you can throw out the 3 foreigners.

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Now as a quick semi-aside:  all 10 of these competitors are appearing as individual entries in Kentucky Derby 2025 Futures  Pool 1, which is live now until Friday Nov.1 at 6PM, or about two hours before the BC Juvenile will be contested.  So if you like any of them, get them at good odds in KDF1.

Get the Derby Futures Pool 1 Grid FREE with some brief analysis here!

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R10 8:25ET 8f T BCJuvTrf-G1 2 YO C&G

This could be a rerun of the Summer Stakes at Woodbine, of which Dream On is 20-1 ML.

But what the hell are the Bourbon G2 winner and Zuma Beach runner up doing at 30-1?!

Also watch out for the Japanese racer undefeated in two at Tokyo.

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The Breeders’ Cup Schedule and BC Challenge race results are posted here.

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Stay tuned tomorrow for the Saturday picks including the $7 MILLION BREEDERS’ CUP CLASSIC!

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Once again, get the Breeders’ Cup Grids full cards for both race days right here!

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Oct.28 2024.  The Breeders’ Cup World Championships are swiftly sneaking up on us, as they usually do amidst the chaos of the USA election process.

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Remember the Breeders’ Cup will be held Friday November 1 and Saturday November 2 at Del Mar in California.  Weather is slated to be sunny and moderate as usual.

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Picks and predictions for the Breeders’ Cup races will be forthcoming as the week unfolds.

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Press here to get the Breeders’ Cup Grid and/or that for all your favorite tracks and races. 

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Del Mar will once again host the Breeders’ Cup Championships

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October 18, 2024. Remington’s big day is TODAY!  This evening, to be exact, as they host the Oklahoma Classics with 10 stakes races and over $1M in purse money.

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Get in while you can.  Download today’s free Remington Grid here.

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Bill’s picks for Remington tonight:

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Get THE GRID for all your favorite tracks and race days here!

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September 21, 2024.  Parx is hosting its biggest race day of the year today, headlined by the G1 Pennsylvania Derby, G1 Cotillion for the fillies, Gallant Bob G2, Turf Monster G3, Greenwood Cup G3, and several other listed stakes for a total of 11 stakes races on the 14 race card.

Parx Race Track in Philly

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First you can open/download today’s Parx grid to follow along while we make some picks. Keep in mind we’ll be focusing only on horses at 5-1ML or higher, because we don’t be favorites here.  Only schmucks do that.  We are also focusing on the stakes races.

Download Parx Grid here. (right click or press and hold)

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R3 12:33ET 8.5f T AlphbtSpHB100k 3 UP

Give me a good reason why Margin of Air 6-1 or Market Maven 8-1 shouldn’t win.  Capo could also do well in a race almost devoid of speed.

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R4 1:01ET 6f D WhstlePgB100k 2 YO

Whistle, Pig!  Looks too chalky but I would take Reelin and Dealin on top just for fun.

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R5 1:31ET 6f D MsBlu TyDy B100k 2 YO F

The first filly stakes on the card looks owned by the favorite.  But none of the other fillies has won anything, so why not combine with the two first timers at good odds.

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R6 2:01ET 8.31f D Plum PrttyB100k 3 UP FM

Doesn’t look good for any non favorite, but give Pachelbel or Confirmed Star a shot at the board.

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R8 3:01ET 12f D GrnwdCp-G3 3 UP

How do they get past Next, winner of 6 straight stakes races including this one? They don’t.

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R9 3:32ET 8f D PRXDrtMilL300k 3 UP

Field is too short to offer any decent odds on any except Injunction, who has the highest PF in the last 4 and best last-out PF

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R10 4:04ET 5f T TfMnstr-G3 3 UP

Who will be today’s Turf Monster?  Hopefully one with monster odds like Smooth B or Traders Luck but Alogon and Boat’s A Rockin also offer good odds for legit contenders. Lots of possibilities.

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R11 4:35ET 6f D GalntBob-G2 3 YO

Short field and legit favorite.

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R12 5:20ET 8.5f D Cotilln-G1 3 YO F

Thorpedo Anna coming off 2^nd in the Travers will be a difficult favorite to beat.

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R13 6:10ET 9f D PaDerby-G1 3 YO

Finally a field of 11 and no prohibitive favorite.  Doc Sulivan has top LP at 12-1 in a race with a lot of speed in it.  2^nd in that category is the favorite.  Registering 3-4-5 in LP are Timeout, Protective, and Unmatched Wisdom at 8-1 ML each. Stronghold will probably not have decent odds.

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R14 6:40ET 6.5f D PrxSprintB100k 4 UP

Field of 9 appears wide open, only 2 of them can’t possibly win and won’t hit the board.  Not much speed for a sprint, so take the speedsters.

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Get the Grid for all your favorite tracks and races and the Breeders’ Cup, right here!

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The Breeders’ Cup 2024 Championship and Challenge Series schedule and results page for this site has been posted.  The Breeders’ Cup World Championship Series Schedule on November 1 and 2 at Del Mar:

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Click Here for the Breeders’ Cup 2024 Challenge Series schedule and results. 

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2024 Breeders' Cup Championship Schedule

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Click here for options to get The Breeders’ Cup Grid and The Grid for all your favorite tracks and races. 

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Del Mar will once again host the Breeders’ Cup Championships

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September 2024 Thoroughbred Horse Racing Stakes Schedule and Results.  Kentucky Downs, Colonial, Del Mar, and Saratoga have huge purses coming up in the final month of their meets in September.

Kentucky Downs has the largest average purse sizes in North America

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September 2024 Thoroughbred Stakes Racing Calendar for NTRA and JRA

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