Weekend Winners Club

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March 15, 2025.  Welcome to the Weekend Winners Club Weekly Precap, previewing key 3yo stakes races at Colonial for March 15.

See all WWC podcasts here

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First let’s do a quick recap of last week’s podcast on Mar.7 regarding the Tampa Bay Downs March 8 racecard.  The first race we mentioned was the MSW race 3.

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R3 1:18ET 6f D MSW 3 YO F 53000.  I said “Hey Cookie at 12-1 is my secret long shot special…” and then I laid the rationale. The result?  Hey Cookie won at 20-1 odds!  It’s always nice to start off strong. Following that, most of my long shot picks were either scratched, or favorites took over. Even the featured Tampa Bay Derby, resulting odds for top the 4:  3, 2, 4.5, and 2.  Ugh.

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Finally in race 12 the finale, we got back on board with some decent odds.

R12 6:06ET 8.5f T MSW 3 YO F 53000 My quote was: “Native Rose at 15-1?? Who’s making those odds? “

The other long shot mentioned was scratched, but the top 3 were exactly as I ranked them raced at 6, 5, and 11 odds. And If you like wheeling long shots at the bottom of your dime super, which I do and is a great idea in maiden races, you may have got the 162-1 longest shot in the field in that 4 spot for a $698 dime payout.

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So we started and finished the day strong, but with lots of scratches and favorites in between. .

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This week we’re looking at stakes and other 3yo races at Colonial Downs. Keep in mind that during the entire weekend will be the Kentucky Oaks and Derby Futures Pool until Sunday at 6PM.

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That’s right, the short but high paying Colonial Downs is back in action, but with a new twist. It’s all dirt racing this week, which is shocking if you’re familiar with this track.  I was not shocked to see a lot of scratches Friday, because that’s usual for Cnl, but 8 of 11 scratches in their feature race the Boston was unappealing.

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But the weather forecast is strong for Saturday  March 15, set for 75 horses running in 10 races, featuring the Virginia Oaks and Derby, both run on the big dirt oval for the first time, and we’ll just hope for no scratches.

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Download or View Colonial Grid Free Here

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R9 5:10ET 9f D VaDbyB500k 3 YO  .One man happy to see this race switch to dirt is Bob Baffert, who enters favorite Getaway Car, who already has some credentials including the Sunland Derby win last out.  His 4 last PFs are better than anyone’s best pair in the field, and there are 9.5 good pairs in this field, since Georgia Magic only has one dropped yet.

Brad Cox will counter with 2 entries, also with decent credentials. John Hancock is the 2^nd choice and has won his first 2 races at Tampa including the Sam Davis stakes. Rapture is set to win his first stakes races.

So these 3 combined look like a legit trifecta trio, but at 2-1, 3-1, and 5-1 odds .  They’re all 3 in the KD Futures Pool.

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R8 4:25ET 8.5f D VaOaksB250k 3 YO F .The Oaks is a shorter field but looks more competitive all around.  There’s no obvious favorite but we have 8 strong fillies and literally any of them could win.  Looks like a good time for some exotics wheeling and dealing.  Gowells Delight is the only one appearing in the Oaks Futures Pool.

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Keep in mind there are 4 maiden special weight races for 3yo’s on the card, and some of those look just as good as those entered in the stakes, but of course they haven’t won yet.  You can see what I mean if you look at the Grid.

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Moving over to the Ky Derby and Oaks Futures Pool 5 Grid, You will see those 4 highlighted, and that they’re not being favored at all to win.  Instead you see various horses and fillies from the Baffert and Cox barns in the chalk.  Except for Cornucopian at 60-1 with the 3^rd highest PF in the chart in his debut for Baffert.

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Get Derby Oaks Futures Pool Grid Here Free

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You can do with that what you want, but there are lot of great odds on good horses and fillies, so pick some names, trainers, or colors you like and try to lock in early for a big Derby weekend.

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I hope you enjoyed this podcast which is now a weekly staple at the WWC.

As always, you can get The Grid for all your favorite tracks and races here.

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Good luck!   Dalton out.

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