By Jarrod Horak We are well into the second half of the year and the 3-year-old male division title is still very much up for grabs. Forte, last year’s 2-year-old champ, captured his third graded race in 2023 in the Grade 2 Jim Dandy Stakes at Saratoga on Saturday, July 29. A win in the […]
By Jarrod Horak The 2023 Triple Crown is in the rear-view mirror and we are speeding towards the big summer targets. The 3-year-old division is wide open at this stage and it is time to catch up with the sophomore leaders. Two Phil’s appeared to reach the top of the leaderboard after an impressive score […]
By Jarrod Horak The 2023 Triple Crown Series is over and we saw three different winners once again. That has been the case since 2019 and the current sophomore division is seemingly without a leader. The Derby featured a pace meltdown, the Preakness had no early pace, and the recently concluded Belmont Stakes was captured […]
By Jarrod Horak Arcangelo took advantage of a ground saving trip to win the 2023 Belmont Stakes. Javier Castellano rode the winner for Jena Antonucci. It was the first Belmont win for rider and trainer, and Antonucci became the first female conditioner to capture the Belmont and first to win any of the Triple Crown […]
By Jarrod Horak The 2023 Belmont Stakes will be run later today at Belmont Park and the conditions could not be more ideal. The track is fast with sunny skies and temperatures in the mid 70’s. It is time to take one final look at the nine entrants. 1 – Tapit Shoes (20-1): Brad Cox’s […]
By Jarrod Horak I took a look at the Preakness pace scenario prior to the second jewel of the Triple Crown, and this time I will see if I can unwrap the puzzling Belmont Stakes race shape. In the Kentucky Derby, the pace was sizzling and Mage rumbled home from the back of the pack. […]
By Jarrod Horak Preakness hero National Treasure has worked twice for the 2023 Belmont Stakes and the two morning moves could not have been more different. What does it mean and how will it affect his performance on Saturday? On Tuesday, May 30, National Treasure was surprisingly back on the worktab a mere 10 days […]
By Jarrod Horak The 2023 Belmont Stakes includes two runners from the powerful Todd Pletcher barn, 2-year-old champion Forte and Grade 1 Blue Grass hero Tapit Trice. Last year, Pletcher trainees Mo Donegal and Nest finished first and second in the final leg of the Triple Crown, and he seeks his fifth Belmont winner on […]
By Jarrod Horak The 2023 Belmont Stakes is shaping up as a very good betting race. Kentucky Derby winner Mage will not be running at Belmont Park after a show finish in the Preakness crushed his Triple Crown dreams, but National Treasure, the wire-to-wire winner of that race, is eyeing the final jewel of the […]
By Jarrod Horak As mentioned in my previous Kentucky Derby 2023 report, Todd Pletcher dominated the points races in March with Forte, Tapit Trice, and Kingsbarns. Fast forward to April, and the more things change the more they stay the same. Forte cemented his status as the Kentucky Derby favorite by winning the Florida Derby […]
