Since 1924, horses aged five years and older have been participating in the Cheltenham Gold Cup, trying to capture this prestigious title. It is one of the most challenging and popular events on the jumps racing calendar, hosted by the Cheltenham Racecourse, and forms part of the Cheltenham Festival. This year the Cheltenham Gold Cup will be taking place on 19 March 2010, and trainer Paul Nicholls has already chosen an extraordinary team to participate in the festival. One of the names that stands out amongst his selection is previous Cheltenham Gold Cup winner, Denman.

From HorseRacing.com – http://www.horseracing.com

If you like betting on the lades, Gulfstream Park should be your destination on Saturday, with the Fasig-Tipton Filly Festival featuring three excellent graded stakes on the ten race card.
The stakes action kicks off in the seventh race, the $100,000 Sabin Stakes (G3) for fillies and mares going a mile on the main track.

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When visiting the Santa Anita Paddock Gardens visitors will find two breathtaking sculptures. One is of George Woolf, and the other is of his most treasured ride, Seabiscuit. This well known jockey was inaugurated into the Hall of Fame of Horse Racing, and after his death the George Woolf Memorial Jockey Award was created in his memory. This award, inaugurated in 1950, honors the achievements and contributions made by present day jockeys. It is seen as a prestigious award to receive and was won this year by jockey Calvin Borel.

From HorseRacing.com – http://www.horseracing.com

It’s the dead of winter in New York, and often a Wednesday card run over the inner track can lead some horseplayers (myself included) to doze off for a quick nap.
That won’t be the case today.
The nine race card on tap this afternoon is chock full of live longshots and vulnerable favorites, which should lead to some handsome payoffs, and we would like to be on board.
The play of the…

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Ten Florida Derby winners during the past 54 years have won the Kentucky Derby. The first was Nashua in 1955 and the last was Big Brown in ’08.
But nary a 3-year-old who triumphed in Gulfstream Park’s premier stakes race, scheduled for March 20, captured the Triple Crown. In ’56, Needles came the closet.

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A small but interesting field will line up to contest Santa Anita’s 7th race on Wednesday. Sometimes, horseplayers can find a horse to bet in a small field because the public is likely to jump onto the favorite.
That’s probably what’s going to happen with the chalk in Race 7 at Santa Anita on Wednesday, Alpha Kitten. Alpha Kitten is listed at 9 to 5 on the morning line. Does…

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The horse racing community has recently taken a little time out, to fondly remember one of their members who passed away on 14 February 2010. Not only was Dick Francis a celebrated crime writer, but before his career as an author began to take shape, Francis enjoyed a successful career as a jockey for nine years. Drawing from his experiences as a jockey, and by regularly attending live horse racing events after his retirement, he was able to keep his readers spellbound through his page turning plots and attention to detail.

From HorseRacing.com – http://www.horseracing.com

At the Fair Grounds, Discreetly Mine led all the way and held off Tempted to Tapit to win the Risen Star Stakes, while Jody Slew rallied from last to win the Silverbulletday Stakes over pacesetter Quiet Temper. Get the results, charts, and photos here.

From Horse-Races.Net – http://www.horse-races.net

The race to the Kentucky Derby on the First Saturday in May began in earnest last week when the racebook introduced the first future book odds on Kentucky Derby potential starters.
This week, three year olds get more serious, as the two biggest races on Saturday are both Kentucky Derby prep races.

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The stakes action for three year olds attempting to stamp their ticket to Churchill Downs for the Kentucky Derby hearts up in a big way on Saturday, with five graded stakes with over $1 million in purses up for grabs.
Ten of the 23 individual betting interests from Pool 1 of the Kentucky Derby Future Wager are in action on Saturday, and there is a good chance we could see the Derby winner in one…

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The La Canada Stakes was inaugurated in 1975, and is an event that is hosted by the Santa Anita Racecourse every February. Held for mares and fillies that are four years of age, the La Canada Stakes race is a Grade II event. It forms part of the La Canada Series, of which the other two races are the El Encino Stakes and the La Barea Stakes. Winning all three races seems to be an achievement that is not easily come by, as only three fillies have been able to take the title since the inception of the series, namely Got Koko in 2003, Mitterand in 1985 and Taisez Vouz in 1978.

From HorseRacing.com – http://www.horseracing.com

Popular mystery author and retired jockey Dick Francis passed away on February 14 at the age of 89. Many of his books took place in the world of horse racing.

From Horse-Races.Net – http://www.horse-races.net

After a good three day weekend of racing action where we saw a couple of potential Derby contenders, it is back to Aqueduct for a Wednesday afternoon card that holds some promise for profits.
Rule was a good looking winner in the Sam F. Davis Stakes (G3) at Tampa Bay Downs, stamping him as one of trainer Todd Pletcher’s best three year olds.

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Horses worth watching, a list of runners compiled by handicapper/turf writer Greg Melikov that should improve significantly or do well next time out, won nine times, ran second five times and finished third twice times since Jan. 7. These thoroughbreds are worth considering when developing your horse racing betting strategy.

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Horses line up to contest 6 furlongs over Golden Gate’s artificial Tapeta track in the 7th on Monday.
Often times low-level claiming races, like Golden Gates’ 7th on Monday, is the perfect place to find the best overlays.

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The rains have finally left Southern California. Well, we hope they have. We don’t mind rain out here in SoCal, but when it’s too wet, horseplayers end up having to handicap short fields.
It’s hard to find an overlay in a short field.

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This is the first weekend for future book Kentucky Derby betting. Make sure to check out my article on Kentucky Derby future wagers and then put some money on the horse, or horses, you think might win the roses on the first Saturday in May.
Gulfstream Park figures to be one of the places where a handful of Kentucky Derby contenders will emerge. On Saturday, Gulfstream has two graded races on…

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One race before the Grade II Santa Margarita, and two races before the Grade II Malibu, 12 horses line up for a $32,000 claiming race over Santa Anita’s turf course.
Why so many horses?  Because of the recent rain, trainers have kept their charges out of the races on Santa Anita’s card.  A lot of rain leads to taking races off of the turf.  So, when the chance of…

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There are two key Kentucky Derby preps on the wagering menu on Saturday, one on dirt and the other on a synthetic surface, and they are separated by 3000 miles.
At Tampa Bay Downs, a field of seven three year olds will go 1 1/16 miles on the main track in the $225,000 Sam F.

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Each year, three year old horses from across the world gear up to take on the prestigious Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing. The Triple Crown consists of three races, and winning all three is an honor that is rarely come by. It consists of the Belmont Stakes, the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness Stakes. The last horse to have won the Triple Crown was Affirmed in 1978. Other winners include Sir Barton (1919), Gallant Fox (1930), Omaha (1935), War Admiral (1937), Whirlaway (1941), Count Fleet (1943), Assault (1946), Citation (1948), Secretariat (1973) and Seattle Slew (1977).

From HorseRacing.com – http://www.horseracing.com

Last year all everyone could talk about was how great it would be to see the best fillies in action against each other. But just as racing fans began to lose hope that they would be able to witness a showdown between Rachel Alexandra and Zenyatta, Oaklawn Park Racecourse has put an offer on the table that most horse owners would not refuse. Unfortunately, the owners of both these magnificent horses are not easily swayed by purse money, yet there have been positive responses from both camps, making the faceoff between Zenyatta and Rachel Alexandra a very good possibility.

From HorseRacing.com – http://www.horseracing.com

Morning line odds have been released for the first pool which opens on Friday. As expected, the mutuel field is the favorite. Get the horses and odds here. Past performances coming soon.

From Horse-Races.Net – http://www.horse-races.net

They’re off the turf on Wednesday at Santa Anita. That’s okay because the Pick 3 ticket I plan on betting involves three races on Santa Anita’s Pro-Ride surface.
Have the recent rains in SoCal affected the Pro-Ride? It’s doubtful. According to on-track specialists, the Pro-Ride is in good enough condition for racing on Wednesday.

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Racing at Santa Anita resumes on Wednesday with an 8 race card. Thank goodness that the rains on Tuesday should be less than flood-like on Wednesday. That’s all horseplayers are hoping for on Wednesday…rains less than flood-like.
If that happens, then it should be a great day of racing.

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