Horse Race Handicapping College - the Kentucky Derby Big Show

Kentucky Derby Countdown:

28 Days Until May 3rd and the 134th Kentucky Derby

The Kentucky Derby Big Show

Tradition + College Students = Thoroughbred Horse Racing Super Bowl

You know you're from Kentucky if half your friends are spending the first Saturday in May going wild in the infield or parading around in over-sized hats with mint juleps in hand.

Secretariat raced it in one minute and 59 seconds in 1973. Last year, Street Sense raced it in a little over two minutes.

This May, Kentucky Derby favorites Pyro and Big Brown, along with 15 other contenders, hope to steal the coveted blanket of roses during the world's most famous two-minutes of horse racing.

"Growing up in Louisville, it's a must to go," Lauren Allard, sophomore from Louisville, Ky., said. "For me, it's a homecoming when I go back to Louisville for the Derby. I went to the Derby a few years ago. I loved seeing everyone dressed up where I saw many ridiculous and elaborate hats."

The 2008 Kentucky Derby will be held Saturday May 1 under the twin spires at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky.

As a tradition since 1875, 10 to 15 three-year-old horses will race 1.4 miles down a dirt track.

The winning horse will receive a purse of $2 million. Derby Day is preceded by The Oaks, a horse race exclusively for thoroughbred fillies.

Rest of the Story

Just like Football's Super Bowl, you don't have to be a fan of the sport to be caught up in all the talk and enthusiasm leading up to the most exciting 2 minutes in sports.

Rest assured, serious horse race handicappers are already studying the contenders for this year. [See 26 March 2008 Post]

Visit Horse Race Handicapping College for more information.

Horse Race Handicapping College - Thoroughbred Racing at Aqueduct

Kentucky Derby Countdown:

29 Days Until May 3rd and the 134th Kentucky Derby

Thoroughbred Racing Playoffs Continue at Aqueduct

War Pass + Aqueduct = Kentucky Derby Contender

Three weeks removed from an inexplicable defeat, War Pass will get the chance to answer a slew of questions on Saturday in the $750,000 Wood Memorial Stakes (G1) at Aqueduct.

The leader at every call in his five previous races, War Pass never reached the front in the Tampa Bay Derby (G3) and came up shockingly empty in finishing last as the 1-to-20 favorite.

No clear explanation surfaced, and War Pass never presented his trainer, Nick Zito, with a reason not to continue.

“For whatever reason, he just didn’t show up,” Zito said. “You want to be confident and draw a line through the Tampa race. I’m apprehensive, excited, happy—and cautious. I’m a fan, too, and I want to see a horse like War Pass run big. I always have confidence when I have War Pass.”

War Pass reassured Zito with a half-mile breeze in :47.40 on March 27 at Palm Meadows Training Center in his only workout since the Tampa Bay Derby.

“His work last week was great,” said Zito. “From what I can see, he’s going to put in a good effort.”

War Pass is one of four top two-year-olds from 2007 who go into the Wood Memorial in need of some rebuilding, with the May 3 Kentucky Derby Presented Yum! Brands (G1) five weeks away.

Rest of the Story

War Pass will have to have an exceptional run on Saturday to prove to horse handicappers that he has what it takes to take home some roses at the Kentucky Derby.

A poor showing here will open the door to the possibilities of not competing in Louisville.

Finishing out of the money and then continuing on to the Kentucky Derby will undoubtedly open many long shot opportunities for quite a few horse race handicappers.

Visit Horse Race Handicapping College for more information.

Horse Race Handicapping College - Horse Racing and Horse Race Handicapping Still Exempt

Kentucky Derby Countdown:

30 Days Until May 3rd and the 134th Kentucky Derby

Horse Racing and Horse Race Handicapping Still Exempt

(Even though the Feds say that internet gambling is ambiguous)

WASHINGTON (AP) — Congress' ban on Internet gambling is so vague that figuring out how to enforce it is a struggle, say federal officials charged with the task.

"I think it is very difficult without having more of a bright line about what is intended to be unlawful Internet gambling," Louise Roseman, head of the Federal Reserve's bank operations division, told a House hearing Wednesday.

"The challenge we have is interpreting something, particularly federal laws, that Congress itself isn't sure what they mean," she said.

Congress passed the ban with little notice in 2006 when Senate Republicans, pushed by then-Majority Leader Bill Frist, attached it to an unrelated port security bill in a rush of year-end legislation.

Internet gambling already was considered mostly illegal in the U.S., but the games are played by many U.S. residents on sites hosted overseas in a business worth more than $15.5 billion a year. U.S. bettors have been estimated to provide at least half that revenue.

The congressional ban sought to explicitly outlaw Internet gambling but didn't offer a clear definition everyone could agree on, instead referring to existing federal and state laws which themselves provoke differing interpretations. It put the burden on financial institutions by prohibiting them from accepting payments from credit cards, checks or electronic fund transfers to settle online wagers.

That's led to complaints from the financial services industry about the difficulty of determining where payments are going, especially because online betting businesses can disguise themselves with relative ease.

It "makes financial institutions the police, prosecutors, and judges in place of real law enforcement officers," Wayne Abernathy of the American Bankers Association told a House Financial Services subcommittee Wednesday.

Regulations proposed by the U.S. Treasury and the Federal Reserve last fall would apply to the gambling business' bank — generally not to the gambler's bank — and require it to use due diligence to ascertain the nature of its customer's business and ensure it is not processing illegal Internet gambling payments. The regulation doesn't attempt a definition of illegal online gambling, since Congress didn't give one.

Rest of Story

Bottom Line... The Law may be ambiguous, but horse racing and online horse race handicapping is still legal and can be quite profitable if you know the game. (Education is the secret key)

Visit Horse Race Handicapping College for more information.

Horse Race Handicapping College - 2002 Kentucky Derby

Kentucky Derby Countdown:

31 Days Until May 3rd and the 134th Kentucky Derby

2002 Kentucky Derby

Just another month to the 134th running of the Kentucky Derby and memories are still vivid from this strong performance 6 years ago.

War Emblem shows early speed, staying power down the back stretch, and found another gear down the stretch to the wire to win the 2002 Kentucky Derby.



From this performance, it was very hard for horse handicappers not to include War Emblem in future race selections.

From this years contenders, there will emerge a solid favorite, but don't count out the horse that is showing consistency with solid performances.

Be sure to order your Kentucky Derby tickets early.

Kentucky Derby tickets at Churchill Downs in premier seating-all backed by an unprecedented 200% money back guarantee.

Visit Horse Race Handicapping College for more information.

Horse Race Handicapping College - Extra Weight and Thoroughbred Horse Racing

Kentucky Derby Countdown:

32 Days Until May 3rd and the 134th Kentucky Derby

Extra Weight and Thoroughbred Horse Racing

Extra weight for a horse race handicapper can be a friend or an enemy.

That extra weight is the weight that is added to horses in a field to make the field consistent so that all horses have similar chances of winning the race. Although not the best way of making a field even in strength, this standard practice is widely used and horse race handicappers cannot ignore it.

When a very small weight is added, it is generally not considered to influence the horse's performance. However, if you are selecting a horse that is at the top of the weight list to win, then you will have to look at things from a different perspective. If that specific horse is significantly heavier than the next heaviest horse, a conservative horse race handicapper would probably consider another horse.

On the other hand, if the horse that you have selected to win is lighter than most of the other horses that are of similar strength, then you might take this as an advantage.

The best case scenario for picking a winning horse by its weight, is selecting a horse that is at the same weight or lighter than its rivals and is of similar strength plus if it is carrying lesser weight in this race when compared to its last start.

As long as your selection ran well in the last race and is running with a similar field in the current race, you can probably be assured of a good performance.

Visit Horse Race Handicapping College for more information.