Spring - Summer - Fall Racing

Handicapper's Corner

Home of the 2024 Stanley Cup Champions

It's a return to largely racing from the "Sunshine Simulcast Center" as the winter meet at Gulfstream has ended. It's was an interesting winter in So Florida for the live racing of the "Championship Season" as so many of the cards were "less than stellar" let's say to put it kindly. But....I always enjoy the daily handicapping and visiting the live races. Obviously the highlight was Florida Derby Day - perhaps THE BEST one yet as far as enjoying the day - check the day's pics HERE! Check out the Gulfstream Meet on my Gulfstream page, HERE. On to the Triple Crown season in the spring, then the summer racing season highlighted by daily handicapping at Monmouth Park which opens in late May! Check out my handicapping profile HERE.

Racing has shifted to the Winter Season - visit my Gulfstream Championship page HERE

Spring - Summer - Fall 2024

Fall Racing Season 2024

The last segment of the "off season" is highlighted by the Breeders' Cup World Championships the first weekend of November. At the beginning and in the middle of the season, Kim and I will be traveling overseas.....again! Check back for analysis & selections of key weekend racing dates!

Since the end of March and the conclusion of the Gulfstream Winter Season my combined totals for the eight months of the spring-summer-fall season:

953 Selections / 360 WINS (653 In-The-Money) 37.8% WINS

ROI; $2.01

Nov 6 - 9 Ending The Fall Season

With the Gulfstream Championship Season just two weeks away I played the Churchill Downs races Wed-thru-Friday and then played Aqueduct & Laurel with Churchill for the Saturday racing schedule. Crushed both the graded stakes features in New York on Saturday and won with my "best" at Laurel in one of their stakes events. For the week I cashed at nearly 40% with a clear profit, again. Was almost certain to have a good week after hitting three-of-six on Wednesday. CLICK HERE to see the pics and read the stories from this final week of fall racing.

Taking next weekend off before playing the Opening Weekend at the Fair Grounds in two weeks. CLICK HERE to visit my Gulfstream page.

Breeders' Cup 2024

Breeders' Cup Weekend: November 1 - 2
The World Championship weekend was a good one for me! I played strictly the races from Del Mar on "Future Stars Friday" and played the Belmont card with Del Mar on Saturday. Friday I won 40% of the picks including the two best bets of the day. Saturday I was pleased that despite missing on my BEST of the Day I still won nearly 50% of my selections and showed a clear profit! For the weekend I ended up with a sharp 44% winning average and a positive ROI of $2.25. CLICK HERE to read the stories and see this weekend's photos!

October 26 - 27

Closing Day at Keeneland / Opening Day at Churchill

Empire Showcase Day

I flew to Ohio to visit my Mom, sister & niece and to see friends on Thursday, and I'd already handicapped the Saturday card - Closing Day at Keeneland and the stakes card at BAQ. Friday morning I finished the handicapping for Sunday and drove to Cincinnati to visit our pals MP & Tom. Drove back Saturday morning in time to start playing the races. Over the two days I scored on nearly 50% of my selections and profited well over $75! To read the stories from my weekend in chilly Ohio CLICK HERE.

Saturday October 19: Florida Sire Stakes Day at Gulfstream

Home from our amazing trip from Geneva to Nice, I was able to play the races from home at the "Sunrise Simulcast Center" before heading off to the arena to watch the Florida Panthers rally for a thrilling overtime win over the Las Vegas Golden Knights. CLICK HERE for this weekend's stories & photos.

Saturday October 12 - Maryland Million Day

From Nice France

It was our final day in France and after spending the afternoon in Monte Carlo I made all my wagers for Maryland Million Day at Laurel, as well as picks from Keeneland and Belmont at Aqueduct before we left for dinner (because of the six-hour time difference). After posting my travel pics of the day I was able to begin watching replays. Then at the airport the next morning (5 am France time) I watched the rest of them as I compiled an excellent 9-for-19 record and nearly $100 in clear profit on the day. CLICK HERE for the highlights.

Fall Stars / Opening Weekend at Keeneland

Despite sailing through France on an AMA Waterways river cruise I was able to play the opening two days of the Fall Meet at Keeneland and a couple other big Breeders' Cup "WIN and You're In" races from around the country. Just having a great time sailing through France - bonus to play and win at the races! CLICK HERE for the report on the two days of racing from the AMA Cello river cruise ship.

CLICK HERE To Follow Our Trip

Saturday September 28: Breeders' Cup Preview Day / California Crown Day

On the final day of racing while we were home between European trips, I had picks from four different tracks with five Breeders' Cup "WIN and You're In" races, as well as picks from the inaugural "California Crown" Day at Santa Anita, designed to be the So Cal version of Gulfstream's Pegasus World Cup Day. By the time 11pm rolled around and the last race had gone off at Churchill in their "Downs After Darks" program, I'd scored with 40% of my selections....won four stakes - including the BET of the Day in the Grade 2 City of Hope Mile - and scored a clear profit. CLICK HERE to read today's stories!

Saturday September 21: Pa Derby Day

Followed up the big Friday night in Erie with a solid day on Saturday. After a slow start I was able to score in four stakes at Parx including the top two big ones, and also got wins at Churchill & Gulfstream. For a complete rundown of the weekend, CLICK HERE.

Friday September 20: Presque Isle Downs Masters Night

After being in Europe for nearly three weeks and away from handicapping, apparently I have NOT lost my touch as I went an amazing 5-for-8 (62%) on PID Masters Night, including two big stakes wins - one of which was the featured Gr 2 event ...... with a big profit for the evening's work!

British Isles Racing: September 7 & 14

As we sailed through Scotland and visited Norway, before spending 20 hours flying back to South Florida I played a few races via the Xpressbet platform. We will be home for a mere two weeks before heading off the Europe for another amazing adventure, traveling from Switzerland thru France with AMA. To get a wrap up to the racing while we were on the Viking Neptune, CLICK HERE.

September 5-7: Racing From Scotland

As we started our second week of our adventure this Thursday, a highly regarded colt was made available on MyRacehorse and I jumped on board (despite the pricey cost per share). To be trained by Hall of Fame Bob Baffert, the description for this colt was much stronger in terms of anticipation than what I typically read when they promote a new purchase. Excited to see where this one goes! Then on Saturday as we sailed around Scotland I made four selection and won with two of them.

August 30 - 31: Sailing The British Isles

The Fall Racing season kicked off with a "soft opening weekend" as they say, as we were sailing on the Viking Neptune on a nearly three week "British Isles Explorer" itinerary. But, because it was Pacific Classic weekend I decided to look at the stakes cards from Saratoga and Del Mar on Saturday. The racing action kicked off on Friday, and it took place - because of the time change - while we were sailing in the middle of the night between London and Dover on the southern coast of Great Britain. My filly - yes, through MyRacehorse I'm a part owner of Seismic Beauty, a highly regarded 2yo that is trained by Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert. She broke her maiden in style leading Baffert to say "the sky's the limit for this filly!" The three races on Saturday saw me win one and finish second in the other two!

Closing Weekend Of The Summer
Aug 23 - 25: Multiple Stakes & Oliver B'Day Weekend

It was the closing weekend of the Summer Racing season for me as we leave for the British Isles next week, and that will be Labor Day Weekend, which traditionally ends summer racing for me. We spent the weekend in Orlando celebrating our grandson Oliver's 8th birthday! Friday was a glorious comeback night of racing, but Saturday was a day full of oh-so-close second & third place finishes. CLICK HERE to read all the stories and see the photos from the final week of summer racing.

Three "just-miss" 2nd place finishes cost me over $100

Happy Birthday To "The Boy!"

August 16-18: Alabama Stakes Weekend

Do you want the good news or the bad news first? Lets finish up strong, so the bad news for the weekend's racing was that in the two Saratoga graded stakes I ran second, BOTH in a photo finish. SOOOO close in both of them. Exciting races, but second. Now all the good news! On both those races I got money back thanks to the TwinSpires "Money Back" promotion. For the day Saturday I won nearly 40% of my selections and made over $50, with two wins in stakes races at Monmouth & Gulfstream. Remarkable to be honest that after losing those added money wagers at the Spa that I STILL come out over $50 ahead for the day! And in a cool twist, on Friday the CBS Morning News Team showed pics of their grade school selves to honor "Back To School Week." So I posted on Facebook my version and got a huge response! CLICK HERE to see all the photos and stories from the weekend.

Arlington Million Weekend: August 9-11

Originally Million Day at Colonial Downs was scheduled for Saturday August 10. But when Hurricane Debby roared up the Eastern Seaboard and dumped an enormous amount of rain on the Carolinas, Virginia, and upstate New York the major turf races were moved to Sunday. Still, the racing on Saturday was GREAT as I won 10-of-19 selections, including four stakes races....one of which was the BET of the Weekend in the Grade 2 Yellow Ribbon at Del Mar where Anisette was easily best. On Sunday, Million Day, I didn't have nearly as high a win percentage but I did score in FIVE stakes races, two on the Million Day card including the iconic Grade 2 Beverly D. CLICK HERE to see all the pics and read this week's stories!

August 1 - 4: Birthday Weekend

Celebrated a new decade on Thursday and was so touched by the more than 75 well wishes from so many friends and family, especially several former students from my teaching days. Then on Friday, as I flew to Ohio with my Mom, sister and niece, I went 3-for-4 at Saratoga including a sweep of the graded stakes races, and followed that up by cashing 10-of-20 tickets on Saturday including both of the nationally featured Grade 1 events, with the Grade 1 Hirsch at Del Mar being the BEST BET of the Weekend on Bob Baffert's Adare Manor. CLICK HERE to see all the photos and read all the stories from the weekend.

It was a great birthday - with a lot of birthday wishes

A year of amazing experiences....... looking forward to another year of the same

July 27: Jim Dandy Day/Bing Crosby Day

Saturday was a good day at the races! After starting off a mediocre 4-for-14 to begin the day, I closed with a big rush to win NINE of the final fourteen including the featured Gr 2 Jim Dandy and both the Del Mar stakes - with the Grade 1 Bing Crosby being the BEST of the Day! CLICK HERE to see all the pics and stories from today.

Saturday July 20

Haskell Day / CCA Oaks Day / Opening Day at Del Mar

We arrived home from our amazing "Rhine River & Swiss Alps" river cruise-tour on Thursday evening, and I spent Friday handicapping the cards at Monmouth, Saratoga and Del Mar. It was an "OK" day at the races as I won eight times but cashed on 39% of my picks due to the TwinSpires "Bet Back" promotion. The highlights were the two "BET of the Day" wins with Idiomatic in the Grade 3 Molly Pitcher and Thorpdeo Anna in the Grade 1 CCA Oaks. CLICK HERE to read the stories of the day.

July 4 - 5

The LAST set of races before we head out on our next big adventure, sailing the Rhine River with AMA Waterways was highlighted by a sweep of the two NYRA features on July 4th and the Bet of the Week in the featured Grade 2 Brookln on Friday; and exchanging greetings with hottie handicapper and long time social media gal-pal Acacia Courtney-Clement. Check out the stories and the photos from the final two days of racing prior to the great adventure CLICK HERE.

June 28-30: Closing Weekend At Churchill Downs

Scylla WINS Grade 2 Fleur de Lis - The BET of the Weekend

The three day weekend marked the close of the third month of the summer racing season, the close of the Spring Meet at Churchill Downs, and the final weekend of handicapping for me before we set sail on our second big trip of the 2024 year. Next Saturday we take off for Europe where we will sail the Rhine River with a group of 30 people put together by our good friend & travel agent Nancy Nelson. The week started out in memorable fashion as a 26-year wait for us was ended when our Florida Panthers WON the Stanley Cup! SO AMAZING! Over the three days of racing I scored with a big 41% of my picks at a profitable $2.15 ROI. To read all the stories, see all the photos, and check n on the MANY contacts I had with my social media pals this week, CLICK HERE.

Monday June 24: Epic Game 7 Of The Stanley Cup Final

Ohio Derby Weekend: June 20-23

The highlight of the weekend was supposed to be the Northern Lights Turf Festival at Canterbury but it was washed off. Still had an "OK" four days of racing as I cashed in on several tickets each day. The LONG hockey season came to an end with an epic, winner take all Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final on Monday. CLICK HERE to see all the pics and read this week's stories!

Haskell Preview Weekend / Stanley Cup Finals

June 10 - 17

The week started off with an epic Game 2 win in the Stanley Cup Finals at the arena and then we joined over 10,000 fans at a Watch Party to witness a third straight win on Thursday night - we come home for Game 5 with a commanding 3-1 series lead and a chance to hoist the Stanley Cup for the first time in franchise history on our home ice Tuesday! Meanwhile, I played the races on Friday (my Dad's birthday) and scored twice; then on Haskell Preview Day / Downs After Dark Night I hit on nearly 50% of my selections (10-for-21) and a big profit, including a win in two of the Monmouth stakes, one of which was my BEST Bet! CLICK HERE to see the photos and read the stories!

Belmont Festival Weekend was an excellent series of days at the races. Starting on Thursday I finished each and every day ahead with a big win percent. I cashed on the BET of the Weekend on Friday with what I think is the best 3yo in the country, of either sex, Thorpedo Ann in the Grade 1 Acorn, and finished with TWENTY-FOUR WINS for the four days, including ten stakes races - and a big $2.43 ROI (and a healthy profit!). CLICK HERE to read all of this week's stories and see all the photos.

The Third Month Of Spring/Summer: May 31 - June 2

The highlights of this weekend were the Friday night Penn Mile card, the six stakes Saturday Stephen Foster Preview Day card at Churchill, and most especially, the epic Game 6 win by our Florida Panthers Saturday night to clinch the Eastern Conference title for the second year in a row and move into the Stanley Cup Final. Before heading to the game I scored with ten races including four of the six big events in Louisville. CLICK HERE for all the stories and photos.

Memorial Day Weekend Racing

Several highlights of the big, four day extended weekend of racing. First and foremost, every day brought a "highlight" worthy of story telling! On two different days I hit a big priced winner, and on three of the days I scored with my BEST of the Day, including the "BET of the WEEKEND" on Sunday. But what I will most remember and tell stories about for this weekend is the nine-hour marathon day on Saturday that saw me struggle mightily to find a winner (1-for-14 start) that turned around to be a 19-win day (40%) and the "best $3.05 profit" I've ever made! CLICK HERE to see the photos and read all the stories.

Preakness Weekend: May 17-18

Back from our epic initial adventure of 2024 to Greece and Italy, the first big racing weekend was the second leg of the Triple Crown, Preakness Weekend. Much like Derby weekend I didn't hit the big race on Saturday but DID hit the big race for the fillies on Friday, this time with Gun Song in the Gr 2 Black-Eyed Susan. This was just one of the SIXTEEEN winners I had over the weekend as I scored with 42% of my selections while posting another profitable result with a $2.29 ROI, much in part again to the TwinSpires "Bet Back" feature that they were running at Pimlico. To see all the photos, read the stories, and catch up on the end of our international trip, CLICK HERE.

Opening Night At Canterbury Park!

May 3 - 4: Kentucky Oaks/Derby Weekend

It was a most unique Derby weekend! I've played the Oaks & Derby Day races at Churchill Downs, at Calder Race Course, at Gulfstream, and at home at the "Sunrise Simulcast Center." But as it so happens this year Kim and I were on a Viking Oceans adventure sailing thru the Mediterranean! So I handicapped the two cards while in Greece, and played Oaks Day from Greece. Then I played the Derby Day card while we were in Montenegro! At the end of the two days I'd won 39% of my bets, cashed on over 65% of them (thanks to the Twin Spires "Bet Back" promotion; and made a flat bet profit while picking the Oaks winner and four other stakes winners! CLICK HERE to read the stories from the Derby Weekend while I was in Europe!

April 26-27: It was Closing Day at Keeneland on Friday and on Saturday it was Opening Day at Woodbine, then Opening Night at Churchill Downs. For the two-day period I won with over 50% of my picks! AND had a flat bet profit! CLICK HERE to see the pics and read the stories.

Keeneland: Week 3 - April 19-20

Kingsbarns RUNS AWAY With Grade 3 Ben Ali

Weekend Racing - Continued WINNING!

Since the close of the winter racing season I've been pretty much limited to weekend racing but I've had continued high winning percentages. Saturday I had races from Aqueduct, Laurel, Oaklawn, Santa Anita, and of course Keeneland. I scored with 43% of my picks including five stakes wins, the best being an oh-so-close thrilling edition of the Grade 3 La Providencia in the final bet of the day at Santa Anita where Medoro kept her record unblemished with a desperate photo finish victory as my "prime time" play. One more weekend of racing before we are off on the first of FIVE big travel adventures for 2024. CLICK HERE to see this week's pics and read the stories.

Next Week: Viking Oceans "Empires of The Mediterranean"

CLICK HERE To Follow Our Adventures

Keeneland Week 2: April 12 - 13

It was the final opportunity to earn points towards a berth in the Kentucky Derby in Keeneland's Lexington Stakes on Sat. I didn't have the winner there, but "cashed" my ticket thanks to the Twin Spires bonus promotion. On Friday I hit on four of five selections, including the BET of the Weekend in the Gr 1 Maker's Mark Mile. Then Saturday I had eight winners from twenty selections, including the winner of the Grade 1 Apple Blossom at Oaklawn where Bob Baffert's Adare Manor went wire to wire impressively. Included in my wins were two stakes at Laurel, a Gr 3 at Keeneland and the supporting Gr 3 Count Fleet at Oaklawn. AND our Florida Panthers won in overtime to clinch home ice advantage in the upcoming Stanley Cup playoffs! CLICK HERE to see the pics and read this week's stories.

Spring 2024: Opening Weekend

With the Gulfstream Winter Meet behind us we moved into the Spring/Triple Crown Season this weekend as Keeneland's Spring Meet kicked off on Friday. Saturday was the "Florida Derby Day" at Aqueduct, Keeneland, and Santa Anita. Didn't hit any of the big Derby or Oaks preps but I did score in the first 2yo race of 2024 and with the BET of the Weekend. Also, with live racing at Gulfstream decidedly less appealing in quality this weekend marked the "opening" of the Sunrise Simulcast Center where nearly all my racing adventures will take place until next December. CLICK HERE for the pics and stories of Opening Weekend.