I was browsing the forum today and found a horse in race three at Emerald Downs with a decent shot to finish in the money. He’s the one horse, Moscow Dancer, in the third race. The race itself is a one mile $7,500 claiming for horses three year olds or upward that have never won two races. There are a few possible winners in this race, including the 9-5 favorite, Last Outpost. However, I like to play a long shot now and again.

The seventh race at Evangeline Downs is 6 furlongs. It’s a $3,500 claiming race for fillies and mares that are at least three years old and have never won two races. There are fourteen possible horses in this field. It’s a traffic jam. The morning line favorite, at 3-1, is Popular Mystery. This three year old filly has shown some promise. She broke her maiden back on April 15 at Evangeline Downs in a $10,000 maiden race for fillies.

The eighth race at Mountaineer Park is 5 1/2 furlongs in length. It’s a 24k Maiden Special Weight race for three year old maidens. There are eight horses in the field. The favorite is Roman Legasy. He’s a three year old colt. He’s also the strong consensus pick for this race. The field is a bit green. Roman Legasy has one race, which was at Churchill Downs on May 13. That race was a 23k Maiden Special Weight. He started off slow, but came on down the stretch. Still, he finished second—four lengths behind.

Race 5 at Evangeline Downs is 5 furlongs and features eight horses in the field. It’s a Maiden Special Weight $24,000 for 3,4 and 5 year olds. I looked over a fair amount of data today and it looks like a strong consensus is on My Boy Lucus (6-1) and Peruvian Legend (8-1). The field features two first time starters—Great Claude (3-1) and Cell Block Three (10-1). The favorite, my pick, is Shakin Off at 5-2.

Race 4 at Evangeline Downs features a mammoth fourteen-horse field. It’s a 7 furlong $17,000 claiming race for accredited Louisiana bred horses that are at least 4 years old. Also, the entire field has not won a race since January. Since the field is huge, the morning line odds are pretty hefty. The three expected favorites are Glad You Dance at 7-2, Fraserriverspell at 9-2 and Sauce Pecan at 5-1.

Last week I took some time off and headed to California. I visited one of my favorite racetracks, Hollywood Park. I had a decent day. I was mainly there to test out my photography skills and enjoy the day. I have a picture from that day to share with you. I hope you like it.

The photo below is ©2006 Jason Andrew Martin LLC. All rights are reserved. No rights to reproduce or use in any manner granted. You are welcome to link to this page. Directly linking to pictures is prohibited.

Today, I am bringing you an introductory article about horse racing handicapping in regards to the class of the horse. A popular misconception among new or casual horse racing bettors is that a horse is a horse. Typically these people just look at speed and lump all horses into the same class. Why is class important? That’s the first thing we are doing to discuss today. I will also give you some examples and hopefully newfound knowledge for your next betting endeavor.

This month Churchill Downs has nine graded stakes races. Without a doubt, the best day to be at Churchill Downs is going to be June 17th. On that day, they are running six graded stakes races. One will be Grade I, two will be Grade II and three will be Grade III. The main event is the Grade I $750,000 Stephen Foster Handicap for three-year-olds and up. It will be run over 1 1/8th mile. Below is a listing of all other graded stakes races in the month of June at Churchill Downs.

There are nine graded stakes races at Hollywood Park this month. The biggest weekend is probably June 10th and 11th. On those two days at Hollywood Park, there are three graded stakes races: 1 Grade I, 1 Grade II and 1 Grade III. The Grade I stakes race is the Charles Whittingham Memorial Handicap. The Hollywood Breeder’s Cup Handicap is the Grade II race and the Ack Ack Handicap is the Grade III race. Following is a listing of all graded stakes races at Hollywood Park for the month of June.

Following is a listing of stakes races being run at Belmont Park for the month of June. This is a great month at Belmont Park. It’s filled with many graded stakes races at Belmont Park. The big day is June 10th. That’s when the $1,000,000 Bemont Stakes is being run. On June 10th, Belmont Park is running six graded stakes races. Three of those races are Grade I and three are Grade II.