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Post Positions and Odds Set for the Kentucky Derby
The Aspiring Horseplayer | April 30th 2008 by Kevin Stafford
The field is set. The post positions have been drawn. Even the morning line odds have been established for the 134th running of the Kentucky Derby. All that’s left to do now is pick a winner, lay the bets, and wait for the gates to open. I& read more
Tuesday Morning Derby Updates
The Aspiring Horseplayer | April 28th 2008 by Kevin Stafford
Here’s the latest and greatest as the buildup to Saturday’s running of the Kentucky Derby continues to gain momentum: Behindatthebar, Todd Pletcher’s most recent Derby qualifier, will skip the Kentucky Derby and instead point to th read more
Monday Derby Update
The Aspiring Horseplayer | April 28th 2008 by Kevin Stafford
Well folks, it’s finally here. Kentucky Derby week has arrived! It seems like centuries have past since last year’s Derby and the moment we’ve all been waiting for - the so called “greatest 2 minutes in sports” - is read more
The handicapper’s pitfall - picking a Derby horse
The Aspiring Horseplayer | April 23rd 2008 by Kevin Stafford
Every year we go through this ritual. Twenty or so of the finest 3 year olds in the nation gather for the prestigious running of the Kentucky Derby, and all of us handicappers rush out to make our selections and identify “our horse” tha read more
Updated Derby Rankings
The Aspiring Horseplayer | April 20th 2008 by Kevin Stafford
This week brought more shakeups to the list. War Pass is officially off the Derby trail with an injury. Speculation is swirling that top fillies Eight Belles and Proud Spell may enter into the Derby field. I’m waiting for an official anno read more
Saturday Derby Shakeups
The Aspiring Horseplayer | April 19th 2008 by Kevin Stafford
Big news this Saturday on the Kentucky Derby front. One time favorite War Pass, who has had a 3 year old season from hell, has been declared officially OUT for the Kentucky Derby. Nick Zito indicates the colt has a minor leg fracture and will be read more
Coolmore Lexington rounds out the Derby preps
The Aspiring Horseplayer | April 18th 2008 by Kevin Stafford
That’s right folks, I’ve finally returned from California. It’s been a long and somewhat exhausting trip, but a good one nonetheless. I’ve been on planes and dealing with airports since roughly 4 AM PST, so forgive me if m read more
Gayego handles the dirt - wins Arkansas Derby
The Aspiring Horseplayer | April 12th 2008 by Kevin Stafford
Gayego holds off Z Fortune to win the Arkansas Derby Gayego, the Paulo Lobo trained son of 1992 Breeder’s Cup Juvenile winner Gilded Time, proved he belongs high amongst the Derby Watch lists by romping to an impressive victory over Z Fortune i read more
Blue Grass is all about the money
The Aspiring Horseplayer | April 10th 2008 by Kevin Stafford
Twelve horses will go to post this Saturday in the Grade 1 Toyota Blue Grass Stakes at Keneeland for $750,000. The winner will garner the lion’s share of the purse and take home $465,000 in earnings - essentially assuring their position in th read more
Updated Kentucky Derby Rankings: 4/7/08
The Aspiring Horseplayer | April 7th 2008 by Kevin Stafford
As usual, the information contained here is identical to that found on my static “Road to the 2008 Kentucky Derby” page. We’re starting to get into the home stretch now with only a month to go before the 2008 Kentucky Derby. La read more
Upset Saturday
The Aspiring Horseplayer | April 5th 2008 by Kevin Stafford
Saturday was a big day on the road to the 2008 Kentucky Derby. We had 3 major prep races across the country with the Illinois Derby at Hawthorne, the Wood Memorial at Aqueduct, and the Santa Anita Derby at Santa Anita. Upsets were the theme of th read more
Will the real War Pass please stand up?
The Aspiring Horseplayer | April 4th 2008 by Kevin Stafford
Ever since his disappointing (and mind boggling) last place finish in the Tampa Bay Derby, the connections for highly regarded 3 year old War Pass have insisted it was a race we could scratch. Something went wrong that day, whether it was the heat, read more
Santa Anita Derby a two horse showdown?
The Aspiring Horseplayer | April 4th 2008 by Kevin Stafford
The weekend racing action at Santa Anita in Arcadia, CA will feature the $1 million Grade 1 Santa Anita Derby. The Santa Anita Derby has historically been a very important prep race on the road to the Kentucky Derby, and this year figures to be no read more
Illinois Derby sets up nicely for Denis of Cork
The Aspiring Horseplayer | April 3rd 2008 by Kevin Stafford
One of the major Kentucky Derby prep races featured this Saturday will be the $500,000 Grade 2 Illinois Derby, going 1 1/8 miles on the main track at Hawthorne. The field has drawn seven entries, who are listed below by post position along with read more
Florida Derby podcast featuring the Aspiring Horseplayer
The Aspiring Horseplayer | April 2nd 2008 by Kevin Stafford
My apologies for just being able to post this. Last weekend the Aspiring Horseplayer went multi-media with my first attempt at podcasting Florida Derby picks. The guys over at www.thesportsmafia.com were gracious enough to invite me on to discus read more
Updated Kentucky Derby Rankings
The Aspiring Horseplayer | March 30th 2008 by Kevin Stafford
With 5 weeks to go now until the 2008 Kentucky Derby, the picture is starting to get a little clearer. Big Brown’s romp in the Florida Derby on 3/29 has shaken up the entire division. Will War Pass be able to return to form in the Wood Me read more
Big Brown looks for real
The Aspiring Horseplayer | March 29th 2008 by Kevin Stafford
Big Brown crushes the field in the G1 Florida Derby on 3/29/08 Rick Dutrow looks like he’s got a potential Derby winner on his hands with 3 year old phenom Big Brown. On Saturday at Gulfstream Park the 3 year-old son of Boundary destroyed a see read more
Florida Derby shaping up to be a good one
The Aspiring Horseplayer | March 25th 2008 by Kevin Stafford
It looks like we’ve got quite a race shaping up for this Saturday’s running of the $1 million Grade 1 Florida Derby at Gulfstream Park. In the past 12 years, 3 winners of the Florida Derby have gone on to prevail in the Kentucky Derby, read more
Adriano takes command to win the Grade 2 Lane’s End
The Aspiring Horseplayer | March 23rd 2008 by Kevin Stafford
Adriano pulls away in the Grade 2 Lane’s End at Turfway Park Trainer Graham Motion may have just found himself a Kentucky Derby competitor. Adriano, a 3 year old son of A.P. Indy, put in an impressive run over the Turfway Park synthetic track read more
Lane’s End highlights weekend racing action
The Aspiring Horseplayer | March 20th 2008 by Kevin Stafford
We’ve only got one true Derby prep race this weekend, the $500,000 Grade 2 Lane’s End Stakes at Turfway Park. While we may not have any big-named Derby contenders entered into the race, there is still much to be excited about. For sta read more
Updated 2008 Kentucky Derby rankings
The Aspiring Horseplayer | March 16th 2008 by Kevin Stafford
We’ve got 48 days until the “greatest two minutes in sports” with the running of the 2008 Kentucky Derby. Obviously there’s been some shakeups this week. The unbeatable War Pass got beat in the Tampa Bay Derby, and Sierra read more
Sierra Sunset pulls off upset to win the Rebel
The Aspiring Horseplayer | March 16th 2008 by Kevin Stafford
Sierra Sunset leads the field through the final turn and never looks back to win the 2008 Rebel Stakes at Oaklawn Park. Sierra Sunset added his name to the growing list of Kentucky Derby contenders when the the three year old son of Bertrando held on read more
Georgie Boy finds room, wins San Felipe Stakes
The Aspiring Horseplayer | March 16th 2008 by Kevin Stafford
Georgie Boy finds running room to the outside in the stretch and guns down Bob Black Jack and Gayego to win the San Felipe Stakes at Santa Anita on Saturday. Georgie Boy made a case for himself to be considered the top 3 year old on the California c read more
What happened to War Pass?
The Aspiring Horseplayer | March 15th 2008 by Kevin Stafford
War Pass, sent off as the 1/9 favorite, finishes dead last in the Tampa Bay Derby What happened to War Pass today? That’s going to be the question reverberating around the world of thoroughbred horse racing for quite some time. On Saturday t read more
War Pass looks to make statement in the Tampa Bay Derby
The Aspiring Horseplayer | March 14th 2008 by Kevin Stafford
War Pass The 2007 Breeder’s Cup Juvenile champion, and widely regarded top 3-year-old colt in the nation, War Pass, returns to action on Saturday in the $300,000 Grade 3 Tampa Bay Derby. The Nick Zito trainee and son of Cherokee Run has seen read more
Z Fortune a worthy favorite in the Rebel
The Aspiring Horseplayer | March 14th 2008 by Kevin Stafford
Winner of the Grade 3 Lecomte Stakes -Z Fortune (Associated Press photo) Saturday’s running of the Grade 3 Rebel Stakes at Oaklawn Park features what appears to be a classy favorite in Z Fortune, the runner up from the Risen Star. When we read more
Updated Kentucky Derby Rankings
The Aspiring Horseplayer | March 9th 2008 by Kevin Stafford
As promised, after an exciting weekend of racing that saw victories by Visionaire in the Gotham Stakes, Pyro in the Louisiana Derby, and Autism Awareness in the El Camino Real Derby, a near total shakeup of my top 10 contenders has occurred. I̵ read more
Pyro continues to improve - wins G2 Louisiana Derby in style
The Aspiring Horseplayer | March 8th 2008 by Kevin Stafford
Pyro wins the G2 Lousiana Derby with jockey Sean Bridgmohan aboard. (AP Photo/Bill Haber) Pyro returned from his impressive win last month in the Grade 3 Risen Star to take yet another move forward for trainer Steve Asmussen by crushing the field i read more
Visionaire wins the Gotham
The Aspiring Horseplayer | March 8th 2008 by Kevin Stafford
In a race obscured by heavy fog, Michael Matz trainee Visionaire defeated a field of highly regarded 3 year olds to prevail in the Grade 3 Gotham Stakes at Aqueduct on Saturday. The son of Grand Slam was placed towards the rear of the pack for mu read more
Gotham Stakes looks tough to separate.
The Aspiring Horseplayer | March 5th 2008 by Kevin Stafford
This Saturday is going to be a day filled with major prep races for the 2008 Kentucky Derby. While most of the attention thus far has been focused on the prestigious Louisiana Derby at Fair Grounds (which features Pyro), let’s not forget that read more
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