My 18th year in print, along the Triple Crown trail

The vacation is over, I'm back on track! After my usual three month sabbatical from the sport of kings during the winter months, I'm ready to start my eighteen year covering thoroughbred action for the Amsterdam Recorder. It's also marks the thirtieth year for myself following the sport I love so much. Well, the past three months went quickly. Our unconventional mild winter has been a welcomed plus for this fifty one year old body and also a quiet one on the wagering front. I also took a sabbatical from wagering expect for the sparse stakes races on the weekends. It has been also tough to wager on certain tracks which have runners with Triple Crown and Kentucky Derby implications. I say that because my only wagering platform (Capital OTB) doesn't cover tracks like the Fairgrounds and Oaklawn Park because of contractual problems. I was told that this has been in effect since last summer, but only now when these tracks play a part in the Derby trail had I realized that. This even effected the first Kentucky Derby Future wagering pool. So, I had to open a new wagering outlet so I can keep abreast of those Derby prep races. This may affect the handle that Capital OTB receives from it bettors who are forced to go elsewhere to wager a particular track.

It was about a year ago, when our Triple Crown hero; American Pharoah was making his three year old debut. The rest is history and 2015 was a year we will soon not forget! This year, the crop seems much more wide open at this point. This was evident in the first Kentucky Derby Future pool where the "all others" field wager was a nice 5-2 at close. This has been the highest odds for that position since wagering was first available in 1999. Even though the public did not send the money in for that particular play, there are two runners at this point who standout in the 2016 crop for the First Saturday in May.

The Breeder's Cup Juvenile Champion; Nyquist and undefeated Mohaymen are the two top runners on every Derby list at this present moment. These two horses are on a collision course in a few weeks at Gulfstream Park in the Florida Derby. Both runners are undefeated, but have taken different paths so far to get to this point. Nyquist won his first start this year going seven furlongs at Santa Anita Park in the San Vicente Stakes. He's six for six now and will ship east for his next start and stretch out. Some question his ability to go a mile and a quarter the First Saturday in May because of his breeding. Nevertheless, he is the real deal and Doug O'Neill's best runner since I'll Have Another from four years ago. Mohaymen is trained by Kiaran McLaughlin for the Godolphin blue who last year campaigned Frosted on the Triple Crown trail. He is five for five and has won both starts at Gulfstream Park this winter. This son of Tapit is regarded as the leader in this year's group of three year old runners. These two horses are the leaders at this point, but I'm thinking otherwise with some other runner coming to the forefront in up coming weeks.

This week we have only one Kentucky Derby prep race and that's at Aqueduct in the mile and sixteenth Gotham Stakes. This race hasn't produced a true Kentucky Derby contender since 1989 with Easy Goer. Since then, only Stay Thirsty in 2011 has won a triple crown race (Belmont) and also was victorious in this race. Primarily this race has become a prep for the final New York race for the Derby, the Wood Memorial. A field of eight are assembled and really only one runner with high expectations for the First Saturday in May. Shagaf (#2) trained by Chad Brown has won his first two starts by a combine eight lengths well clear both times. This Shadwell son of Bernardini takes the next logical step here today versus stakes company for the first time. Sunny Ridge (#7) is the most accomplished in the field with a victory last out in the Withers Stakes which is a prep race for today. Both Pletcher runners, Mo Power (#5) and Rally Cry (#8) rate a chance here being lightly raced and meeting relatively soft competition.