Big races Sat. April 12

Valuist

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Wood Memorial-

I initially said in a post yesterday I wasn't going to bet this race and its not far from the truth but I do plan on playing one exacta combination. Empire Maker will be around 1-2 and probably deservedly so, but I'm not going to try to beat him. What I do remember in the Fla Derby was Senor Swinger making a nice move on the far turn then stopping very suddenly. Turns out he flipped his palate. Apparently Baffert liked what he saw since he purchased (or purchased for someone else) the horse for one million. Empire Maker-Senor Swinger cold exacta

Blue Grass-

My opinion here is that Peace Rules and Badge of Silver might be a little overbet and that Offlee Wild and Lion Tamer will be a bit underbet. Lion Tamer fell a bit too far back early on and some horses just don't like TP. As for Offlee, he was wide in the Ftn of Youth. As of this point, from a wagering standpoint I don't know what I'll do. I may use OW and LT in Pic 3s and/or exactas on top on each other and with Peace Rules and BOS in the 2nd slot.

Arky Derby

A very wide open race. I think 6 horses could win this race so I probably will take a stand against the heavier bet ones. I'm hoping Eugene's Third Son will be one. He has the 12 hole and Day exits. He does handle the distance but I won't take 3-1 on him. The 2 sleepers with a real shot IMO are Christine's Outlaw and Defrere's Vixen. Christine's Outlaw has won 2 of 3 starts but had real problems in the one loss, not handling the turn, trying to get out and bolt. He figures to lay 2nd behind Cat Genius. Cat Genius has won all 4 races in which he finished but those were all under 1 mile and the one time he ran further than 1 mile. he was eased. But he does look like he can get a clear lead so he could be very dangerous. I took Aristocat over Region of Merit a couple weeks ago in the Tampa race and Region won by less than a length but Aristocat was really charging at the end. Both are legit contenders. Defrere's Vixen has only won once but has run some nice races against the likes of Peace Rules and Badge of Silver. I think Man Among Men will be overbet here because people will see he beat Empire Maker on Feb. 7. But that was before Empire Maker added blinkers, which he did for the Fla Derby. 6 contenders and 6 overmatched. Likely value: Christine's Outlaw, Cat Genius, and Defrere's Vixen. Possibly Aristocat or Region of Merit. Likely overbet: Eugene's Third Son and Man Among Men.

Bay Shore-
Halo Homewrecker is worth watching. This horse won the biggest key Mdn race of the Gulfstream meet as 5 horses who finished behind him came back to win.

Great cards at Aqu and Hawthorne today. Have to get going to the track. GL
 

Valuist

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At least Halo Homewrecker came in 1st in the Bay Shore. The Arkansas Derby was a mess and Keeneland had another outrageous rail bias. I think Brancusi would've beaten Peace Rules on a neutral track. One of the early speed horses was shut off at the break and with the scratch of Badge of Silver, Peace Rules found himself on the lead and on the golden rail. He is a go-against in Kentucky, as far as I'm concerned. Empire Maker won by a fairly small margin but it looked like he was just getting a little lazy in the stretch. Battaglia said on NBC he'd probably make Empire Maker 6-5 for the Derby morning line, which is very steep when you consider a 20 horse field. I don't think anything really changed other than the fact that some wannabes found out they don't belong in the Derby. Maybe the Arky Derby winner will end up going but he only won because of suicidal fractions.
 

taipans

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Had HH win and place, thanks. I love the key race theory, it always is a dangerous handicapping angle.
I hit the exacta in last years derby and had monarchos in the derby before that so iam on a little bit of a derby run but i will tell you that any exotics i play will have to include empire maker. i love to fade those big horses in big races but will not leave him out under any circumstances. bailey loves this horse and frankel is so overdue for this plus this horse just may be that good. also, he has had 4 races at 1mile and an eighth, thats alot of bottom going into the derby.
keep up the good work.
 
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