HORSE RACING HORSE TRACK BETTING ARTICLES

Not all awesome two-year old horses end up at the Breeders' Cup, but that doesn't mean the ones who don't go end up being useless in terms of the Triple Crown. The Futurity Stakes at Belmont Park on Saturday is an undercard race for two-year olds, but this is the first shot for a lot of ponies to make a great first impression for their three-year old seasons.... 

Finger Lakes Gaming and Race Track isn't a track we generally talk about all that often, but this is the time of year where you can really get a good sense of who will be big shots on the NYRA circuit for some time to come. The winner of the New York Breeders' Futurity is going to have a great chance to move up the ranks next year as a three-year old and have a shot at qualifying for the Kentucky Derby through the Derby prep races.... 

This particular three-year old crop of fillies hasn't been largely noted, but those in the horse racing betting world realize that this is a truly elite crop of youngsters. The field racing in Saturday's Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup Stakes is good enough to challenge any previous field of three-year olds to enter this race, and the winner, if it is raced on short notice, could be a legitimate contender in one of the Breeders' Cup turf races.... 

The field at the Knickerbocker Stakes isn't quite as good as those running Belmont Park would have hoped, but there are still a lot of intriguing horses who could make a name for themselves the second Saturday of October.Let's take a look at Bookmaker's racebook odds for the Knickerbocker Stakes.... 

Purses of $1,000,000 and up generally get the attention of a ton of owners and trainers, but in the case of the Jockey Club Gold Cup Stakes this Saturday, only six have decided to try their hand at the mile and a quarter run at Belmont Park, knowing that the Breeders' Cup is right around the corner.... 

Two-year olds are being given fewer and fewer races to prove themselves at the Triple Crown level, and typically speaking, the ones who end up racing this time of year aren't heard of again in the spring when it really matters.... 

This Saturday may as well be called "Super Saturday" for horse racing, as any colt, filly or mare trying to get into the Breeders' Cup that hasn't qualified yet has one more chance to get into the Fall Classic.Two-year olds will run 1 1/16 miles in their biggest test of their careers at Santa Anita this weekend in their last prep for the Breeders' Cup at the Frontrunner Stakes.... 

Three-year olds and older are going to be on the dirt on Saturday at the Awesome Again Stakes, and the winner is very likely to end up going on to the Breeders' Cup Classic to take on some of the best ponies in the world.... 

Three-year old fillies are still trying to make their way into the Breeders' Cup Distaff and other races on the docket for the biggest two days of racing of the year. One way to get into the biggest race for fillies is to perform well here at the Cotillion Stakes, one of the rare Grade 1 filly races over the course of the fall leading into the Breeders' Cup.... 

The Super Derby is a Grade 2 race which carries a $400,000 guaranteed purse with it. It's a race which has lost some luster over the years, but we know there is a real chance to shine for the seven in this field on Saturday afternoon.... 

A dozen of the ponies of tomorrow are going to get their first big time start on Saturday against one other in the Grade 3 Iroquois Stakes, the winner of which is sure to be amongst the favorites at the Breeders' Cup Juvenile at the end of the fall season.... 

Some of the top fillies of tomorrow are going to get together for their first major test in a Grade 1 race against each other on Saturday at the Spinaway Stakes.... 

The summer's Grade 1 prep races for the Breeders' Cup are just about said and done with, but Saratoga has yet another great weekend of racing in front of it.Only eight will go to post at the Woodward Stakes, one of the top races of the entire summer, but the field is less than overwhelming without a single horse that probably stands a chance of being better than 15 to 1 to win the Breeders' Cup Classic.... 

A great day of racing at Saratoga kicks off with the ladies on the track running 1 1/8 miles at the Personal Ensign Stakes, a "Win-and-You're In" race for the Breeders' Cup Distaff to determine the three-year old filly champion.... 

American Pharoah is back on the track in a race which Triple Crown winners historically don't do all that well in. Then again, the super horse has tamed every challenge which has come his way since he turned three, and there's little reason to think that anything will change entering Saturday's Travers Stakes.... 

Just because American Pharoah didn't end up coming to Del Mar this weekend doesn't mean that the $1 million Pacific Classic Stakes is any less notable of a race. Beholder is one of the many top flight colts and mares ready to take to the track with a huge payoff with a near-guaranteed spot in the Breeders' Cup Classic on the line.... 

Remember the name Curlin? The "superhorse" has produced a ton of offspring in recent years, and perhaps his best foal will be on display at the Grade 1 Alabama Stakes on Saturday.... 

There aren't many fantastic days of racing at Arlington Park any longer, but the day of the Arlington Million Stakes is always a tremendous draw. The only day of Grade 1 racing of the year at the Illinois suburb track takes place on Saturday, as the best turfers in the world try to claim the track's biggest prize at the Arlington Million.... 

Any race named after the greatest horse of all-time has to be worthwhile.The Secretariat Stakes will see a glut of three-year olds take to the turf at Arlington Park in a de facto win-and-in race for one of the turf races at the Breeders' Cup.... 

Win and you're in the Breeders' Cup Classic. That's all the owners of the 10 horses who will go to post on Saturday at the Whitney Handicap care about. This Grade 1 race has a $1.25 million purse to be had, but the bigger reward for the winner is a coveted spot in one of the richest races in the world, the Breeders' Cup Classic.... 

A massive day at the track is on tap at Saratoga. There are a pair of Grade 1 races and a handful of other graded stakes races as well. Sprinting fillies will run in a "Win and you're in" race for the Breeders' Cup on Saturday at the Test Stakes.... 

The eyes of the horse racing world will be on Oceanport, New Jersey on Sunday afternoon, where the only Triple Crown winner that many in our generation have ever seen will be back on the track once again.American Pharoah will once again be competing for the first time as a Triple Crown champion at the Haskell Invitational.... 

Many of the three-year old colts who competed in the Triple Crown are now back on the course for their runs towards the Breeders' Cup.Coming up on Saturday is the Jim Dandy Stakes, one of the top races for three-year olds in the summer.... 

Every major horse had to get started somewhere. This year's Triple Crown winner, American Pharoah, was running races as a two-year old. Perhaps he wasn't on the track this early in his two-year old season, but the ones who are out there already tend to have a leg up when it comes to preparing for the Run for the Roses throughout the spring.The Sanford Stakes is really the first time we’re going to see legitimate 2016 Triple Crown contenders on the track, making this Saturday's race at Saratoga incredibly important.... 

There is only one Grade 1 race this weekend in the Sport of Kings, and that race will take place at Saratoga for the Diana Stakes.There's only seven fillies and mares going to post in this one, but there are a lot of stars on the track who could be difference-makers....