Summerfest Sports Orgy Blitzkrieg Quiz

I'm feeling a little more A.D.D. than usual today. And being the super-spaz child that I am inside, I'm looking for answers to a thousand (and one) questions. Discuss amongst yourselves... please help me answer my most pressing doubts, concerns, and fears. Take your time... this is one of [read more...]

A Dozen Challengers Will Try to Upset Big Brown

Big Brown was installed as the heavy odds-on early favorite in the 133rd Preakness that attracted a surprising number of challengers -- 12. The last 13-horse fields came during the past decade and both winners of the Kentucky Derby prevailed: War Emblem in '02 and Charismatic in '99. Ironically, they posted slower speed figures than in Louisville. Four other Derby [read more...]

Big Brown Goes for the Preakness Gold

Big Brown is aiming to become the seventh Kentucky Derby champion in the past dozen years to capture the Preakness. All previous six winners -- Silver Charm, Real Quiet, Charismatic, War Emblem, Funny Cide and Smarty Jones -- flirted with immortality before failing to become the 12th Triple Crown champion and the first since Affirmed in 1978. Big [read more...]

Big Brown Scares Away Derby Also-rans in Preakness

Can you recall the last Preakness that lacked a single runner from the Kentucky Derby to challenge the winner in the second leg of the Triple Crown? Better ask your grandpa because I was 13 when my favorite horse romped in a wire-to-wire victory by 5 ½ lengths at Pimlico. Citation, en route to the 1948 Triple Crown, defeated his [read more...]

Most Exciting Two Minutes in Sports? Not a Chance

I know what a lot of people will be doing around 5:30 central time today. They'll be flipping over to NBC to watch some horse racing. For you see, today is the 134th Kentucky Derby. I've heard it called the most exciting two minutes in sports. I've always felt that this is simply because it's the only event that takes [read more...]

My Kentucky Derby Picks: Four Horses in Exotic Bets

Hours of research on the 134th Kentucky Derby failed to single out a horse that I feel comfortable betting to win. This is the first time in years that I must throw a dart at the bullseye on the wagering board. However, I have come up with several 3-year-olds I believe have the best chance to hit the board. Here are [read more...]

Eight Belles Tries to Follow in Winning Fillies Shoes

A filly will try her luck in the Kentucky Derby for the first time in nine years. Eight Belles attempts to become the fourth to visit the winner's circle since Regret in 1918. Regret lived up to her odds and was the only female favorite to whip the boys. She immediately went to the lead, never looked back and defeated 15 [read more...]

Speed Figures Are Key Derby Handicapping Tool

The 134th Kentucky Derby is difficult to handicap for several reasons ranging from speed figures to varying track surfaces. For instance, a dozen contenders won 14 key preps from February through April. The only two-time winners, Pyro and Colonel John, haven’t posted a triple-digit figure this year. Pyro ran a dismal 10th in the Blue Grass on Keeneland’s Polytrack. The son of [read more...]

Early Kentucky Derby Planning Lowers Your Odds

I've found over the years that it's better to leisurely handicap the Kentucky Derby for at least a week than start researching on the eve of the first Saturday in May. Sometimes I take more time when the race appears wide open. Well, this year's 134th edition is just that. First, I seclude myself in the quiet confines of my home office [read more...]

My Top 10 on the Road to Churchill Downs

There's less than seven weeks until the 134th Kentucky Derby, so I guess it's time to roll out my initial list of the Top 10 for America's Greatest Race. Only one thing is certain at this time – no sibling of a Derby champ will wind up in the winner's circle on the first Saturday in May. Quite a few sires [read more...]

Three Preps Will Thin Traffic on Road to the Roses

Three Kentucky Derby preps should thin the ranks of hopefuls aiming for the grand 3-year-old prize on the first Saturday in May.The major player in Saturday's $300,000 Tampa Bay Derby is 2007 Breeders' Cup juvenile champ War Pass, who sent the Sam F. Davis Stakes winner scurrying north to Oaklawn Park for the $300,000 Rebel Stakes. Fierce Wind, victorious at Tampa [read more...]

Hart Surgery: 30 Before 30

I am very jealous of my roommate. Blessed with the entrepreneurial spirit, he has managed to support himself since college entirely without the need of a 9-5 job through various projects - he created a board game, a set of flash cards for Barron's, and is currently working on a luggage project that I'm sure is bound to be a [read more...]