The Kentucky Derby is almost ready to run.

I am going with the 10, Firing Line Gary Stevens on board.

Will key box with the 2,3,8

GL

im with no#8 to win.

I ran third.

I liked Dortmund right trainer wrong horse.

Gary almost had it, would have been great, 52 year old survivor.

The Preakness tomorrow.

Second leg of The Triple Crown.

I will stick with my Horse from the Derby.... Firing Line.

He is the number 8.

Derby winner American Pharoah drew #1 post. If he gets a clean trip he will win but no one gets a clean trip in NY traffic so this is why I say even if he takes the race tomorrow he will not prevail in the Belmont Stakes.

# 8 to Win.

#8 over #1&2 for the Exacta.

#8 over #1&2 over All for the Triple.

Good luck everyone and enjoy.

sorry, firing line broke down, great race by American pharaoh.

You ain't catching a speed horse in the slop. Race could have been three miles and it wouldn't have mattered.

I can't believe I'm saying this, but the stretch at Belmont might not affect this horse one bit. Plus, half the faggy owners will pull their hoses from the third leg like they usually do anyway.

Espinoza's a classy little fella. I hope he takes the crown. But I still hate Bob Baffert as a trainer.

I think the rain helped some of the horses

this horse American pharaoh, has a shot in the Belmont, he could be the first triple crown winner since 1978.

you guys may not remember but the greatest horse baffert ever had was named point given. greatest horse I ever saw, next to ruffian.

When a "speed horse" gets out of the gate and gets near the top in a fairly fast amount of time, that horse is naturally harder to catch because a good percentage of the horses that were left behind are naturally slowed down by the mud. Now, when American Pharaoh came around the last turn and there seemed to be a horse closing in on him, Espinoza threw him into another gear all together. And that's pretty rare in the slop.

The long stretch at Belmont is always the litmus test for speed horses. But I'm telling you, had that race been run at Belmont today, under the same sloppy track conditions, it wouldn't have made a bit of difference. He may have won by ten lengths instead of seven.

I hate rooting for chalk. If you guys remember, last year I was rooting against California Chrome like crazy (and in the process, I "gave" Tonalist, who paid $20.40 to win, to my good buddy Cheech ). But this will be Espinoza's third shot at winning the Triple Crown. He lost at Belmont after winning the Derby and the Preakness with War Emblem and California Chrome. But Espinoza's a likeable little fella, he's been around forever, and I'll be rooting hard for him. I'll also be taking my Dad to Belmont to watch the race live .

pb.. you and your dad will see the first triple crown winner since 1978. it will be something to remember for the two of you.

Yeah I remember that, I really hope American Pharaoh gets the triple crown. Espinoza has been so close those last two times.

Hope you have a good time at the Belmont! Did you guys hear that they're considering changing to 4 weeks instead of 2 weeks in-between races?

True. It's usually better to bet on a front-runner in the mud. The horses in the pack can be weighed down by as much as ten pounds of mud thrown up by the front-runner(s).

It's always been two weeks in between the Derby and the Preakness, and three weeks in between the Preakness and the Belmont. So I have no idea what their plan might be. But is sounds stupid already.

They probably want the latter two events to synch up with something in Vegas (notice that there's always a big fight on Derby Day in Vegas---this year it was Manny and Mayweather).

Admittedly, I know little to nothing about horse racing. However, I heard some "experts" discussing this today and they were citing more rest for the horses was needed in between races for a better and more fair performance from the field. Again, just repeating a theory I heard today on sports talk radio.

That's what they're telling us. But trust me, it's about ratings and having these races coincide with other big betting events in Vegas. They couldn't care less about these animals.

This is no different than Roger Goodell looking to expand to an 18 game NFL season. If that were to ever happen, the Super Bowl would just "coincidentally" fall on President's Day Weekend, which is historically one of the busiest weekends in Vegas every year. But like I said, that's just a "coincidence."

Call me cynical. But I'm around horses and sports all my life, legal and otherwise (and when I say otherwise, I naturally mean as an observer ). And this reeks of greed to me.

For all we know, they're looking to push the Belmont back to the Baseball All-Star break, which is historically the slowest betting week in Vegas every year. It would boost an otherwise slow weekend.

No matter how you cut it, it's about the money and not about the horses.

That's it in a nutshell. It's always about the green backs!

Couldn't agree more. Well said.
You giving me Tonalist last year is 100 percent fact. You were at Belmont and I was at SportsHaven that day and you emailed it to me. And you HATED California chrome

Seventeen minutes to post, if I remember correctly. I was watching the board. And not to be conceited, but the exotics didn't quite add up. Now, this is a huge betting pool. It's not Yonkers Raceway on a weeknight lol. So for the exotics to be even a little bit off brings out the conspiracy theorist in me.

Two minutes pass, and the Smart Guy's fill-in (not the one in the can, the short fat one) goes and bangs out Tonalist. BIG. And this kid's half a brokester. But he's been hanging around some smart Jewish guys that he met through Taylor just before Taylor dropped dead. And I'm talking about the guys formerly known as the "Kosher Kids" and "The Computers." We always just referred to them as "Wise Guys." But not in the gangster sense, in the betting sense.

Anyway, no place or show bets. Just a HUGE win bet, and a fairly big triple wheel. So I just KNEW that the bets were for the "Kids." That a Connecticut guy gave me the tip felt like an Epiphany because you were in Connecticut and we had been texting all day. You must have gotten the bet in with a minute to spare .

Not only are you right about this year, but Mayweather historically has scheduled fights around that month and date. I just assumed the line that he was fighting around May 5 or Cinquo De Mayo to cash in on the Mexican American fight gate and ppv money.
Now that you mentioned Derby Day and Vegas.....it makes more sense.

Now....who cut off Khartoum's head?

Big Horse.

I will bet against him again.

i had to call down to SportsHaven and bet it on my phone line because i had already left to watch it at home. i remember like yesterday.

wise guys in that culture = sharp players. BW, the greek, the "kosher kids" you mentioned....nowadays the syndicate ive heard about is the "poker kids"

That's not such a stretch. It's not like they're inventing their own language, it's just a changing vernacular. It's not like when Puerto Rican kids who were BORN in New York City get their local congressman to lobby for them to take different tests than White kids because of a language barrier. And they were born here!! But now I'm going off topic.

Way back when, they were sharpies and wise guys. Then sometime during the Rosenthal era out in Vegas, you'd occasionally hear them referred to as the computers. Taylor did well with them.

Re Taylor: At one time the United States government had him labeled as the biggest bettor in the United States. They claim he bet 800 million one year, which is naturally bullshit. But they weren't lying when they said he was one of the biggest gamblers in the country. And what happens to bookmakers who gamble like that?

He dropped dead last summer and his daughter had to take up a collection to bury him. He was laid out at Castiglione's in Greenwich. They're half-assed cousins to the sportscaster from Fox (Duke Castiglione).

Taylor didn't have an ounce of Italian blood in him, but he loved hanging around wiseguys, especially in Italian restaurants. Tony owned him lock, stock, and barrel. The guy was a fucking riot. Two quick ones.

a) I saw him, with my own two eyes, bet 50k on the coin toss on the Super Bowl. He lost, then turned around and paid the little guy (the other guy who died last year) like he was paying for a fucking happy meal.

b) His tombstone reads "Bet with your head not over it." How do you not love a guy like that?

The Belmont Stakes: Saturday June 6th.

I will be picking #4 Frammento / Nick Zito

Good luck all.

RACE 116:50 PM Exacta, Trifecta (.50), Super (.10), Pick 3 Races (11-13), Double Wagers Leg B $300K Guaranteed Gold Cup/Belmont Double
STAKES Belmont S. presented by DraftKings
Purse $1,500,000 FOR THREE YEAR OLDS. By subscription of $600 each, to accompany the nomination, if made on or before January 17, 2015, or $6,000, if made on or before March 23, 2015. At any time prior to the closing time of entries, horses may be nominated to The Belmont Stakes upon payment of a supplementary fee of $75,000 to the New York Racing Association, Inc. $15,000 to pass the entry box and $15,000 additional to start. All entrants will be required to pay entry and starting fees; but no fees, supplemental or otherwise shall be added to the purse. The purse to be divided $800,000 to the winner, $280,000 to second, $150,000 to third, $100,000 to fourth, $60,000 to fifth, $45,000 to sixth, $35,000 to seventh and $30,000 to eighth. Colts and Geldings, 126 lbs.; Fillies, 121 lbs. The winning owner will be presented with the August Belmont Memorial Cup to be retained for one year as well as a trophy for permanent possession and trophies to the winning trainer and jockey. One And One Half Miles (Dirt)
PP Horse Virtual Stable A/S Med Jockey WGT Trainer M/L
1
1 Mubtaahij (IRE) 3/C I Ortiz, Jr. 126 M F. de Kock 10/1
2
2 Tale of Verve (KY) 3/C L G L. Stevens 126 D Stewart 15/1
3
3 Madefromlucky (KY) 3/C L J Castellano 126 T A. Pletcher 12/1
4
4 Frammento (KY) 3/C L M E. Smith 126 N P. Zito 30/1
5
5 American Pharoah (KY) 3/C L V Espinoza 126 B Baffert 3/5
6
6 Frosted (KY) 3/C L J Rosario 126 K P. McLaughlin 5/1
7
7 Keen Ice (KY) 3/C L K J. Desormeaux 126 D L. Romans 20/1
8
8 Materiality (KY) 3/C L J R. Velazquez 126 T A. Pletcher 6/1

No. 7 Keen Ice just cause the Louisiana Cajun is the jockey!!

What bookmaker do you guys use to bet ?

Think Ladbrokes are running an offer of a free bet on the champions league final, if your horse comes 2nd or 3rd.

£25 free bet also, if you join using PROMO CODE F25 - Ladbrokes Free Bet Offer

I'll take pletchers horse no #8. I can't bet against pletcher, the guy cost me 600 bucks 8 years ago when his filly "rags to riches" beat my horse "curlin" in the Belmont in 2007.

hes liable to stick it to American pharaoh Saturday.

I used to like Pletcher. But today he's in the same boat as any other big-name trainer.

He trains three and four different horses for different owners in the same race. And he does this every day, not just in the big races. As an owner, how can you trust his loyalty when he often has three other horses running against you?

I'll be there with my father, my son, my brother, and my nephew. We're rooting for history. We'll just bet the rest of the card.

you just might see history. but at 3/5 ?