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We are excited to announce that our new and improved BetAmerica Blog is up and running on the BetAmerica.com website. We will no longer use this blog for future posts.

Fort Lauderdale Stakes

Gulfstream Park offers something that most tracks do not at this time of year, turf racing.  The majority of the country is under cold and snowy conditions, but Gulfstream is enjoying temperatures that are in the 70’s for the next couple of weeks.  This Sunday it is going to be a tad colder, high of 54, but the sun will be shining.  If the expected rain on Saturday doesn’t damage to the turf course then the 14-horse Ft. Lauderdale Stakes will be a great betting race.

The race is ridiculously wide open and features the first two finishers from last year’s race Kiss the Kid and Society’s Chairman.  Kiss the Kid is coming in off a different race schedule from last year and could be vulnerable as he hasn’t had a break since May.  Society’s Chairman is making his third start off a layoff and is one-for-two over this course.  Dry Martini could take some money for trainer Barclay Tagg.  He hasn’t won on the turf, but he does get a good turf rider in Javier Castellano.  Aside from Kiss the Kid, Danak and Bittel Road are the only two who show wins in graded stakes on the turf.  Danak’s win came in 2007 and Bittel Road’s in 2008.  Mambo Meister is one who can win.  He is two-for-ten on the turf, but comes in with a bullet work over the surface.  Vacation hasn’t lived up to his turf breeding, but in the money 19 of 25 times he is a must use in trifectas and superfectas.  An interesting long shot is Jet Propulsion.  He has the turf wins in the race, 11, the most turf wins at the distance, 5, and the highest lifetime turf Beyer, 106.  He is making his second start off the layoff, an angle he has shown improvement in before, and goes first off the claim for high percentage trainer Marty Wolfson.  In a race like this anything is possible.

San Pasqual Handicap

This Saturday is the 73^rd running of the Grade 2 San Pasqual Handicap at Santa Anita and features the rematch of BC Dirt Mile runners Neko Bay and Furthest Land.  Furthest Land got the better of Neko Bay that day defeating nine others at 21-1.  Neko Bay, with a change of tactics, could only manage a sixth place finish.  Furthest Land has had an interesting couple of months after his upset win.  After the race he went to Churchill to train and then in December went to Gulfstream where he has been training since.  The shipping probably doesn’t bother Furthest Land as eight of his nine starts last year were on different tracks.  He is also three-for-three on synthetics, but his last two wins were at average odds of almost 14-1.  He will start well below that on Saturday.

After the Dirt Mile Neko Bay finished third behind Mast Track in the Native Diver, a race in which Mast Track had his own way up front.  A return back to his favorite track, four-for-seven, will help him get back to the winner’s circle.  The one thing this race doesn’t have is pace.  None of the runners are true front-runners, which could lead more towards a turf-style race.  The horses who lay close are Cherokee Artist and Bold Chieftain.  The lead is not necessarily the place to be, but with a slow pace it’s possible someone goes gate-to-wire.  Goldsville has no business winning this race based on class, but goes sprint to route and may be in front.  If he can somehow ration that speed he could be dangerous.  That is one big if though.

Harness Stakes Action

This Weekend’s Stakes Action

The Big M is back in action with a few stakes races this weekend and BetAmerica.com still has great harness action from the East Coast to the West Coast, from Canada and the U.S.

Friday – January 8

• Meadowlands: The Complex, $20,000, 5 & Under, Pace
• Meadowlands: Clyde Hurt, $18,000, 4 & Under, H&G, Pace

Saturday – January 9

• Meadowlands: Presidential, $50,000, Free For All, Pace

Thoroughbred Racing Action

Weekend Stakes Action

Winter is in full effect this weekend across most of the U.S. and that means hot stakes action at Santa Anita and Gulfstream Park – these warm weather locales should provide some hot wagering action. Watch and wager on these stakes races all on BetAmerica.com.

Saturday – January 9

• Fair Grounds: Dixie Poker Ace Stakes, $60,000, 4&up, Louisiana-bred, 8f (turf).
• Gulfstream Park: Mr. Prospector Stakes – G3, $100,000, 4&up, 6f.
• Gulfstream Park: Old Hat Stakes – G3, $100,000, 3yo f, 6f.
• Gulfstream Park: Spectacular Bid Stakes, $100,000, 3yo, 6f.
• Gulfstream Park: Sugar Swirl Stakes – G3, $100,000, 4&up, f/m, 6f.
• Gulfstream Park: Gulfstream Park Turf Sprint, $75,000, 4&up, 5f (turf).
• Laurel Park: What a Summer Stakes, $50,000, 4&up, f/m, 6f.
• Santa Anita: San Pasqual Handicap – G2, $150,000, 4&up, 8.5f.
• Santa Anita: Paseana Handicap, $65,000, 4&up, f/m, 8.5f.
• Sunland Park: Winsham Lad Handicap, $50,000, 3&up, 8f.
• Tampa Bay Downs: Pelican Stakes, $50,000, 4&up, 6f.

Sunday – January 10

• Gulfstream Park: Ft. Lauderdale Stakes – G3, $100,000, 4&up, 8.5f (turf).
• Santa Anita: Santa Ysabel Stakes – G3, $100,000, 3yo f, 8.5f.

Meadowlands Harness Stakes

The Presidential

This Saturday, the Big M starts its Presidential Series, a Free For All pacers with a purse of $50,000 for this division race. The Presidential Finals are scheduled for January 23rd with a $125,000 purse being offered.

Blatantly Good appears well-poised for the Presidential Series after posting his third straight win in one of two $32,000 Invitational’s on the card. With Richie Silverman at the lines, Blatantly Good sat third on the outer tier and came home in :25.3 to best Mystery Chase by three lengths in 1:51.4. Trained by Mark Kesmodel, the 6-year-old son of Albert Albert improved his record to 28 wins in 88 career starts and surpassed $400,000 in earnings.

The field for the Presidential is as follows with Horse and Driver:

1. Lookout Hanover            Tim Tetrick

2. Jeremy’s successor         Tyler Buter

3. Cheyenne Knight            Larry Talbaum

4. Southwestern Dream      John Campbell

5. Golden Receiver             Andy Miller

6. Blueridge Western          David Miller

7. Martha Maxine               Brian Sears

8. Western Shore               George Brennan

9. Mystic Chase                  George Brennan

10. Winbak Speed              Ron Pierce

11. Blatantly Good             Richard Silverman

Gulfstream Park Sprint Showcase

Trifecta of Grade 3 Races This Saturday

This Saturday, Gulfstream Park will host five Sprint Stakes races, worth $475,000. The two feature sprints being the $100,000 Mr. Prospector Stakes and the $100,000 Sugar Swirl Stakes for fillies and mares, four year olds and up. Both these races are Grade III events.

Also on Sprint Showcase are the $100,000 Grade III Old Hat Stakes for three year-old fillies, the $100,000 Spectacular Bid Stakes, to be run at six furlongs for three year-olds and the Gulfstream Park Turf Sprint, a $75,000, five furlong turf race for four year-olds and up.

Mr. Prospector Stakes

The six-furlong event for older horses has been captured in recent years by such accomplished sprinters as Cajun Beat, Kelly’s Landing and Noonmark. Nine were entered for the 2010 race, including Graded III winner Custom for Carlos however Munnings will have a say in the finish.

Multiple graded stakes winner Munnings kicks off his 2010 campaign with a return from a three-month layoff in the Mr. Prospector Stakes as the possible favorite. The four-year-old colt has finished in the top three five times in Grade 1 races, but is still in search of his first victory at the highest level. Last year, he cemented his status as an elite sprinter with victories in the Woody Stephens Stakes and Tom Fool Handicap, both Grade II races at Belmont Park.

He completed the 2009 season with three consecutive third-place finishes against grade I company under sloppy conditions in the 1 1/8-mile Haskell Invitational at Monmouth Park, Saratoga’s King’s Bishop, and the Vosburgh Stakes back at Belmont. Munnings, the high weight at 122 pounds, drew post 4 for his Gulfstream debut and will be ridden by regular pilot John Velazquez. Overall, the chestnut brings a 3-2-4 record in 10 starts into the Mr. Prospector, with earnings of $617,240.

Custom for Carlos has been on the sidelines since a 3 3/4-length triumph in the Bet On Sunshine Handicap at Churchill Downs on November 21^st. The 4-year-old colt romped to a 6 1/4-length win over a trio of 3-year-old opponents in the six-furlong Grade III Jersey Shore in July.

Custom for Carlos made his first three starts over the Gulfstream track early last year, losing a head decision in his debut before breaking his maiden in his second start. He took a big step up for his third race in the Swale Stakes 28 and finished a respectable third. Julien Leparoux has the call on Custom for Carlos, who totes 120 pounds.

Past the Point ran second in Aqueduct’s seven-furlong Bold Ruler Handicap in his most recent start and is seeking his first graded stakes win for trainer Kiaran McLaughlin. The 6-year-old spent last winter in Southern California racing at longer distances. His most recent win came against an optional claiming allowance field at Saratoga going seven furlongs.

Peace Chant, a 7-year-old son of 2000 Breeders’ Cup Mile winner War Chant and 1990 Breeders’ Cup Sprint winner Safely Kept, scored his first stakes victory in the Phoenix Gold Cup Handicap at Turf Paradise in February.

The dark bay horse was off for nearly seven months before completing his season with off-the-board showings in the Forego and DeFrancis Memorial Dash

Prince Joshua comes off a third in the Kenny Noe Jr. Handicap at Calder for trainer Barry Rose. Second in Calder’s Carry Back in July, Prince Joshua is winless in four tries at Gulfstream. Rose also entered Make Me Zach, who ran seventh in the Kenny Noe.

New York shipper Starforaday finished third in the Gravesend Handicap for Gary Contessa at Aqueduct.

Graded stakes-placed Gentleman James, trained by Marty Wolfson, returned from a year’s layoff to win an allowance heat at Tampa Bay Downs in December.

Sugar Swirl Stakes

In the Sugar Swirl, formerly the First Lady Stakes, 4-year-old Bold Union, a four-time stakes winner in 2009, will lead a field of nine in this six furlong event.

Bold Union’s biggest win came in the Grade III Endine Stakes at Delaware Park in September when she led the field all the way over a sloppy track. She closed out her successful campaign with a wire-to-wire win in the December 2nd Tate Stakes at Aqueduct.

Overall, she has posted a record of 6-1-2 from 13 lifetime starts and has earned $356,416. Trainer Kelly Breen has named Joe Bravo to ride the 120-pound high weight and they will break from the rail in the six-furlong contest.

Another top contender in the Sugar Swirl is Thunders Dove, who had a five-race win streak snapped in the Gallant Bloom Handicap at Belmont in September. The 6-year-old made just two starts in 2009, the other a four-length score in the Addison Mallery Stakes at Saratoga. In 2008, she won four times, including two against stakes company. John Velazquez will ride for Nick Zito.

Also in the mix are Pretty Prolific, who was runner-up in the Grade I Test Stakes at Saratoga last summer but has just two wins in 10 lifetime starts; undefeated Warbling, a lightly-raced 4-year-old filly making just her third start for Eddie Kenneally; and Honchis ‘n Ponchis, a Dale Romans trainee entering off a pair of allowance victories at Churchill Downs but who has been off the board in all three of her previous stakes efforts.

The Sugar Swirl is the second of five stakes on the “Gulfstream Sprint Showcase” card and is set for a 3:36 p.m. EDT post.

Santa Anita’s San Pasqual Handicap

Breeders Cup Winner Looks Good Here

On Saturday, Santa Anita will feature Breeder’s Cup Dirt Mile winner, Furthest Land, in the $150,000 – Grade II San Pasqual Handicap. Seven hopefuls will vie for the purse over the 1 1/16-mile Pro-Ride surface.

At odds of 21-1, Furthest Land was the winner of the $1 million Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile back in November, also held at Santa Anita. Julien Leparoux in the saddle for that race, but trainer Mike Maker has 2009 leading Purse Winner, Garrett Gomez in the irons for this race.

Furthest Land was a former claimer back in 2008 and has won 7 of 11 races since, including a 6-for-9 campaign last year with earnings of more than $800,000. Overall, Furthest Land has an 8-2-1 career mark in 16 races and purses totaling $869,689 and looks to win his third consecutive start.

Battling Furthest Land will be Bold Chieftain, who reached millionaire status with his second victory in the California Cup Classic last fall enters the San Pasqual off three straight victories in California. The 7-year-old son of Chief Seattle counts 11 stakes wins among his 14 victories from a 32-race career. He captured the 1 1/16-mile San Quentin Stakes at Golden Gate Fields in his most recent start on November 27th.The dark bay has career earnings of $1,122,411 and will be ridden once more by Russell Baze.

Nownownow, who won the San Fernando Stakes at Santa Anita against 4-year-olds last January, makes his first start in nearly 10 months for trainer Patrick Biancone. Nownownow has not raced since finishing third, a neck behind Proudinsky in the Mervin Muniz Jr. Memorial Handicap on the Fair Grounds turf last March. The 5-year-old won the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf at Monmouth Park in 2007. Nownownow has a lifetime mark of 3-3-2 in 15 starts while banking $830,599.

Cherokee Artist gets back to on the synthetic track following a fifth-place finish in the San Gabriel Handicap. The 5-year-old son won the Presque Isle Downs Mile on a Tapeta Footings surface by three lengths in September and has a couple of victories over Santa Anita’s synthetic track. Rafael Bejarano will ride Cherokee Artist.

The 7-year-old Neko Bay has been in the money in 10 of 12 lifetime starts for trainer John Shirreffs but looks for his first graded stakes win. Neko Bay ran sixth in the Dirt Mile and came back to place third in the Native Diver Handicap (gr. III) as the favorite on December 12th.

Goldsville and Spurrier round out the San Pasqual Handicap, both horses step up from allowance company. The full field for the San Pasqual is below:

PP	Horse	A/S	Jockey	Wgt	Trainer
1	Cherokee Artist (KY)	5/H	R Bejarano	115	H G Motion
2	Bold Chieftain (CA)	7/H	R A Baze	119	W J Morey, Jr.
3	Nownownow (KY)	5/H	J Talamo	116	P L Biancone
4	Goldsville (FL)	5/H	A O Solis	113	P Eurton
5	Neko Bay (KY)	7/H	M E Smith	115	J A Shirreffs
6	Spurrier (KY)	5/H	J Rosario	113	B Baffert
7	Furthest Land (KY)	5/G	G K Gomez	121	M J Maker

Gulfstream Park Stakes Saturday

Gulfstream Park opened last Sunday and the stakes come fast and furious.  This Saturday, the 9^th, there are five stakes races.  All of them are sprinting, one is on the dirt, and three are Grade 3’s.  It should make for some great racing.

The first stakes race is the Spectacular Bid at six furlongs for three-year-olds.  The nine-horse field goes as race five with a scheduled post of 3:07 EST.  The race features a multiple graded stakes placed horse and a couple of impressive last-out maiden winners.  Discreetly Mine, a half to Discreet Cat, makes his return to the races after a couple of months off and makes his first start for trainer Todd Pletcher.   Discreetly Mine has been second in his last two races, both graded stakes, including the Grade 1 Champagne.   While the Champagne was around one turn, the move back to a sprint distance should be in his favor, but the race isn’t a walkover.  The highest Beyer in the field goes to Wildcat Frankie who ran like an absolute freak in his debut cruising to a 15 ½-length victory with a 95 speed figure.  A Little Warm won his last out by over 10 and received an 89 speed figure.  Grand Times may be overlooked on the board, but is two-for-three lifetime and Westover Wildcat has good winning connections in his favor.

The next race is the Sugar Swirl, a Grade 3 for fillies and mares, four-years-old and upward.  This nine-horse field has five runners with win streaks of two races or more and Thunders Dove had her four-race win streak snapped in her last when running against Indian Blessing and Sara Louise.  Tar Heel Mom, two-in-a-row, will take her share of the money, but Warbling could be the up-and-comer in this group.  She was very impressive in her debut and very professional in her second start.

The Mr. Prospector, for four-year-olds and upward, is next and could provide for the lowest price on the day.  Munnings drops from three straight Grade 1’s and is the class of the field.  He will have to contend with Past the Point and Custom for Carlos, but Munnings is drawn to their outside and will have clear sailing in the stretch.  If there are negatives about Munnings it’s that he hasn’t won since July and his best two races were at seven furlongs.

The turf sprinters are up next and Hockeythehayman will try to make it a perfect five-for-five for trainer Wesley Ward.  The five furlong distance hits him right between the eyes and he should get a great trip from the outside either stalking the pace or setting the pace.  T.D. Vance and Elusive Warning appear to have the best chances to hit the board behind Hockey and could upset the top pick if racing luck is on their side.

The final stakes race of the day is the Grade 3 Old Hat for the newly turned three-year-old fillies.  Of the 11 horses entered seven of them are either two-for-two or three-for-three.  Of those seven Cuff Me gets the edge.  She is a perfect three-for-three, her speed figures are at least seven points higher than her competition and her margins of victory total 21 ½-lengths.  In a race that is sure to unfold at a swift pace Criolla Bonita, Joanie’s Catch, Dances With Ashley, Touching Beauty and Carphonic have all shown the ability to close from off the pace.  Of those Dances With Ashley appears to have the tactical speed to adapt to any scenario.

Santa Anita 01/01/10 Stakes

The stakes action at Santa Anita for 2010 gets started right away with the Sensational Star Handicap and Blue Norther Stakes on the January 1 card.  Both races are on the turf with the Sensational Star down the hill at 6 ½-furlongs and the Blue Norther at one mile.

The Blue Norther is the third race on the card and drew a field of seven.  The probable favorite will be In the Slips who finished second in the Grade 3 Miesque at Hollywood Park in her first start in this country.  In the Slips shows two workouts since her last race and runs for the same connections that brought Battle of Hastings over from Europe last year.  The one question for In the Slips will be pace, but there appears to be enough speed to set up her closing run.  Glory Pride could be sitting a good trip either on the lead or just off the pace and may stick around for second or third.

The Sensational Star goes as race nine and drew a field of nine and could also feature a short priced favorite.  Compari made his return to the races in mid-December and showed no signs of rust powering away to a two-length victory.  While Compari is a front-runner he may find the lead tough to get in this race.  Live Sundays, Enriched, and Feisty Suances will all be up close battling for the lead.  The gut feeling is that Compari doesn’t need the lead and will be just fine sitting off the pace.  He could be a single in the late pick-4.  If a ridiculous pace ensues then look for Bestdressed to run by them all.  Shadow of Illinois should be considered for all spots too as he has won five of 14 down the hill with seven in-the-money finishes.