Rick Francis – Handicapping

By Rick Francis —- A field of nine 3-year-olds will go to post for the 158th edition of the Grade 1 Belmont Stakes. Once again the contest will be held at beautiful Saratoga Race Course and once agin the race will be run at the “classic’ distance of one and one...

By Rick Francis —- Friday’s Belmont Stakes Festival from Saratoga features fillies and mares competing in a oair of Grade 2’s along with a trio of Grade 1 contests highlighted by the 95th Running of Acorn Stakes for spohomore ladies. It always promises to be an...

By Rick Francis —- The 151st Running of the Preakness Stakes will wear the worn out addage of “something old, something new”. The something old is for the second consecutive year the current Kentucky Derby winner bypass the middle leg fo racing’s Triple...

By Rick Francis —- Seven stakes contests headline the runup to the 151st Preakness Stakes, good luck to all. Laurel Park Race # 6, 1&1/16th Mile Dirt Sir Barton S 12:28 PM 7) Reagan’s Honor 4) Final Story 2) Big Cuddle 3) Le’s Go Lando Race 7) Chick Lang...

By Rick Francis —- The field for the 152nd “Run for the Roses” should once again feature a starting gate of twenty horses just not in numerical order as a pair of Also-Eligibles in Great White and Ocelli drew in due to scratches of Silent Tactic and Fulleffort,...

By Rick Francis —- The 152nd running of the Grade 1 Kentucky Oaks features one it’s toughest fields in the race’s history. Mutiple graded stakes winners will battle the Churchill Downs main track at a distance of a mile and one eighth all looking for the...

By Rick Francis —- A field of nine three-year-olds will head to the post for the 113th Running of the Grade 2 Louisiana Derby highlighted by the rivarly of Leland Ackerley Racing’s Chip Honcho and Phipps, St Elias Stable’s Golden Tempo. It’ll be clear...

By Rick Francis —- The “Road to the Kentucky Derby” passes through Oldsmar, Florida and Tampa Bay Downs with Festival Preview Day 46 and the running of the Sam F. Davis stakes. The day’s feature contest goes off as race 11 preceeded by stakes races the...