Mike Watchmaker

I don’t want to rush the summer, which technically isn’t even here yet. It is my favorite season, and there is a lot to look forward to this summer, highlighted by a potentially division-defining matchup in the Travers, a suddenly vibrant handicap division, the continued exploits of Horse of the Year Wise Dan, and 2-year-old racing, to name just a few things. But the sharp folks at the Race and Sports Book at Wynn Las Vegas have issued updated future book odds on a few Breeders’ Cup races, led, of course by Classic. And these Classic future odds are worth noting.

Fort Larned’s demolition of a small but very good Stephen Foster Handicap field Saturday night at Churchill Downs was, simply put, one of the best performances on this continent so far this year. It was as good, if not better, than Game On Dude’s romps in the Sam Antonio and Big Cap, and Dreaming of Julia’s explosive Gulfstream Park Oaks score.

Talking about track biases is a lot like debating what the best color is (it’s green, by the way). You can have an opinion, even an informed one, but that doesn’t mean an opposing opinion isn’t just as valid.

[bc_video_id:294891:]There were many storylines in the 2013 Triple Crown, but from a handicapping standpoint, the main storyline was pace. A wickedly fast pace in the Kentucky Derby set it up for deep closers. A trotting-horse pace in the Preakness enabled that classic to be won wire to wire. In Saturday’s Belmont Stakes, the pace was strong and quick. But it wasn’t crazy-fast over a track that was glib, and it certainly wasn’t anywhere near pokey.

Good morning from Belmont Park on Belmont Stakes Day, where the security is tighter than I have ever seen it here, and the sun, believe it or not, is actually peeking through the clouds. It is supposed to reach the upper 70s today with the chance of only a passing shower, so conditions are favorable for the currently tightly-sealed main track to dry out some. And if the rain stays away, management might have the chance to cut the main track open.