Welcome to Noel Michaels’ Weekend Winners, the place to go for weekend finest bets and spot performs from veteran handicapper and tournament-play pioneer Noel Michaels. Test again each week for a few highlighted alternatives designed that will help you money a number of bets and make some cash.
Noel’s alternatives have been featured nearly in every single place horse racing picks might be discovered, together with in print within the Each day Racing Type, The HorsePlayer Journal and American Turf Month-to-month, on-line at DRF.com, Twinspires.com and USRacing.com, from the paddock on-track at Arlington Worldwide Racecourse, and on the air on HRTV, TVG, NYC OTB Additional, NYRA’s SatuTalking Horses, and on broadcast TV on WAVE-3 Louisville, ABC KOLO-8 in Reno, Nevada, and channel 72 Lengthy Island Cablevision.
Six Newbie Betting Instruments
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- Betting on horse racing might be intimidating. Workforce ABR put collectively some Dos and Don’ts for the brand new fan getting began betting on racing.
- All of us make errors on the subject of betting on horse racing, listed below are eight classes realized from expertise.
Santa Anita Park will probably be one in every of horse racing’s epicenters this weekend as a number of a number of vital stakes races that can even function key prep races for subsequent month’s Breeders’ Cup World Championships at Del Mar. The ten-race Santa Anita program on Saturday will embody three Breeders’ Cup Problem Sequence “Win and You’re In” races that can ship their winners and different high finishers onward to varied Breeders’ Cup races on Nov. 1-2. For this weekend’s winners, let’s take a more in-depth have a look at handicapping Santa Anita’s trio of key Saturday stakes races – the Grade 2 Oak Leaf Stakes Introduced by Oak Tree, the Grade 2 Rodeo Drive Stakes, and the Grade 1 American Pharoah Stakes Introduced by DK Horse. We are able to make some cash and construct up our Breeders’ Cup bankrolls by choosing some winners. Better of luck and revel in an incredible day of racing and wagering this Saturday.
Santa Anita Park, Race 3, $200,000 Oak Leaf Stakes Introduced by Oak Tree, publish time 5 p.m. ET
The Oak Leaf Stakes has drawn a discipline of eight 2-year-old fillies set to run 1 1/16 miles in a prep for the NetJets Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies. The race would be the first foray round two turns for seven of the eight horses within the race, and half of the sphere all come from the barn of coach Bob Baffert. The horse that finest handles the added distance is more likely to be the winner. All eyes will probably be on Baffert’s #4 Nooni, a $1.8 million 2-year-old buy who started her profession like gangbusters with a robust Santa Anita maiden win at first asking adopted by a win within the Grade 3 Sorrento Stakes at Del Mar. She then flopped with none obvious excuses final time when fifth within the FanDuel Racing Del Mar Debutante, nevertheless, and this race will probably be a take a look at whether or not or not she will be able to rebound and if she will be able to deal with the added distance. These are too many “ifs” at low odds in case you are betting this race, and whereas Nooni ought to be revered within the exactas and trifectas, there ought to be different higher choices to wager to win. Baffert received the Del Mar Debutante along with his “different” horse, #3 Tenma, who grinded away from off the tempo to stand up and win by a nostril at seven furlongs. She lacks a number of the pace and pizzaz of Nooni, however she may show to be a better option Saturday in her first try at going a distance. To spherical out the remainder of the exotics on this race, one other of Baffert’s entrants, #8 Non Compliant, exits a promising maiden win at six furlongs in her profession debut and received like a horse that might deal with extra distance. Jockey Juan Hernandez is off Nooni to trip Non Compliant on Saturday.
The Play: Wager on #3 Tenma (5-2) to win and play her in exacta and trifecta packing containers with #4 Nooni (3-1) and #8 Non Compliant (2-1).
Santa Anita Park, Race 8, $200,000 Rodeo Drive Stakes, publish time 7:30 p.m. ET
The Rodeo Drive has attracted a discipline of seven fillies and mares going 1 ¼ miles on the grass in a prep for subsequent month’s Maker’s Mark Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Turf. The horse to beat could also be #4 Iscreamuscream, a 3-year-old who comes into this race with a 4-for-4 profession file together with a win final time within the Grade 1 Del Mar Oaks Introduced by Keeneland Gross sales, which was the longest race of her profession so far at 1 1/8 miles. She’ll add one other furlong on this race and will probably be dealing with older horses, lots of whom have extra expertise at longer distances, and subsequently she will not be the most effective win wager. As a substitute, the decide within the Rodeo Drive is #2 Sundown Glory, a filly that reveals a optimistic profession upward trajectory this yr with three straight wins, together with a $100,000 stakes victory at Del Mar final time going 1 3/8 miles. That effort earned her a spot in right this moment’s race, and all indications are that she’ll be prepared. The opposite principal contender ought to be #7 Aspen Grove, who was a Grade 1 winner as a 3-year-old final yr and had been aggressive in opposition to firm much like what’s entered on this race earlier in 2024. She exits a 1 3/8-mile win at Saratoga final time the place she beat next-out Kentucky Downs winner Avenue Niel and #3 Be Your Finest, whose declare to fame was a detailed second place end at this course and distance final winter within the Grade 1 American Oaks.
The Play: Wager #2 Sundown Glory (5-2) to win and use her in exacta and trifecta packing containers with #4 Iscreamuscream (8-5) and #7 Aspen Grove (4-1).
Santa Anita Park, Race 9, $300,000 American Pharoah Stakes offered by DK Horse, publish time 8:00 p.m. ET
The American Pharoah Stakes is a Grade 1 race for 2-year-olds set to run 1 1/16 miles in a prep race for subsequent month’s FanDuel Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Introduced by TAA. The seven-horse discipline accommodates three horses educated by Bob Baffert, and one or all of these runners ought to be amongst the principal contenders primarily based on latest runnings of the race, which Baffert has received 5 of the final six years. The decide is Baffert’s #7 Getaway Automotive, who appeared like SoCal’s finest juvenile earlier this summer time after crushing maidens after which repeating with a 5 ½-length win within the Grade 3 Finest Pal Stakes. Final outing, Getaway Automotive set a swift tempo early within the seven-furlong, Grade 1 Del Mar Futurity solely to empty out within the stretch and end fourth behind stablemate Gaming, however on Saturday the directions will probably be to harness the horse’s pace way more successfully. Blinkers are eliminated, and the horse has turned-in two latest dynamite exercises with out them in preparation for a rebound effort on this race. Baffert’s #3 Citizen Bull is one other high contender within the American Pharoah, as is #1 McKinzie Avenue educated by Tim Yakteen, after the pair completed third and second, respectively within the Del Mar Futurity. McKinzie Avenue, particularly, seems to be harmful primarily based on his runner-up end, overwhelmed lower than two lengths by Gaming after getting shuffled again a few positions earlier within the race.
The Play: Wager #7 Getaway Automotive (2-1) to win and use him in an exacta field with #1 McKinzie Avenue (9-5). Add-in #3 Citizen Bull (5-2) for trifecta packing containers.
