Welcome to Noel Michaels’ Weekend Winners, the place to go for weekend greatest bets and spot performs from veteran handicapper and tournament-play pioneer Noel Michaels. Examine again each week for a few highlighted choices designed that can assist you money just a few bets and make some cash.
Noel’s choices have been featured nearly in all places horse racing picks will 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
- Begin easy with an simple information for learn how to guess on horse racing.
- Unsure what that phrase means? Horse racing terminology is a language of its personal. Permit us translate for you
- What the heck is a pace determine? This newbie’s information to hurry figures has every part it’s worthwhile to know.
- Betting on horse racing will be intimidating. Crew ABR put collectively some Dos and Don’ts for the brand new fan getting began betting on racing.
- All of us make errors in the case of betting on horse racing, listed here are eight classes discovered from expertise.
- Work out how a lot every guess will value upfront with our Playing Calculator, introduced by NYRA Bets.
Saturday, Jan. 4
The primary Saturday of the yr actually will get issues began in 2025 with newly turned 3-year-olds hoping to take first steps on the street to the Kentucky Derby Introduced by Woodford Reserve. The motion will happen at two totally different racetracks, with Aqueduct internet hosting the Jerome Stakes and Oaklawn Park kicking off its profitable 3-year-old street to the Derby sequence with the Smarty Jones Stakes on Saturday. For this weekend’s weblog, let’s delve into these two stakes races and attempt to decide a few of our first winners of the brand new yr. Better of luck.
Aqueduct, Race 8, $150,000 Jerome Stakes, 3:39 p.m. ET
A area of eight 3-year-olds are set to go to publish for the Jerome Stakes going one mile round one flip at Aqueduct. Probably the most completed horse within the race and likewise the second alternative on the morning line is #7 Studlydoright, who already owns three wins from his 2-year-old marketing campaign together with two stakes win. Studlydoright exits a fourth-place end within the Grade 2 Remsen Stakes in a race at 1 1/8 miles round two turns however now cuts again to a mile which is the gap of his career-best outing two races in the past when he gained the $145,000 Nashua Stakes proper right here at Aqueduct. The one factor doubtlessly standing in the best way of a Studlydoright win in his race could be a rival getting clear on the entrance finish and wiring the sphere, and the horse with the power to do this looms as #6 Cyclone State, who enters the Jermone off back-to-back spectacular front-running wins at Aqueduct going a mile. This race represents a category hike for Cyclone State up towards stakes competitors for the primary time, however this pace figures throughout his latest profitable streak counsel he belongs versus this area. Studlydoright and the remainder of this area shall be hoping that one other horse within the race runs with Cyclone State early, and candidates to do this embody #2 Mansetti and, #5 Georgia Magic. Of that duo, the upper potential to make a dent on this race goes to Mansetti, an x-factor who has but to ever race on grime however now stretches out off a speedy dash stakes win on Woodbine’s all-weather floor and will make waves if he can enhance on this floor.
The Play: Guess on #7 Studlydoright (5-2) to win and play him in an exacta field with #6 Cyclone State (7-2). For trifecta containers, add #2 Mansetti (10-1) onto your tickets together with the these two.
Oaklawn Park, Race 9, $250,000 Smarty Jones Stakes, 5:22 p.m. ET
The Smarty Jones Stakes has drawn a area of eight sophomores set to race 1 1/16 miles at Oaklawn Park for a handbag of $250,000. The race options a number of horses with loads of potential, however probably the most completed of the group as of at this time is #8 Coal Battle and he’s the horse to beat. Coal Battle is undefeated in three profession races on the grime and has gone 2-for-2 in stakes races since switching from turf to grime with wins within the $100,000 Jean Lafitte Stakes at Delta Downs adopted by the $300,000 Springboard Mile Stakes at Remington Park. He’ll be coming from off the tempo and will get a ample set-up for his late run at this added distance. The remainder of the highest contenders on this area all seem to have some pace together with #1 Kale’s Angel, #5 Mo High quality, and #6 Sizzling Property. The latter took benefit of a lazy tempo final time to go wire-to-wire in his profession debut. Of that trio, Kale’s Angel appears to have probably the most upside popping out of a stakes win with an enormous pace determine at this monitor final day out. Evidently the connections thought Kale’s Angel was strictly a turf horse primarily based on his 4 straight turf races to start his profession, nevertheless, he unleashed a career-best effort in his grime debut profitable the 5 ½-furlong Introduction Stakes right here a month in the past over Innovator, a horse that his since gained however is most well-known for ending inside a head of Bob Baffert’s highly-touted maiden winner Barnes at Churchill Downs. Lastly, if you’re trying to boost your exotics with a sneaky contender at a value, strive together with #3 Optical in your exotics. Optical suffered a mishap in Keeneland’s Grade 1 Claiborne Breeders’ Futurity three races in the past however has been good in all of his different three grime routes thus far, together with a Churchill Downs allowance win final time over McAfee, who will race as one of many favorites in at this time’s Jerome Stakes at Aqueduct
The Play: Guess #9 Coal Battle (9-2) to win and play him in exacta and trifecta containers with #1 Kale’s Angel (2-1) and #3 Optical (12-1).