TDN's Steve Sherack and Brian DiDonato will make $50 Win/Place bets on each Kentucky Derby prep and Triple Crown race. The handicapper with the highest bankroll after the Belmont Stakes wins. Scratches will result in the post time favorite.
GI Kentucky Derby – After seeing the early splits and watching him begin to wind up entering the far turn, I thought Creator was going to come with a really big run in the stretch. He, however, made his own trouble as they turned for home and it was game over from that point, finishing 13th. I guess that's always the risk you run when landing on such a deep closer in the Derby, though. Total: $1862.50.
GI Xpressbet.com Preakness S. – I'm fairly shocked that DiDonato even found time to handicap this race as he's been completely preoccupied by pinhooking Belmont S. admission tickets since the Derby. In all seriousness, I do agree with him on how this race projects. Nyquist (Uncle Mo) and Exaggerator (Curlin) are by far the class of this group and both look ready to fire another big shot. Before heading down to Maryland, I was convinced that Nyquist was far superior in his head-to-head battles with Exaggerator and the latter wouldn't be able to turn the tables. But, with heavy rain in the forecast and tons of early speed signed on, this may be just the perfect storm for the handsome dark bay to finally do it. Will be using longshot Cherry Wine (Paddy O'Prado) underneath in the gimmicks, too. Selection: #5 Exaggerator (3-1).
GI Kentucky Derby – I got higher and higher on Outwork as he got completely lost on the tote, but I guess everyone else knew something I didn't. He showed speed before checking out of it to be 14th… So much for that. Total: $1437.50.
GI Xpressbet.com Preakness S. – There's a ton of pace signed on here, and I suppose the track condition adds another wrinkle, but I'm with the rest of the world in thinking Nyquist (Uncle Mo) and Exaggerator (Curlin) will run one-two. Underneath the favorites, however, things could get interesting. The average $1 superfecta the last four times the Derby winner doubled up in the Preakness was a surprisingly high $924, with American Pharoah topping a super that paid over $1900 for a buck 12 months ago. The flashier pair of Collected (City Zip) and Stradivari (Medaglia d'Oro) feel a little up against it to me, so I'll use Cherry Wine (Paddy O'Prado), Awesome Speed (Awesome Again), Lani (Tapit) and Fellowship (Awesome of Course) to fill out the third and fourth spots. Nyquist will be on top of my tickets at a 2:1 ratio to Exaggerator, but I'll definitely use both on top. Chalking out on the win end here, but don't worry–I plan on beating Nyquist and Sherack with a longshot in three more weeks. Selection: #3 Nyquist (3-5).
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