Good Monday morning to all of my Degens out there. We had a full weekend of sports, including horse racing, to entertain us. The F1 season got underway in the Bahrain Grand Prix and was as exciting a race that I have witnessed in some time. Sir Lewis Hamilton managed to hold off Max Verstappen in the final laps to secure his first win of a season opener since 2015. Billy Horschel won the Dell Technologies Match Play event with a 2&1 victory of hometown favorite Scottie Scheffler. Unfortunately, weather had its way in Bristol and NASCAR has postponed the dirt race until this afternoon. Of course, we are all here for the horse racing so let’s dig in.
Up first was the Dubai World Cup Day. I think my biggest takeaway from the event was how much value there was for bettors. The place pool seemed out of whack all day including a 5/2 shot paying $17 and change to place. The setting and broadcast were beautiful as always and the racing was excellent. Mishriff went back to the turf to win after a win on the dirt in the Saudi Cup. Mishriff is trying to make its claim for the best horse in the world and is backing up the call with every effort. Mystic Guide won the main event in impressive fashion. After stalking the pace for much of the race, he went by the pace setters and won comfortably in the end giving America and Godolphin another win in the Dubai World Cup.
The Florida Derby and Jeff Ruby Steaks were the two main Derby prep races on Saturday. Known Agenda got an excellent ride by Championship Meet record setter, Irad Ortiz and brought home the winner’s share of the purse along with a coveted 100 points toward getting into the Kentucky Derby. This son of Curlin, trained by Todd Pletcher, continues to improve, although lightly raced, and has thrown his name on the list of contenders heading into the first Saturday in May. Greatest Honour, the post time favorite, finished a distant third after having some traffic issues on the far turn. This is my only knock on big closers in the Kentucky Derby. It is next to impossible to lay far back and get a clean trip. If you are still on Greatest Honour, this finish will likely provide you with a little more value in the Derby. All eyes shifted to Turfway Park for the Jeff Ruby Steaks won by where Like the King, trained by Wesley Ward, brought home 100 Kentucky Derby points. It also marked a great start to Drayden Van Dyke, picking up a graded stakes win after moving his tack from California to Kentucky.
So, there you have it, another week in the books. This week has me bouncing off the walls with the start of the Keeneland meet. You can play contests across the country this week on StableDuel, including the Bluegrass Stakes Day at Keeneland. Let’s get it.
