Horse Racing questions and answers

[JBEX]

wisconsin gal (army mule for those who don't know) entered in R4 (2:14) at churchill today..it's a good spot for her clm 50k n2L .. her two best efforts were dropping from stakes races which she's doing today .. shes #6 and ml is 7-2

out [9-2]

[batt33]

Those are a nice set of works for that surface Batt.

Thanks STR!

[batt33]

wisconsin gal (army mule for those who don't know) entered in R4 (2:14) at churchill today..it's a good spot for her clm 50k n2L .. her two best efforts were dropping from stakes races which she's doing today .. shes #6 and ml is 7-2

Thanks for the reminder! Bacio is in race 9 a few scratches in the race helps him!

[batt33]

Happy Derby week, everyone!

Hope everyone is doing well and healthy.

Right back at you!

[JBEX]

Thanks for the reminder! Bacio is in race 9 a few scratches in the race helps him!

no problem and hopefully can take advantage of the class relief.. yours looks tough and I like #8 jet sweep joe (30-1) as a longie for 2nd.. working well and I think might prefer a further outside post .. stacks up well with his best effort

[BOA12]

no problem and hopefully can take advantage of the class relief.. yours looks tough and I like #8 jet sweep joe (30-1) as a longie for 2nd.. working well and I think might prefer a further outside post .. stacks up well with his best effort

Start in chute, if even used?

[JBEX]

in my thread also but figured I'd mention here also


parx 7 (3:22)

4 pam pam (9-5) .. army mule war horse 5yo mare who gives it a go every race .. value won't be there but I'll abandon that here

2nd/6 [1-1]

[JBEX]

Start in chute, if even used?

nah .. 5f turf sprint

[JBEX]

in my thread also but figured I'd mention here also


parx 7 (3:22)

4 pam pam (9-5) .. army mule war horse 5yo mare who gives it a go every race .. value won't be there but I'll abandon that here

you think this one might be a broodmare at some point str .. possibly to one of the better sires ?

[BOA12]

nah .. 5f turf sprint

Got confused with Caldera going 1 mile.

[JBEX]

Got confused with Caldera going 1 mile.

OK.. 1 mile at gulfstream is out of a chute

[BOA12]

OK.. 1 mile at gulfstream is out of a chute

Thank you. Wrong track, day,horse,distance,...

[batt33]

Looking forward to Bacio Running!
Bacio: Breeze & Entry

Bacio had his final work this morning at Keeneland, going :49.80 over the turf course and with the dogs up (cones protecting the inner part of the turf course, effectively making the work longer). Your son of Maclean's Music was subsequently entered for Tuesday, Apr. 28 in race 9 at Churchill Downs with Juan Hernandez in the irons.

https://cdnb-media.myracehorse.com/blog/video/IMG5988_1776794647633/MP4/IMG5988_1776794647633.mp4

Winner! half second off the track record... galloped out nicely!

[JBEX]

Winner! half second off the track record... galloped out nicely!

impressive win .. journey to the bc turf sprint underway

[JBEX]

churchill R3 weds has an army mule 2yo debut (almost all are at this point) horse .. #2 bit tipsy (20-1) .. this is an open and not a restricted msw like the winner ran in this past saturday .. much tougher assignment as reflected in the morning line odds

[str]

Winner! half second off the track record... galloped out nicely!

That’s great Batt !!!

[str]

wisconsin gal (army mule for those who don't know) entered in R4 (2:14) at churchill today..it's a good spot for her clm 50k n2L .. her two best efforts were dropping from stakes races which she's doing today .. shes #6 and ml is 7-2

out [9-2]

Poor Wisconsin girl. She had a lot of fight in her.
A truly embarrassing job managing her from the start. Very sad to see.

[batt33]

impressive win .. journey to the bc turf sprint underway

That’s great Batt !!!

Thanks guys!

[batt33]

Trainer Wesley Ward sent us this great video of Bacio enjoying a post-win swim this evening at Wesley’s farm. Your colt appears to have exited his race in great order thus far.

That's a first for me!

https://cdnb-media.myracehorse.com/blog/video/IMG2942_1777422856165/MP4/IMG2942_1777422856165.mp4

Jockey's thoughts on the race

https://cdnb-media.myracehorse.com/blog/video/IMG6110_1777412043272/MP4/IMG6110_1777412043272.mp4

[JBEX]

Poor Wisconsin girl. She had a lot of fight in her.
A truly embarrassing job managing her from the start. Very sad to see.

claimed out of this race

[str]

claimed out of this race

That’s fantastic !!!

[BOA12]

Thanks guys!

BOL team batt.

Find some shades for your BC dash for the cash.

[JBEX]

That’s fantastic !!!

yes .. solid KY based seems mostly claiming trainer.. Troy Newton.. perfect fit and they paid $50k so they must see something .. probably a lot of overlap to the things you did .. sure you would agree seems like a good refresh and reset candidate but no way to know obviously without first hand knowledge.. will keep an eye out str

[str]

I owe a few more responses to other posts but wanted to say that I went through the Derby pp’s for the first time. Today, The 20 minute first run through.
I will do that again everyday until Saturday. I read them from the rail to the outside, then outside to in, then put the pace together and lay out the field, then one more time putting it all together. Less than an hour total unless something jumps out.
Just reviewing once can’t lock me in on a play but it does give me an opinion. So far, a pretty solid one.

[str]

BTW, Wisconsin Girl.
I'm all in on wanting to closely follow her now for the new trainer. I'm licking my chops thinking about her from back in the day. She will feel like she has new life if things go the way they can in these situations.

[batt33]

pretty cool article about Caldera Lukas and his new trainer Joseph.

https://www.drf.com/news/caldera-carries-lukass-legacy-4-year-old-debut

[str]

pretty cool article about Caldera Lukas and his new trainer Joseph.
https://www.drf.com/news/caldera-car...year-old-debut

And THIS, is exactly how you do it. Let the horse have his best shot to win while growing. The purses mean nothing. It’s about building over the next 3-4 races and seeing where you are.
“ Training horses is about, a matter of placement “.
I can still hear John Tammaro Sr. saying that to me when I first started out. Just try and build, one race at a time.
This is excellent race management !

[str]

Just had time to do my 2nd go through with the Derby field. I still have 2 more parameters to see but let me say this as of now:

Actually , I will let AI say it:

At 40 months, a horse is generally more physically robust, better muscled, and mentally more mature than at 36 months.
Substack +3
Physical Development and Growth

• Height: By 36 months, most horses have achieved 95% of their mature height. By 40 months, they are very close to their final height, though they may still gain minor height (1-2 cm) up to 5-6 years old.
• Weight & Muscling: A 40-month-old horse typically "fills out" more, losing the high-crouped, lean appearance common in younger horses. They are gaining weight and developing better muscle density.

Food for thought folks.

We all know that racing luck plays a huge role in winning this race. No way to predict that ahead of time. So you use what you can and hope for the best.
Later today or tomorrow morning: Setting the race up like the pace predictor does so as to see what the field might look like into the 1st turn as well as into the stretch.

[BOA12]

Just had time to do my 2nd go through with the Derby field. I still have 2 more parameters to see but let me say this as of now:

Actually , I will let AI say it:

At 40 months, a horse is generally more physically robust, better muscled, and mentally more mature than at 36 months.
Substack +3
Physical Development and Growth

• Height: By 36 months, most horses have achieved 95% of their mature height. By 40 months, they are very close to their final height, though they may still gain minor height (1-2 cm) up to 5-6 years old.
• Weight & Muscling: A 40-month-old horse typically "fills out" more, losing the high-crouped, lean appearance common in younger horses. They are gaining weight and developing better muscle density.

Food for thought folks.

We all know that racing luck plays a huge role in winning this race. No way to predict that ahead of time. So you use what you can and hope for the best.
Later today or tomorrow morning: Setting the race up like the pace predictor does so as to see what the field might look like into the 1st turn as well as into the stretch.

Interesting indeed.

Renegade out of the one hole the senior citizen.

I see 5 Febu-babies.

[batt33]

well after some time off... and then being entered and races not filling "Caldera " makes his return to the track! He has been training super well!

2026-04-24	0:49.30	14/32	PMM	4F	Dirt
2026-04-17	0:36.95	7/12	PMM	3F	Dirt
2026-04-05	0:49.70	9/15	PMM	4F	Dirt
2026-03-27	0:47.25	1/42	PMM	4F	Dirt
2026-03-20	0:48.70	9/67	PMM	4F	Dirt

From 8 days ago

Caldera Breeze Report

https://cdnb-media.myracehorse.com/blog/video/Untitled_1776459360520/MP4/Untitled_1776459360520.mp4

Caldera stretched his legs this morning at Palm Meadows through 3/8 in :36.95. He’s pretty much sitting on go at this point, so doesn’t need to do much as we wait for a race. The same race we were looking at as an extra is back in the new condition book for Apr. 30, so that will be the target for now.

Yesterday..

Caldera: Workout

https://cdnb-media.myracehorse.com/blog/video/CalderaApr242026_1777048244679/MP4/CalderaApr242026_1777048244679.mp4

Caldera worked four furlongs in :49.30 this morning at Palm Meadows. We are still waiting to see if the allowance race fills that your colt was entered in yesterday. Entries for the day were extremely light, therefore the racing office has kept entries for the Apr. 30 card open until today. We will report back once the race goes.

Ran like he has been training!
Seizing the lead from the get-go while taking a bit of pressure from second choice and eventual runner-up Skellig Michael, your grey posted legitimate splits of :23.73 and :46.10. He began to inch away from his pursuer leaving the turn, but did shift out sharply into the lane when given a left-handed reminder by pilot Nik Juarez. Caldera still had a pretty good buffer on Skellig Michael, and righted the ship quickly to kick clear and report home 6 1/4 lengths to the good in 1:37.53.

As mentioned beforehand, the plan was to get this first start back under Caldera’s belt before wading back into deeper waters. We’ll see how he exits this effort and huddle up soon with trainer Saffie Joseph, Jr.--who was quick to give much of the credit to Mr. Lukas--to pick a next target.

[batt33]

BOL team batt.

Find some shades for your BC dash for the cash.

[batt33]

Just had time to do my 2nd go through with the Derby field. I still have 2 more parameters to see but let me say this as of now:

Actually , I will let AI say it:

At 40 months, a horse is generally more physically robust, better muscled, and mentally more mature than at 36 months.
Substack +3
Physical Development and Growth

• Height: By 36 months, most horses have achieved 95% of their mature height. By 40 months, they are very close to their final height, though they may still gain minor height (1-2 cm) up to 5-6 years old.
• Weight & Muscling: A 40-month-old horse typically "fills out" more, losing the high-crouped, lean appearance common in younger horses. They are gaining weight and developing better muscle density.

Food for thought folks.

We all know that racing luck plays a huge role in winning this race. No way to predict that ahead of time. So you use what you can and hope for the best.
Later today or tomorrow morning: Setting the race up like the pace predictor does so as to see what the field might look like into the 1st turn as well as into the stretch.

everytime I read your post ( okay 99%) I gain knowledge! Thanks STR for taking the time to post your insights!

[batt33]

And THIS, is exactly how you do it. Let the horse have his best shot to win while growing. The purses mean nothing. It’s about building over the next 3-4 races and seeing where you are.
“ Training horses is about, a matter of placement “.
I can still hear John Tammaro Sr. saying that to me when I first started out. Just try and build, one race at a time.
This is excellent race management !

pretty cool interview after the race... and if Dewayne is true to his thoughts .... this could get fun!

https://cdnb-media.myracehorse.com/blog/video/IMG2893_1777580813441/MP4/IMG2893_1777580813441.mp4

[batt33]

oops

[Jellymancan]

Haven’t had time to watch CD this week, can anyone tell me how the track has been playing? Thanks.