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CONTENTS NOV. 2015 4
From The Publisher
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The Teaser
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Sprint to a Payoff
Jennifer K. Hancock features Lone Star Park handicapper Rick Lee.
Topics that titillate the racing mind.
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Pharoah’s Final Ride
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Legend of American Pharoah
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Back to Night School
Ride along with a pictorial review of the Breeders’ Cup Classic.
Jeremy Plonk discusses the career and legacy of the 2015 champion.
We recap the results of Election Night special horseplayer polling.
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Meet Our Team: Brian W. Spencer
Our year-long series continues with a look at FG/AP’s rising analyst.
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Meet Our Team: Brian Nadeau
Get to know the captain of our BUZZ lineup and his handicapping.
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Galloping Out
JP explains how you didn’t have to be right about American Pharoah to recognize greatness.
AND SUBSCRIBE TO THE Q-RACING JOURNAL TO FOLLOW AMERICA’S FASTEST ATHLETES!
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From the Publisher By November most seasons, I’m honestly happy to turn the page and look forward to a time far less chaotic in my life. The October push from Keeneland through the Breeders’ Cup often leaves my mind mush and my body in search of long, lost sleep. But this was no typical October and what we saw at Breeders’ Cup to close the month deserves much celebration. We’ve never had a Triple Crown winner grace the event in its first 31 editions. The mere presence of American Pharoah made not only this year’s Breeders’ Cup one for the ages, but he forever will make 2015 one of those sports years we remember for a generation to come. We hope to capture the splendor of those accomplishments and images on the pages to come, while also bringing you closer to some respected handicappers who will share their insights on the favorite pursuit we all love – finding the next American Pharoah. -JP
Horse Player NOW Magazine Copyright 2015 Horse Player NOW All Rights Reseved
Editor, Publisher, Designer Jeremy Plonk Contributing Writers/Analysts Jennifer K. Hancock Candice Hare Photography Chief Enzina Mastrippolito (Photosbyz) Contributing Photographers Keeneland American Quarter Horse Assoc. Coady Photography/Lone Star Park Breeders’ Cup Ltd.
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THE TEASER:
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From a very ‘unhappy’ ending to Teaser, definition: A male ‘getting stuffed’ horse used at breeding farms to determine whether Down Under, a mare is ready to receive a stallion. Also, perhaps the eventually it will all most unfulfilling occupation in the universe. make sense. Ladies’ Days American Pharoah’s Breeders’ Cup Classic victory and subsequent retirement was a big deal. Teaser gets it. However, weekend action surrounding fillies and mares – human and equine – proved to be way more entertaining. First, mad props to females in unrestricted Breeders’ Cup races, including Found, victorious over Arc winner and BC Turf favorite Golden Horn, as well as Tepin, dominatrix of the BC Mile. Lady Shipman, second by a neck to upset winner Mongolian Saturday in the Turf Sprint, also deserves a nod of approval.
Besides American Pharoah’s triumphant finale, the biggest Breeders’ Cup story surrounds Maria Borell (pictured), the 32year-old former conditioner of BC Sprint winner Runhappy. With Borell listed as trainer, Runhappy exploded on the national racing scene to win the G1 King’s Bishop at Saratoga and the G3 Phoenix at Keeneland earlier in the Fall Meet. Heartwarming prerace video and stills of Borell and the 3-year-old rocket ship incessantly nuzzling made the pair an even stronger favorite to win the race.
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McIngvale’s racing manager / sometime trainer / Gallery Furniture manager Laura Wolhers or her twin sister Linda McIngvale, wife of the famous furniture pusher. So my evaluation of the situation purely is based on media reports, social and otherwise – Twitter, Bloodhorse, Instagram, etc. (So what? Where do you get your news?) Shockingly, (well, maybe not) Runhappy’s owner Jim “Mattress Mack” McIngvale fired Borell the day after winning the Sprint. Racing insiders weren’t completely surprised. In the industry Mack’s also known as “Mattress Sack” for the way he dismisses trainers—he’s employed over 30 different ones. However, he’s never canned one immediately following a Breeders’ Cup victory. That’s mostly because none of McIngvale’s runners have ever won a Breeders’ Cup race until now. In fact, Mack has spent tens of millions on horses and hadn’t won a Grade 1 race until Runhappy’s King’s Bishop! Now, Teaser doesn’t know “Mattress Mack” or Borell personally. He’s also never met
As always, there appears to be two sides to the story. Originally life imitated art, or at least a Disney movie script—a young, struggling, attractive female trainer with an expansive Sunday Silence tattoo covering her back is hired by a wealthy horse owner to resurrect the fortunes of a oncepromising 3YO Thoroughbred. The pair immediately forms an incredible bond and the colt goes on to win the $1.5 million Breeders’ Cup Sprint at Keeneland in the heart of Kentucky horse country before a worldwide television audience. FADE TO BLACK and roll credits. Quickly! The next scene is R-rated for strong dialogue and is unsuitable for children.
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Borell’s reportedly waiting to be paid and she’s looking for the standard 10% trainer’s fee. There may be some dispute about what she’s owed. Teaser thinks Mack ought to write her a check today for the full amount and be done with it. In the end, he’s the owner and can hire and fire anyone he wants. An owner’s responsibility, however, is to pay the bills and Borell deserves her bread. Apparently, the morning after Breeders’ Cup, Wolhers and Borell disagreed on Runhappy’s post-race training regime. Borrell reportedly let Wohlers have it verbally. And, as they say, that was that. Borell was canned. Now, as villainous as Mattress Mack appears, Teaser’s sympathetic. Dude’s between a rock and a hard place. Wohlers is twin sister to Mack’s wife, Linda. You gonna line-up against your Mrs.’s twin sister? No way! Borell might be freaking Ben Jones reincarnate, but after cursing out the wife’s sister, she’s got to go! Breeders’ Cup glass or not. Mack knows trainers are a dime a dozen, but ironically, he’s gotta share a mattress with his wife.
Roughly a day after Breeders’ Cup, in another part of the world, Michelle Payne became the first woman in 155 years to ride a Melbourne Cup winner, and only the fourth to ever even ride the race. Payne shocked Australia by winning the country’s most important race aboard 100-1 shot Prince of Penzance and then openly criticized the industry for chauvinistic practices.
Payne (pictured) also made a point to tell her critics to “get stuffed,” which is fairly simple to translate from ‘Aussie’ into ‘American.’ Teaser has a feeling “The Girl With the Horse Tattoo” smells what her Aussie sister’s cooking. While distaff accomplishments and struggles deserve to be highlighted, Teaser’s favorite female forays include a pair of additional incidents from the Melbourne Cup. One involves a woman seeking her five minutes of fame by shoving a Victorian policeman into the bushes, and another highlights a feisty femme mixing it up with males in a Melbourne Cup free-forall. Watch video of each incident, and in the melee, pay particular attention to the woman in the turquoise dress as she joins the scrum and adeptly subdues one of the male combatants. Screw the Preakness infield. Next season Teaser wants to party with the girls Down Under!
- THE TEASER
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TOP HEADLINES FROM BREEDERS’ CUP 2015 The Pharoah exits in style. Unhappy about Runhappy. Beholder misses 2nd Cup. Golden Horn hits sour note. Songbird carries her tune. Liam maps out easy path. Mongolian Saturday indeed.
Tepin caps Casse’s double. Pletcher’s fantastic Friday. Stephanie’s Kitten still purrs. Brown is the new Frankel. Nyquist skates past 14-hole. Aidan remains the Euro ace. Neumy returns firing like old. $1 pick six just as hard to hit. It’s sunnier at Santa Anita.
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After a clean break and only token pressure from Effinex (6), American Pharoah bounded through the stretch the first time with a clear path to greatness in the Breeders’ Cup Classic.
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The Triple Crown winner found an easy stride while setting the early pace as expected. Rivals like Honor Code already were 7-8 lengths in arrears of the superstar 3-year-old.
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He turned for home with plenty left in the tank ...
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American Pharoah stamped his legacy forever with a 6 1/2-length victory that matched the largest in Breeders’ Cup Classic history.
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The victory left everyone in smiles – especially jockey Victor Espinoza.
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The reaction with NBC Sports’ Donna Brothers one last time.
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American Pharoah poses for his final winners’ circle photo at Keeneland – October 31, 2015.
American Pharoah 11 starts, 9 wins, 1 second $8,650,300 earnings Del Mar Futurity * Frontrunner * Rebel * Arkansas Derby * Kentucky Derby * Preakness * Belmont Stakes * Haskell * Breeders’ Cup Classic
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By Jeremy Plonk
L
egends can take on different meanings, and the distinction can be all the difference in the world.
Some uses of the word legend inspire greatness, ranking above all others and with a reverence reserved for only the truly special. Other uses of legend lean far more fictional, a story told and passed down, but not necessarily believed by all. It’s the difference between Paul ‘Bear’ Bryant and Paul Bunyon.
And so we arrive at the end of the trail for American Pharoah. Will his racing legend be remembered for his starring roles in the Triple Crown and Breeders’ Cup? Or, will memories of his days on the racetrack be more tall tales of performances folks had waited 37 years to see, and – damned if they won’t – revere him simply because he was the one who finally turned back the clock? Now certainly rates a different time in racing history. The Breeders’ Cup era began only in 1984, a halfdozen years after Affirmed, more
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than a decade after Secretariat, and generations after Citation and Man o’ War. Ranking American Pharoah against names that merely are a typeface in a book or plaque can’t be done with any sense of certainty. Nor can it be done with context. To do so would insult the process and reader, and most likely be much more an exercise in emotion than fact. He’s either your guy or he isn’t. You either had him before the Derby, or you never gave him credence. Several racing scholars and pundits whom I respect uttered the forgettable phrase, “American Pharoah has never run fast enough to beat these horses …” as the Classic approached. Such a statement involves two leaps of faith. One, you must trust in the numbers you read. Two, you must be of the mindset that horse races are run like drag races – pedal to the metal where the best engine and tires win, dismissing nearly all other factors other than a track variant’s relative fastness or slowness. Even if you subscribe to performance figures, the sheets are only accounting ground loss,
weight and wind among the variables.
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Nowhere in these measurements is the all-important factor of need. Horses typically run as fast as they need to run, or as fast as the jockey needs them to run. At very few points in his career did American Pharoah need to run as fast as he could have run. His pedal rarely got pushed to the metal, if you will. The Kentucky Derby, no doubt, was one. Quality foes Firing Line and Dortmund ran some of the fastest internal splits in Kentucky Derby history, though most pundits failed to notice it after dismissing a slow first half-mile pace. The Travers played out eerily similar. The tempo set by American Pharoah and Frosted didn’t break any watches the first half-mile, but again the Midsummer Classic threw down internal fractions to the top of the stretch among the fastest in more than a century and a half of showcases at Saratoga. And while American Pharoah lost for the only time in his sophomore campaign in the showcase at Saratoga, his runner-up finish provided only a minor, momentary disappointment.
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Click to watch the Classic and reaction all over again. That’s because the Breeders’ Cup Classic offered the star sophomore every chance at redemption. He not only could wipe away the last memory of the Travers, but also make history if able to beat elders at Keeneland on Halloween. There would be no tricks, just treats, as American Pharoah lambasted the Classic field by 6-1/2 lengths and tied the record for largest margin of victory in the race’s history. The marketing of a hokey ‘grand slam’ simply was an attempt to piggy-back the popularity of the Triple Crown. The fact that American Pharoah was the first horse to win all four races really
has no historical meaning. The Breeders’ Cup didn’t debut until 1984, and the Triple Crown had not been eclipsed since 1978. This by no means diminishes what American Pharoah accomplished. In fact, the most impressive thing he did in his entire career was race at his peak in both May and the last day in October. Great horses of today’s training methods do not stay in maximum form for five months. His seasonal longevity, which began in March at Oaklawn Park in the Rebel, truly proved to be a rare and rewarding modern attribute. It’s not that American Pharoah won these four races, but
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I can feel my elder horseplaying contemporaries cringe at plaudits for a star horse competing for almost an entire year . True, American Pharoah is no Kelso or John Henry. He won’t even touch a Derby winner like Funny Cide in terms of longevity.
Maybe he finally won over the digit police with a 120 Beyer in the Classic … or maybe the numbers finally caught up with the eyes. Either way, he earned true legend status in my mind as the greatest horse I’ve witnessed since at least 1980 and the beginning of my indepth memories and analysis of horse racing. Greater than Cigar, greater than Zenyatta, greater than Skip Away and Silver Charm.
But this is 2015, and it’s not American Pharoah’s fault he was born in 2012. He’s the first 2-yearold champion to add the Kentucky Derby since Street Sense in 2006 and before that Spectacular Bid in 1979.
If we dive back deeper than 1980, then the discussion becomes way more Paul Bunyon for me. Horses from the 1970s and beyond are legends in both senses of the word. And, when you really think about it, why do we have to dig?
rather that he won them five months apart, that cinches his greatness.
– HPN
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This month’s topic of review:
ELECTION NIGHT Since 2011, Night School has been teaching novice and expert handicappers alike in the finer points of playing the races. Through live chats, videos and radio simulcasts, the best in the industry have shared their expertise free with horseplayers. In each issue of Horse Player NOW Magazine, we go “Back to Night School” with a look at some of the high points of past lessons.
“Election Night” was November 3 across the country, and the first Tuesday of November annually offers you a chance to be heard in politics. For the second straight year, we took Election Night to a new level in Night School when we polled the class throughout the evening in a series of focus group questions that helped take the pulse of racing’s hot-button topics. Over the next several pages, you’ll see the poll results as they were conducted in the live class. Play along and see how you would have voted had you been in attendance!
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CONGRATULATIONS TO LIAM’S MAP – 2015 BREEDERS’ CUP DIRT MILE WINNER ST. ELIAS STABLES & WEST POINT THOROUGHBREDS, OWNERS [Cite your source here.]
From the fans and horseplayers in Night School!
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2015 TOPICS REMAINING IN NIGHT SCHOOL! TUESDAYS, 8:30 PM ET NOVEMBER 10 RACING’S TOWN HALL MEETING
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Sprint to a Payoff
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Expert handicapper Rick Lee offers his tips for picking Quarter Horse winners. By Jennifer K. Hancock American Quarter Horse racing is short and to the point. Horse racing’s sprinters did get their name for being the fastest horses in the world at the quarter-mile distance, which equates to the classic 440 yards. The fastest horse wins the races so it should be easy to handicap the Quarters by simply comparing past times at the same distance and even looking at speed figures, or the Quarter Horse’s long standard of the speed index, to find a winner. But if you dig a little deeper and take the advice of professional handicapper and Lone Star Park morning line oddsmaker Rick Lee, you might have an even better day at the track.
Lee began professionally handicapping in 1990 at Oaklawn Park and wrote for state-wide newspapers in Arkansas. In 1998 two years after Lone Star Park opened and track management wanted to improve their handicapping presence at the Grand Prairie racetrack, Lee moved to Texas, where he also began writing for the Dallas Morning News.
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On November 7, Lone Star Park hosted the Bank of America Challenge Championships, the Quarter Horse equivalent to Thoroughbred racing’s Breeders’ Cup.
Horse racing is not that bad a route to go. The trouble is usually subtle and you can have a lot of success in this sport gambling.”
Analyzing horses that converge for a big day of racing can be tricky. A faster “In some ways, I think that time posted at one track it’s easier to do well with the might not Quarter Horse actually be races,” Lee said. “In some ways, I faster if you “I think the think that it’s discover that fastest horses easier to do well wind aided the generally win with the Quarter quick trip or a and I think that Horse races.” deeper track if you take any surface extra time to - Rick Lee, Lone Star Park produces slower watch replays times. you can really take advantage “I think the thing to do is find of subtle problems horses out the tracks with the best have. racing,” Lee advises. “Track class does make a difference. “The difference between a Once you identify those and win and a loss is in the then if you have access to the hundredths of seconds so if research to find out who you can find just the smallest they’ve been running against bit of trouble, I think a and what those horses have handicapper that really takes accomplished. That’s a big the game seriously and wants advantage.” to make money that Quarter
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Tracks that host big-money futurities such as Los Alamitos Race Course, Ruidoso Downs, Remington Park and Lone Star Park will attract the best of the best. Speed indexes at these tracks might be a bit deceiving and seem lower, but that’s because better quality horses are running at these tracks and these figures are based on three-year average times. A superstar at a smaller track might blow away the competition and earn a huge speed index, but in reality might not be faster than a horse with a decent speed index at a larger track. “I have noticed that tracks of lower quality such as a fair meet at Gillespie that the numbers appear higher than they are capable of running against classier horses at Lone Star Park or Remington Park,” Lee says. For tracks that run mixed meets with both Quarter Horses and Thoroughbreds
using the same rail, handicappers should be aware of the possibility of the track becoming deep on the inside. With straight Quarter Horse meets, handicappers can expect for the track to play fair from inside to out. “The Lone Star track consistently stays fair,” Lee says. “That’s one thing that Quarter Horse horsemen will not tolerate of track management and that’s a
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bias. If they think they have one, they rectify it quickly. I wouldn’t be too concerned about inside, outside biases.”
“With Quarter Horses, it’s so significant to look at the trouble line at the very end of the past performance line. If your horse has any kind of trouble then they will not win.”
At 870 yards, Quarter Horses and Thoroughbreds can compete together, and it’s important to know the track. “With Lone Star’s one-mile configuration, inside post positions are greatly advantaged at 870 yards,” Lee says. Without a chute to establish position out of the gate, horses racing at 870 yards on a one-mile oval jump from the gate and are almost immediately racing through the turn. Being stuck on the outside will mean a wide trip and extra ground to make up and not a lot of time. Lee also suggests that handicappers read all the way
- Rick Lee, Lone Star Park
to the end of the past performance line to pick up on any hints listed in the trip notes. Lee offers, “For those people that don’t come very often when they’re looking at the Lone Star Park Today program past performances are just in their Daily Racing Form, with Quarter Horses, it’s so significant to look at the trouble line at the very end of the past performance line. If your horse has any kind of trouble then they will not win. It’s easy to draw a line through races where a Quarter Horse had trouble.”
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Be sure to check the horses on either side of your pick as well. If the fastest horse is standing in the gate beside a troubled starter that consistently breaks in or out, that favored horse might be taken out of the money with a bump at the start. “Being from Oaklawn, I had not handicapped any Quarter Horse races until I moved to Texas,” Lee says. “I went out to Ruidoso (Downs in New Mexico) the week of the All American Futurity in 1998 to gather information and to interview people at Ruidoso who understood the sport and handicapping. I dove in head first into Quarter Horse handicapping, and it’s been a joy.” Find Lee’s nightly picks for Lone Star Park here. Jennifer K. Hancock is a member of the American Quarter Horse Association’s Wrangler Racing Aces Fan Education team. Her resume includes working as a racehorse groom in college, the press box coordinator at Sam Houston Race Park, the editor of The American Quarter Horse Racing Journal and currently as a freelance writer and marketer at her own Lone Oak Marketing.
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MEET OUR TEAM: BRIAN W. SPENCER
Editor’s Note: We continue a season-long series spotlighting the members of the Horse Player NOW staff by introducing you to Brian W. Spencer. horse racing enthusiasts on the ‘Big Blog Page’ created by HPNOW founder Jeremy Plonk, a precursor of things to come. He also was a frequent contributor to Steve Byk’s popular Derby Trail forum. Brian W. Spencer currently serves as Racing Analyst and Manager of Communications at Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots, which he commenced in 2013, and he was hired in 2015 to fill the same role at Arlington International Racecourse, providing daily selections and pre-race analysis on the simulcast feed, and handling racing and general PR during the live meets. Spencer joined Horse Player NOW in April 2009, but was discovered as a blogger in 2007 among the dozens of outstanding aspiring
Soon after, Spencer captained the HP NOW team at the 2010 Preakness Stakes, providing onsite fan education in the Pimlico infield's first "Wagering 101" tent. Spencer also been a part of fullteam onsite fan education initiatives at subsequent major racing venues across the country.
A graduate of Portland State University with a Bachelor of Arts in English, he names identifying hidden trips and analyzing form cycles among the keys to his handicapping style. “Handicapping is all about discipline. When every horseplayer has access to the same information, it's discipline that will give you the edge,” says Spencer. “Watching every replay, every day, on the same circuit will give you a huge jump on your wagering competition. A substantial part of whether or not a day at the races is a success is little more than how much homework you've done. Every player starts from the same place, so every advantage you can possibly give yourself is key.” His favorite jockey is Florent Geroux; Larry Jones is his favorite trainer; and Debussy’s 2010 Arlington Million win is the most memorable race he’s attended (click right to play).
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For Spencer, nothing beats a delicious seafood gumbo at Fair Grounds when spending a day at the track. In addition to handicapping, Brian’s 2009 story about Chicago-based career maiden Ottos Lotto was published by several racing websites and was a well-received human interest story. You can follow Spence on Twitter @brianwspencer
SALUTE TOMMY MASSIS 2015 BREEDERS’ CUP BETTING CHALLENGE CHAMP!
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MEET OUR TEAM: BRIAN NADEAU Editor’s Note: We continue a season-long series spotlighting the members of the Horse Player NOW staff by introducing you to Brian Nadeau. A member of the National Turf Writers Association, Brian Nadeau has been a mainstay with Horse Player NOW since January 2010, serving as our year-round New York handicapper and Florida handicapper in the winter, as well as captaining and coordinating the daily BUZZ Report. Nadeau also provides on-air analysis and handicapping for Capital OTB-TV in the Capital District of New York and for the past five years has written and produced the official weekly newsletter for the Breeders' Cup. Nadeau has been a regular in the Saratoga Press Box for the past decade, first as a press intern with NYRA before joining ST Publishing in 2006 as a writer/handicapper
and working on the award-winning Steeplechase Times and Saratoga Special. He also served on ST projects such as the Keeneland Special and Breeders' Cup Special, has been a radio guest of several racing programs including Ralph Siraco's Race Day Las Vegas and wrote freelance articles for The HorsePlayer Magazine.
The keys to Nadeau’s handicapping style include patience, race selection, recognizing overlays, form cycles, and homework on both charts and trips. “Success at the race track is an elusive goal that is only attained through hard work and disciplined play,” says Nadeau with regards to playing the races. “Finding which races are for you can be a tiresome process but a rewarding one in the end. Simply put: Do what you do best. Handicap yourself, as well as the races, in order to identify and take advantage of your strong suits while removing your weak ones. Practice discipline and patience and wait for the right play to maximize your success.” A State University of New York Oswego graduate with a Bachelor of Arts in Public Relations, Nadeau currently resides in Saratoga Springs. He names Ramon Dominguez his favorite jockey, Jonathan Sheppard
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his favorite trainer, and the trio of Skip Away, Surfside, and Flanders as his favorite horses.
Among the most memorable races Nadeau has attended was the 2010 Breeders’ Cup Classic with Blame and Zenyatta (click video above to view), although he also fondly remembers seeing the 1997 Belmont Stakes tussle between Touch Gold and Silver Charm. And this June he had the privilege to cover American Pharoah’s Triple Crown clincher at the Belmont Stakes for the follow-up edition of
HPNOW Mag. When it comes to spending a day at the races, you can’t beat a day at Saratoga with a Shake Shack Burger, Nadeau’s favorite race track food. – HPN
You don’t have to be right about a horse to admit you were wrong. American Pharoah twisted me in knots throughout his career. But just because I couldn’t find the handicapping pursuit lucrative (or even keep from embarrassment), doesn’t mean I can’t come around to realizing greatness. Let’s review: I picked him 2nd to stablemate Lord Nelson in last year’s Frontrunner at Santa Anita. Even before his scratch in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile, I was on the Texas Red express and that at least worked out well. (In hindsight, I’m pretty fortunate that AP didn’t make the gate.) The Rebel was an easy spot with a huge pace advantage, so even a layoff contrarian like me had American Pharoah on top. But that need to get cute and find value reared its head a month later at Oaklawn when I went for the closer Far Right, who came into the Arkansas Derby fresh and with a pace set-up.
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And, no, I didn’t learn my lesson in the Kentucky Derby, going for Dortmund – a pick I would wheel back with in the Preakness as well. Score two more for American Pharoah. In the Belmont Stakes, I finally came around to the Triple Crown champ. A year prior, I picked against California Chrome, but this time I had seen enough to know I shouldn’t think too much. There was no beating the champ in the Haskell over a track built for him and his barn never misfires there. And, I followed suit with American Pharoah in the Travers – this time, for once, it was he who was wrong and not me . After Beholder’s scratch in the Breeders’ Cup Classic, I thankfully settled on AP’s pace edge. That's a 4-for-9 public handicapping mark I have to live with for eternity. - JP
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