Riding #9 at the Preakness and #65 in Chicago!

Las Vegas - Kick off Saturday with the ponies and that means just one thing. My horse guy, Martin Calia, has the floor, or, the dirt. Take it away Martin.
Today we have the second jewel of the Triple Crown, the Preakness Stakes. Usually run at Pimlico Race Course, but since they are renovating that facility, it will be run at Laurel Park, also located in Maryland. The Preakness is Race 13 and will be run at a mile and three sixteenths. This is a shorter distance than the Kentucky Derby (1 1/4 miles) which was run two weeks ago and won by Golden Tempo. Sadly, Tempo will not be running as the owners decided to skip the Preakness and aim for the Belmont Stakes on June 6th. Besides the shorter distance between the races, the run to the first turn is shorter (690 ft) at Laurel then it is at Churchill Downs (1980 ft). Therefore front running speed horses have a clear advantage going into that first turn. Also the stretch at Churchill Downs is longer (1234 ft) than it is at Laurel Park (1089 ft). This will make it hard on the late closers who come from far behind to make up that distance on the leaders. With that being said, I like the #9 horse Iron Honor. The Chad Brown trainee skipped the Derby after coming off a 7th place finish in the G2 Wood Memorial at Aqueduct. That race was six weeks ago and Honor has been working steadily over the Belmont training track in New York. Chad Brown has won the Preakness twice before so he knows how to get a horse ready for this race. The blinkers come off for this race which I see as a positive move as the horse has tactical speed to sit a nice trip. He was caught four wide in the first turn in the Wood and was too keen sitting in the 4 path around the second turn and 5 wide in the stretch. Hopefully the blinkers off will see him settle. This field is not as good as the Derby field was and only three horses return from that race to run today. So, the bet will be a Benjamin Lee ($100) to win, place and show on #9 Iron Honor and a $5 exacta wheel #9 with all. Good luck!
Then we're gonna roll out to Chicago and grab the White Sox over the Cubs in this tasty intracity rivalry. Don't laugh. If you have not looked at the standings, the Sox are sitting only one game behind the first place Guardians in the A.L. Central (not including last night). Davis Martin's right arm is one of the main reasons for the  turnaround. Martin is 5-1 and pitching to a 1.62 ERA. His last five starts have been off the charts, allowing only four earned runs over 32 innings for a 1.13 ERA. Throw in 37 Ks in those 32 frames and the Sox should provide a nice deposit into the Bank of Benj.
ECKstatsLas Vegas - Back on the NHL ice for a look at a game tonight in the 'what have you done lately' category. The Canadiens (55-27-12) are hosting the Sabres (56-27-10). Montreal has won six of the last 10 straight up and has a 6-4 record against the spread. They have gone Over four times and Under six times. Buffalo has won five of the last 10 and has a 5-5 record against the spread. They have gone Over five times and Under four times with one push.
These teams have met nine times this season. On October 20, the Canadiens posted a 4-2 victory in Montreal. The Over/Under total was six goals and was a push. On January 15, the Sabres posted a 5-3 victory in Buffalo. The Over/Under total was 6.5 goals and went high. On January 22, the Sabres posted a 4-2 victory in Montreal. The Over/Under total was 6.5 goals and went low. On January 31, the Canadiens posted a 4-2 victory in Buffalo. The Over/Under total was 6.5 goals and went low.
In the opening game of the playoff series on May 6, the Sabres posted a 4-2 victory in Buffalo. The Over/Under total was 5.5 goals and went high. In the second game of the playoff series on May 8, the Canadiens posted a 5-1 victory in Buffalo. The Over/Under total was 5.5 goals and went high. In the third game of the playoff series on May 10, the Canadiens posted a 6-2 victory in Montreal. The Over/Under total was 6 goals and went high. In the fourth game of the playoff series on May 12, the Sabres posted a 3-2 victory in Montreal. The Over/Under total was 6 goals and went low. In the fifth game of the playoff series on May 14, the Canadiens posted a 6-3 victory in Buffalo. The Over/Under total was 6 goals and went high.
0 reactions