izzy 2

Las Vegas - Taking the F train out to Queens and rolling with St. John's over Seton Hall. The Red Storm were sitting at 7-7 in the middle of January, with the Big Dance just a far away dream. Then they ripped off six straight wins including a 70-59 W against Villanova. Sadly, they might not have their spark plug tonight, Posh Alexander, but it didn't matter in the last game against Providence. They rocked the Friars 81-67 and should close the season with a big time win at home, even without Posh. The Pirates will cross the bridge from New Jersey, or maybe take the tunnel, on an 0-3 straight up run, and even uglier, 0-5 against the spread. Gonna be a Storm, and you can BOOK IT!

Gonna step into the UFC Octagon in Vegas tonight, and throw a large handful of chips at Israel Adesanya over Jan Blachowicz. Understand that Izzy is a big phat favorite at around -$240, but have you seen this guys body? He is a piece of iron, and has maybe the best nickname in all of sports. You sitting? They call the man from Nigeria now based in Auckland, The Last Stylebender!!! If you're not familiar, and looking for his record, how about TWENTY & OH! The Stylebender is lighter but WWWAAAYYY faster and enjoys an 80/78" reach advantage. His opponent, Jan Blachowicz, is from Poland, and his nickname is The Prince of Cieszyn. Not bad, but he's NO STYLEBENDER! This Prince just turned 38 and will be STRIPPED of his royal title by Izzy Adesanya.

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More horses with my horse guy, Martin Calia...

It's starting to get exciting as we have three Kentucky Derby Preps on tap for today.

Let's start on the East Coast with Race 9 at Aqueduct, the one turn mile Gotham Stakes. Highly Motivated hasn't run since he set a track record on November 6 at Keeneland, but I think trainer Chad Brown will have him ready to roll in his first start of 2021. This race is loaded with speed and he should get a nice pace to close into as Freedom Fighter and Capo Kane battle for the lead. The bet is a Benjamin to win on #3 Highly Motivated and a $5 exacta with #3 over the 4-5-6-7.

C'mon down to Florida for the Tampa Bay Derby, Race 11, at a mile and a sixteenth. This was a tough race to handicap as I can make a case for a least 7 horses that could possibly win. Candy Man Rocket looks the best for trainer Bill Mott and is 2 for 2 this year. He will probably be looking for the same trip he had in the Sam Davis, but I'm going to take a shot at beating him today. Didn't King Guillermo pay $100 to win last year ? My bet will be #10 Helium. He is trained by Mark Casse who is no stranger to the Kentucky Derby trail. This horse is undefeated (2-2) but hasn't raced on a dirt track. His wins were on the synthetic in Canada. This will also be his first start around two turns so as the TV show says, "The Price is Right!" Gimme $20 across the board on #10 Helium and $2 exacta wheel #10 with all.

Close it out on the West Coast at Santa Anita, Race 6, The San Felipe Stakes, at a mile and a sixteenth. Bob Baffert sends out the top two choices in Life is Good (4/5), and Medina Spirit (7/2). Life is Good has a win over Spirit at a mile and I can see the same pace scenario setting up in the San Felipe. But the fly in the ointment is # 2 Dream Shake. His MSW race earned him a speed Beyer of 96 which puts him right with the top two favorites. The Peter Eurton trainee has been working extremely well since his maiden win and should come out on top an earn valuable Derby points while staying undefeated. Only one thing left to say. This is my Best Bet Babe! Throwing a full Benjamin to win and half a Benjamin to place and show. We will also add $5 exacta wheel #2 with all, and a $20 late DD #2 Dream Shake with #2 Whisper Not in the 7th race.

Enjoy!!!