2017 Horse Racing Betting Review & 2018 Preview

Now that the 2017 Breeders Cup has come and gone, we’re heading into the off-season of the horse racing season. There are still some races left on the schedule, but the major ones are done. Del Mar was the host track for the Breeders Cup, and the facility got high marks overall for the job that they did. There were some issues on the main track, which looked as though it favored speed and the inside on Wednesday and Thursday but for the tranquility of the Horse Racing Betting enthusiasts was corrected to favor the outside on Friday and Saturday. Next year, the Cup will move to Churchill Downs. Let’s take a few moments to consider the end of this racing season and then look quickly at 2018, as you consider your Horse Racing betting options for next year’s big races.

2017 Horse Racing Betting Review & 2018 Preview

Mendelssohn one to watch for 2018 #KyDerby: https://t.co/hUpaxaVoBo pic.twitter.com/9ATNPXhUpS

— Kentucky Derby (@KentuckyDerby) 17 de noviembre de 2017

Who should be Horse of the Year? Gun Runner did win the Breeders’ Cup Classic and so should definitely get some high consideration. There is West Coast (likely to be the three-year-old male champion) and there is World Approval (likely to win the turf male division). Arrogate had a great start to the year, winning the Dubai World Cup and the Pegasus World Cup. However, he finished the year with three consecutive defeats and won’t beat Gun Runner in the older dirt male division for the Eclipse Award. Next year, the Triple Crown will unfold starting on May 5, with the running of the Kentucky Derby. Two weeks later, the Preakness Stakes will run on May 19 in Baltimore. Finally, the Belmont Stakes will take place on June 9. As we look forward to that season, let’s look at some of the early top contenders for that series.

• Bolt d’Oro — This spirited horse came in third in the 2017 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile
• Blueblood — Winner of the 2017 Victoria Derby
• Run Away — Came in fifth at the 2017 Bob Hope Stakes
• Good Magic — Came in first in the 2017 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile
• Dak-Attack — Came in first at the 2017 Ellis Park Juvenile
• The Tabulator — Came in fifth at the 2017 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile
• Firenze Fire — Came in seventh at the 2017 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile
• Mendelssohn — Winner of the 2017 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf
• Copper Bullet — Won the 2017 Saratoga Special
• St. Patrick’s Day — Won the MSW at Del Mar (9/2/17)
• He Hate Me — Won the 2017 Tremont
• Gotta Go — Won the 2017 Street Sense
• Seabhac — Won the 2017 Pilgrim
• Engage — Won the 2017 Futurity
• Sand and Sea — Won the 2017 Gold Medallion

Other Candidates

• Mojovation — Came in third at the 2017 Futurity
• Beautiful Shot — Came in third at the 2017 Bob Hope Stakes
• Victory Lane — Came in second at the MSW at Keeneland
• Aveenu Malcainu — Came in third at the 2017 Nashua
• Arrival — Came in third at the MSW at Keeneland
• Flameaway — Came in eighth at the 2017 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf
• Labeq — Came in sixth at the MSW at Aqueduct
• Biblical — Came in third at the MSW at Belmont
• Snapper Sinclair — Came in 12th at the 2017 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf

2018 Top Events

As the early Horse Racing Betting season opens next spring, be sure to follow the prep and championship series races. In the prep season, this includes the Smarty Jones and the Lecomte in January; the Withers, Holy Bull, Robert B. Lewis, the Sam F. Davis, the El Camino Real Derby and the Southwest in February. The championship series season includes Risen Star in the last week of February. In March the series includes the Fountain of Youth, Gotham, Tampa Bay Derby, San Felipe, Rebel, Spiral, Louisiana Derby, UAE Derby, Sunland Derby, Florida Derby, Wood Memorial, Blue Grass, Santa Anita Derby, Arkansas Derby and Lexington. European horses will take part in the Road to the Kentucky Derby Condition Stakes, Patton and Burradon; in Japan, keep your eye on the Zen-Nippon Nisai Yushun in December and the Hyacinth in February.