US Racing Continues Along With South African Racing
The latest horse racing news is that racing is continuing to be run in the United States of America. For punters, this is positive news in the current climate we are in. Looking at a few of the top meetings coming up, this article will share those to look out for.
There are a few tracks that are due to run regularly over the coming weeks and these include Gulfstream Park, Tampa Bay Downs, and Will Rogers Downs.
Let’s start by looking at Gulfstream Park. This is one of the biggest tracks in the US and based in the heart of Florida holds many race days throughout the year. The track has two main courses of which one is grass and the other is all-weather (dirt) and the quality of horse racing is very high throughout the year.
Gulfstream Park is the location for many of the ‘Group 1’ races including the Florida Derby and Pegasus World Cup. This weekend will see the Florida Derby take place where the prize money will be $1 million.
Looking at the race itself for SBR, it’s for 3-year-olds and the race is run over 1 1/8 miles. Key stats from the race include that the most wins by a trainer is Todd Pletcher who has trained 5 winners including wins in 2014, 2015, 2017 and 2018.
The link between the most wins by a trainer correlates to most wins by a jockey as John Velazquez has also ridden wins in the race and three of the year’s John rode the winning horse trained by Todd Pletcher which were 2015, 2017 and 2018.
Tiz the Law is the favorite to win the race, trained by Barclay Tagg and owned by the Sackatoga Stable. The horse has won 3 of its 4 starts. The current price of Tiz the Law to win is 1/1 (+100).
Another horse to follow in the race is Ete Indien. The horse has won 2 out of its last 3 races and the most recent win was impressive at Gulfstream Park over 1-mile ½ furlong.
The race before that could well have a huge bearing on the Florida Derby as Ete Indien finished 2nd behind Tiz the Law so the pick for us is for Tiz the law to win the race this weekend.
Tampa Bay Downs is a horse racing track that runs regularly and racing will happen weekly until the first weekend in May on Wednesday, Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays. This is a very popular track which has good racecards on the 4 days a week it shows live racing and over the coming weeks expect to see some top races.
South African Racing
Horse Racing in South Africa is also still going on during this time and the main track that regularly runs during the week is Fairview.
Located in Port Elizabeth, the racecourse has both a turf (grass) and all-weather (dirt) track and hosts races every week Featured races include the Jockey Club Stakes, Founders Trophy and the Algoa Cup.
To find a winner at Fairview some key stats to look at are the top 5 jockeys over the past year. Top of the list goes to Greg Cheyne with a superb 30% win rate. He has ridden 473 horses and has won 143 of them, but also been placed 272 times.
The top trainer is Mr. A. Greeff, who has had 1,099 runs from his horses and had 195 wins from his horses and 471 of those have been placed. This 18% strike rate is top of the ranking list.
Therefore when there is a combination of Greeff and Cheyne there is a likelihood that the horse will at least place.
Another course in South Africa is Turffontein which is another flat racing course. The venue is in a suburb of Johannesburg. The course is renowned for being a true test of stamina thanks to the tough climb to the finish. There are about 70 race meetings at the Johannesburg track in a season, with the highlights including the Group One South African Derby and the Summer Cup in November.
Top Tips!
1/1 Evens (+100) Tiz the Law to win Florida Derby – 28th March 2020
