Fast and good on opening day at Belmont.  It’s always great to get the Winter racing over with and we will not see Aqueduct for months!

In race 4, Chippewa Court (#4) can track the suspect speed and win when asked — I’m keying at a short price in all doubles and pick 3′s and playing an exacta box with Ambling Rose (#6).

In race 8, The Grade 3 Westchester, Convocation (#8) makes second start as a 4 year old and shows signs of taking an even bigger step forward today. I’m keying in all doubles and pick 3′s and playing an exacta box with Honest Man (#5) and Bribon (#6).  Here’s the entire card and good luck!

Race 1: 8 and 7

Race 2: 8 and 5

Race 3: 2B and 3

Race 4: 4 (Best Bet) and 6

Race 5: 8 and 7

Race 6: 1 with 6 and 10

Race 7: 4 with 11 and 3

Race 8: 8 (Best Bet) with 5 and 6

Race 9: 1, 7 and 8

Fast and firm on a beautiful day in Kentucky the day before the Derby.  It’s a competitive card to say the least, with several stakes on tap so there definitely money to be made.

In race 9, The Grade 3 Alysheba, Arson Squad (#7) is in great form, prefers natural dirt surfaces, can stay fairly close to a moderate pace and get the first jump on the closers.  If you forgive his last trip to Churchill in The Stephen Foster, where he may not have recovered from Dubai and was beaten by Macho Again, you may get 3-1 today!  I’m keying in all doubles and pick 3′s and playing an exacta box with Cool Coal Man (#4).

In race 10, The Grade 2 American Turf, Doubles Partner (#6) is clearly a turf horse and can take advantage of a decent pace to post a modest upset. I’m keying in all doubles and pick 3′s and playing an exacta box with Guys Reward (#3) and Lost Aptitude (#4).

In the Kentucky Oaks, use It’s Tea Time (#1) as a viable longshot. Here’s the entire card and good luck!

Race 1: 8 and 4

Race 2: 7 and 9

Race 3: 3, 10 and 12

Race 4: 4, 11 and 8

Race 5: 4 with 3 and 11

Race 6: 4 and 3

Race 7: 2 and 9

Race 8: 3 and 2

Race 9: 7 (Best Bet)) and 4

Race 10: 6 (Best Bet) with 3 and 4

Race 11: 1, 5 and 7

Race 12: 10 with 9 and 8

In the first 4 months of 2010, I’ve experienced every emotion that a handicapper can go through — everything from joyful exuberance to total humiliation.  One race you are the greatest handicapper in America, the next you wonder if the racing form is speaking a foreign language.  For me, the first four months of the year were more like a wide range of temperatures: sometimes very hot, sometimes very cold and sometimes lukewarm. But, for me, always enjoyable and challenging!

Since January, I’ve concentrated on handicapping 3 tracks (Aqueduct, Gulfstream & Keeneland), usually on weekends and holidays when the cards are more difficult and competitive.  At Gulfstream, I started very hot, even had a $70 Best Bet winner, but cooled off near the end of the meet after having a flat bet profit until the last few days.  At Keeneland, I started out ice cold, but went 15/39 the last 4 cards.  At Aqueduct, I was kind of lukewarm, one good day followed by one bad day, followed by days of mediocrity. But at the end of weeks of handicapping, one thing that was consistent was a positive ROI for my “best bests” at each track!  Below, I’ve compiled the results of the first 4 months of handicapping.  Through 634 races, at 3 tracks, I just missed a positive ROI.  I’m very proud of my effort and I hope my friends and supporters benefited in some way.  Thanks again for all your support and get ready for the Kentucky Derby weekend, starting with my picks on Friday!

Keeneland:

• Overall – 17/59 ($2.06 ROI)
• Best Bets – 4/12 ($2.03 ROI)

Aqueduct:

• Overall – 64/275 ($1.75 ROI)
• Best Bets – 18/62 ($2.19 ROI)

Gulfstream:

• Overall – 65/300 ($1.92 ROI))
• Best Bets – 13/60($2.57 ROI)

3 Tracks Combined:

• Overall – 146/634 ($1.91 ROI)
• Best Bets – 35/134 ($2.26 ROI)