CONTENTS NOV. 2015

4 From The Publisher

6 The Teaser

Topics that titillate the racing mind.

10 Pharoah’s Final Ride

Ride along with a pictorial review of the Breeders’ Cup Classic.

22 Legend of American Pharoah

Jeremy Plonk discusses the career and legacy of the 2015 champion.

28 Back to Night School

We recap the results of Election Night special horseplayer polling.

36 Sprint to a Payoff

Jennifer K. Hancock features Lone Star Park handicapper Rick Lee.

42 Meet Our Team:

Brian W. Spencer Our year-long series continues with a look at FG/AP’s rising analyst.

46 Meet Our Team:

Brian Nadeau Get to know the captain of our BUZZ lineup and his handicapping.

48 Galloping Out

JP explains how you didn’t have to be right about American Pharoah to recognize greatness.

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From the Publisher

By November most seasons, I’m honestly happy to turn the page and look forward to a time far less chaotic in my life. The October push from Keeneland through the Breeders’ Cup often leaves my mind mush and my body in search of long, lost sleep.

But this was no typical October and what we saw at Breeders’ Cup to close the month deserves much celebration. We’ve never had a Triple Crown winner grace the event in its first 31 editions. The mere presence of American Pharoah made not only this year’s Breeders’ Cup one for the ages, but he forever will make 2015 one of those sports years we remember for a generation to come.

We hope to capture the splendor of those accomplishments and images on the pages to come, while also bringing you closer to some respected handicappers who will share their insights on the favorite pursuit we all love – finding the next American Pharoah.

-JP

Horse Player NOW Magazine Copyright 2015

Horse Player NOW All Rights Reseved

Editor, Publisher, Designer Jeremy Plonk

Contributing Writers/Analysts Jennifer K. Hancock

Candice Hare

Photography Chief Enzina Mastrippolito (Photosbyz)

Contributing Photographers Keeneland

American Quarter Horse Assoc. Coady Photography/Lone Star Park

Breeders’ Cup Ltd.

4

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THE TEASER:

From a very ‘unhappy’ ending to

‘getting stuffed’ Down Under, eventually it will all make sense.

Ladies’ Days

American Pharoah’s Breeders’ Cup Classic victory and subsequent retirement was a big deal. Teaser gets it. However, weekend action surrounding fillies and mares – human and equine – proved to be way more entertaining.

First, mad props to females in unrestricted Breeders’ Cup races, including Found, victorious over Arc winner and BC Turf favorite Golden Horn, as well as Tepin, dominatrix of the BC Mile. Lady Shipman, second by a neck to upset winner Mongolian Saturday in the Turf Sprint, also deserves a nod of approval.

Besides American Pharoah’s triumphant finale, the biggest Breeders’ Cup story surrounds Maria Borell (pictured), the 32-year-old former conditioner of BC

Sprint winner Runhappy.

With Borell listed as trainer, Runhappy exploded on the national racing scene to win the G1 King’s Bishop at Saratoga and the G3 Phoenix at Keeneland earlier in the Fall Meet.

Heartwarming pre-race video and stills of Borell and the 3-year-old rocket ship incessantly nuzzling made the pair an even stronger favorite to win the race.

Teaser, definition: A male horse used at breeding farms to determine whether a mare is ready to receive a stallion. Also, perhaps the most unfulfilling occupation in the universe.

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Shockingly, (well, maybe not) Runhappy’s owner Jim “Mattress Mack” McIngvale fired Borell the day after winning the Sprint. Racing insiders weren’t completely surprised. In the industry Mack’s also known as “Mattress Sack” for the way he dismisses trainers—he’s employed over 30 different ones. However, he’s never canned one immediately following a Breeders’ Cup victory. That’s mostly because none of McIngvale’s runners have ever won a Breeders’ Cup race until now. In fact, Mack has spent tens of millions on horses and hadn’t won a Grade 1 race until Runhappy’s King’s Bishop!

Now, Teaser doesn’t know “Mattress Mack” or Borell personally. He’s also never met

McIngvale’s racing manager / sometime trainer / Gallery Furniture manager Laura Wolhers or her twin sister Linda McIngvale, wife of the famous furniture pusher. So my evaluation of the situation purely is based on media reports, social and otherwise – Twitter, Bloodhorse, Instagram, etc. (So what? Where do you get your news?)

As always, there appears to be two sides to the story.

Originally life imitated art, or at least a Disney movie script—a young, struggling, attractive female trainer with an expansive Sunday Silence tattoo covering her back is hired by a wealthy horse owner to resurrect the fortunes of a once- promising 3YO Thoroughbred. The pair immediately forms an incredible bond and the colt goes on to win the $1.5 million Breeders’ Cup Sprint at Keeneland in the heart of Kentucky horse country before a worldwide television audience.

FADE TO BLACK and roll credits. Quickly! The next scene is R-rated for strong dialogue and is unsuitable for children.

7

Apparently, the morning after Breeders’ Cup, Wolhers and Borell disagreed on Runhappy’s post-race training regime. Borrell reportedly let Wohlers have it verbally. And, as they say, that was that. Borell was canned.

Now, as villainous as Mattress Mack appears, Teaser’s sympathetic. Dude’s between a rock and a hard place. Wohlers is twin sister to Mack’s wife, Linda. You gonna line-up against your Mrs.’s twin sister? No way!

Borell might be freaking Ben Jones reincarnate, but after cursing out the wife’s sister, she’s got to go! Breeders’ Cup glass or not. Mack knows trainers are a dime a dozen, but ironically, he’s gotta share a mattress with his wife.

Borell’s reportedly waiting to be paid and she’s looking for the standard 10% trainer’s fee. There may be some dispute about what she’s owed. Teaser thinks Mack ought to write her a check today for the full amount and be done with it. In the end, he’s the owner and can hire and fire anyone he wants. An owner’s responsibility, however, is to pay the bills and Borell

deserves her bread.

Roughly a day after Breeders’ Cup, in another part of the world, Michelle Payne became the first woman in 155 years to ride a Melbourne Cup winner, and only the fourth to ever even ride the race.

Payne shocked Australia by winning the country’s most important race aboard 100-1 shot Prince of Penzance and then openly criticized the industry for chauvinistic practices.

8

Payne (pictured) also made a point to tell her critics to “get stuffed,” which is fairly simple to translate from ‘Aussie’ into ‘American.’ Teaser has a feeling “The Girl With the Horse Tattoo” smells what her Aussie sister’s cooking.

While distaff accomplishments and struggles deserve to be highlighted, Teaser’s favorite female forays include a pair of additional incidents from the Melbourne Cup.

One involves a woman seeking her five minutes of fame by shoving a Victorian policeman into the bushes, and another highlights a feisty femme mixing it up with males in a Melbourne Cup free-for-all. Watch video of each incident, and in the melee, pay particular attention to the woman in the turquoise dress as she joins the scrum and adeptly subdues one of the male combatants.

Screw the Preakness infield. Next season Teaser wants to party with the girls Down Under!

- THE TEASER

The Pharoah exits in style.

Unhappy about Runhappy.

Beholder misses 2nd Cup.

Golden Horn hits sour note.

Songbird carries her tune.

Liam maps out easy path.

Mongolian Saturday indeed.

Tepin caps Casse’s double.

Pletcher’s fantastic Friday.

Stephanie’s Kitten still purrs.

Brown is the new Frankel.

Nyquist skates past 14-hole.

Aidan remains the Euro ace.

Neumy returns firing like old.

$1 pick six just as hard to hit.

It’s sunnier at Santa Anita.

TOP HEADLINES FROM BREEDERS’ CUP 2015

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After a clean break and only token pressure from Effinex (6), American Pharoah bounded

through the stretch the first time with a clear path to greatness in the Breeders’ Cup Classic.

11

The Triple Crown winner found an easy stride while setting the early pace as expected. Rivals

like Honor Code already were 7-8 lengths in arrears of the superstar 3-year-old.

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He turned for home with plenty left in the tank ...

15

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American Pharoah stamped his legacy forever with a 6 1/2-length victory that matched

the largest in Breeders’ Cup Classic history.

17

The victory left everyone in smiles – especially jockey Victor Espinoza.

18

The reaction with NBC Sports’ Donna Brothers one last time.

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American Pharoah poses for his final winners’circle photo at Keeneland – October 31, 2015.

American Pharoah

11 starts, 9 wins, 1 second $8,650,300 earnings

Del Mar Futurity * Frontrunner * Rebel * Arkansas Derby * Kentucky Derby * Preakness * Belmont Stakes * Haskell *

Breeders’ Cup Classic

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By Jeremy Plonk

egends can take on different meanings, and the distinction can be all the difference in

the world.

Some uses of the word legend inspire greatness, ranking above all others and with a reverence reserved for only the truly special.

Other uses of legend lean far more fictional, a story told and passed down, but not necessarily believed by all.

It’s the difference between Paul ‘Bear’ Bryant and Paul Bunyon.

And so we arrive at the end of the trail for American Pharoah. Will his racing legend be remembered for his starring roles in the Triple Crown and Breeders’ Cup? Or, will memories of his days on the racetrack be more tall tales of performances folks had waited 37 years to see, and – damned if they won’t – revere him simply because he was the one who finally turned back the clock?

Now certainly rates a different time in racing history. The Breeders’ Cup era began only in 1984, a half-dozen years after Affirmed, more

L

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than a decade after Secretariat, and generations after Citation and Man o’ War.

Ranking American Pharoah against names that merely are a typeface in a book or plaque can’t be done with any sense of certainty. Nor can it be done with context. To do so would insult the process and reader, and most likely be much more an exercise in emotion than fact. He’s either your guy or he isn’t. You either had him before the Derby, or you never gave him credence.

Several racing scholars and pundits whom I respect uttered the forgettable phrase, “American Pharoah has never run fast enough to beat these horses …” as the Classic approached.

Such a statement involves two leaps of faith. One, you must trust in the numbers you read. Two, you must be of the mindset that horse races are run like drag races – pedal to the metal where the best engine and tires win, dismissing nearly all other factors other than a track variant’s relative fastness or slowness. Even if you subscribe to performance figures, the sheets are only accounting ground loss,

weight and wind among the variables.

Nowhere in these measurements is the all-important factor of need. Horses typically run as fast as they need to run, or as fast as the jockey needs them to run. At very few points in his career did American Pharoah need to run as fast as he could have run. His pedal rarely got pushed to the metal, if you will.

The Kentucky Derby, no doubt, was one. Quality foes Firing Line and Dortmund ran some of the fastest internal splits in Kentucky Derby history, though most pundits failed to notice it after dismissing a slow first half-mile pace.

The Travers played out eerily similar. The tempo set by American Pharoah and Frosted didn’t break any watches the first half-mile, but again the Midsummer Classic threw down internal fractions to the top of the stretch among the fastest in more than a century and a half of showcases at Saratoga. And while American Pharoah lost for the only time in his sophomore campaign in the showcase at Saratoga, his runner-up finish provided only a minor, momentary disappointment.

24

That’s because the Breeders’ Cup Classic offered the star sophomore every chance at redemption. He not only could wipe away the last memory of the Travers, but also make history if able to beat elders at Keeneland on Halloween. There would be no tricks, just treats, as American Pharoah lambasted the Classic field by 6-1/2 lengths and tied the record for largest margin of victory in the race’s history.

The marketing of a hokey ‘grand slam’ simply was an attempt to piggy-back the popularity of the Triple Crown. The fact that American Pharoah was the first horse to win all four races really

has no historical meaning. The Breeders’ Cup didn’t debut until 1984, and the Triple Crown had not been eclipsed since 1978.

This by no means diminishes what American Pharoah accomplished. In fact, the most impressive thing he did in his entire career was race at his peak in both May and the last day in October. Great horses of today’s training methods do not stay in maximum form for five months. His seasonal longevity, which began in March at Oaklawn Park in the Rebel, truly proved to be a rare and rewarding modern attribute. It’s not that American Pharoah won these four races, but

Click to watch the Classic and reaction all over again.

25

rather that he won them five months apart, that cinches his greatness.

I can feel my elder horseplaying contemporaries cringe at plaudits for a star horse competing for almost an entire year. True, American Pharoah is no Kelso or John Henry. He won’t even touch a Derby winner like Funny Cide in terms of longevity.

But this is 2015, and it’s not American Pharoah’s fault he was born in 2012. He’s the first 2-year-old champion to add the Kentucky Derby since Street Sense in 2006 and before that Spectacular Bid in 1979.

Maybe he finally won over the digit police with a 120 Beyer in the Classic … or maybe the numbers finally caught up with the eyes. Either way, he earned true legend status in my mind as the greatest horse I’ve witnessed since at least 1980 and the beginning of my in-depth memories and analysis of horse racing. Greater than Cigar, greater than Zenyatta, greater than Skip Away and Silver Charm.

If we dive back deeper than 1980, then the discussion becomes way more Paul Bunyon for me. Horses from the 1970s and beyond are legends in both senses of the word. And, when you really think about it, why do we have to dig?

– HPN

26

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This month’s topic of review:

ELECTION

NIGHT Since 2011, Night School has been

teaching novice and expert

handicappers alike in the finer

points of playing the races.

Through live chats, videos and

radio simulcasts, the best in the

industry have shared their

expertise free with horseplayers. In

each issue of Horse Player NOW

Magazine, we go “Back to Night

School” with a look at some of the

high points of past lessons.

“Election Night” was November 3

across the country, and the first

Tuesday of November annually

offers you a chance to be heard in

politics. For the second straight

year, we took Election Night to a

new level in Night School when we

polled the class throughout the

evening in a series of focus group

questions that helped take the

pulse of racing’s hot-button topics.

Over the next several pages, you’ll

see the poll results as they were

conducted in the live class. Play

along and see how you would have

voted had you been in attendance!

28

29

30

CONGRATULATIONS TO LIAM’S MAP – 2015 BREEDERS’ CUP DIRT MILE WINNER

ST. ELIAS STABLES & WEST POINT THOROUGHBREDS, OWNERS

[Cite your source here.]

From the fans and horseplayers in Night School!

32

http://www.horseplayernow.com

34

2015 TOPICS REMAINING IN NIGHT SCHOOL! TUESDAYS, 8:30 PM ET

CLICK FOR MORE Visit Horseplayernow.com for the racing industry’s FREE national online fan education program.

NOVEMBER 10 RACING’S TOWN HALL MEETING

Our 4th annual event brings the movers &

shakers to class.

NOVEMBER 17 EVALUATING WORKOUTS

Discover what a.m. moves mean to p.m. success on the track.

NOVEMBER 24 SMALL CIRCUIT HANDICAPPING

Learn the inside-out of playing smaller tracks & best approaches.

DECEMBER 1 FAN’S CHOICE

SEASON FINALE

You get to vote on the topic for our very

special 200th episode!

SEASON SIX RETURNS

IN MARCH 2016

We look forward to our annual Spring return!

35

Sprint to a Payoff Expert handicapper Rick Lee offers his tips

for picking Quarter Horse winners.

By Jennifer K. Hancock

American Quarter Horse

racing is short and to the

point. Horse racing’s

sprinters did get their

name for being the fastest

horses in the world at the

quarter-mile distance,

which equates to the

classic 440 yards.

The fastest horse wins the

races so it should be easy

to handicap the Quarters

by simply comparing past

times at the same distance

and even looking at speed

figures, or the Quarter Horse’s

long standard of the speed

index, to find a winner.

But if you dig a little deeper

and take the advice of

professional handicapper and

Lone Star Park morning line

oddsmaker Rick Lee, you

might have an even better

day at the track.

Lee began professionally

handicapping in 1990 at

Oaklawn Park and wrote for

state-wide newspapers in

Arkansas. In 1998 two years

after Lone Star Park opened

and track management

wanted to improve their

handicapping presence at the

Grand Prairie racetrack, Lee

moved to Texas, where he

also began writing for the

Dallas Morning News.

36

On November 7, Lone Star

Park hosted the Bank of

America Challenge

Championships, the Quarter

Horse equivalent to

Thoroughbred racing’s

Breeders’ Cup.

“In some ways, I think that

it’s easier to do well with the

Quarter Horse

races,” Lee said.

“I think the

fastest horses

generally win

and I think that

if you take any

extra time to

watch replays

you can really

take advantage

of subtle problems horses

have.

“The difference between a

win and a loss is in the

hundredths of seconds so if

you can find just the smallest

bit of trouble, I think a

handicapper that really takes

the game seriously and wants

to make money that Quarter

Horse racing is not that bad a

route to go. The trouble is

usually subtle and you can

have a lot of success in this

sport gambling.”

Analyzing horses that

converge for a big day of

racing can be tricky. A faster

time posted at one track

might not

actually be

faster if you

discover that

wind aided the

quick trip or a

deeper track

surface

produces slower

times.

“I think the thing to do is find

out the tracks with the best

racing,” Lee advises. “Track

class does make a difference.

Once you identify those and

then if you have access to the

research to find out who

they’ve been running against

and what those horses have

accomplished. That’s a big

advantage.”

“In some ways, I

think that it’s

easier to do well

with the Quarter

Horse races.”

- Rick Lee, Lone Star Park

37

Tracks that host big-money

futurities such as Los Alamitos

Race Course, Ruidoso Downs,

Remington Park and Lone Star

Park will attract the best of

the best. Speed indexes at

these tracks might be a bit

deceiving and seem lower,

but that’s because better

quality horses are running at

these tracks and these figures

are based on three-year

average times. A superstar at

a smaller track might blow

away the competition and

earn a huge speed index, but

in reality might not be faster

than a horse with a decent

speed index at a larger track.

“I have noticed that tracks of

lower quality such as a fair

meet at Gillespie that the

numbers appear higher than

they are capable of running

against classier horses at

Lone Star Park or Remington

Park,” Lee says.

For tracks that run mixed

meets with both Quarter

Horses and Thoroughbreds

using the same rail,

handicappers should be aware

of the possibility of the track

becoming deep on the inside.

With straight Quarter Horse

meets, handicappers can

expect for the track to play

fair from inside to out.

“The Lone Star track

consistently stays fair,” Lee

says. “That’s one thing that

Quarter Horse horsemen will

not tolerate of track

management and that’s a

38

bias. If they think

they have one, they

rectify it quickly. I

wouldn’t be too

concerned about

inside, outside

biases.”

At 870 yards, Quarter

Horses and

Thoroughbreds can

compete together, and it’s

important to know the track.

“With Lone Star’s one-mile

configuration, inside post

positions are greatly

advantaged at 870 yards,”

Lee says.

Without a chute to establish

position out of the gate,

horses racing at 870 yards on

a one-mile oval jump from the

gate and are almost

immediately racing through

the turn. Being stuck on the

outside will mean a wide trip

and extra ground to make up

and not a lot of time.

Lee also suggests that

handicappers read all the way

to the end of the past

performance line to pick up

on any hints listed in the trip

notes.

Lee offers, “For those people

that don’t come very often

when they’re looking at the

Lone Star Park Today

program past performances

are just in their Daily Racing Form, with Quarter Horses,

it’s so significant to look at

the trouble line at the very

end of the past performance

line. If your horse has any

kind of trouble then they will

not win. It’s easy to draw a

line through races where a

Quarter Horse had trouble.”

“With Quarter Horses, it’s so

significant to look at the trouble

line at the very end of the past

performance line. If your horse

has any kind of trouble then they

will not win.”

- Rick Lee, Lone Star Park

39

Be sure to check the horses

on either side of your pick as

well. If the fastest horse is

standing in the gate beside a

troubled starter that

consistently breaks in or out,

that favored horse might be

taken out of the money with a

bump at the start.

“Being from Oaklawn, I had

not handicapped any Quarter

Horse races until I moved to

Texas,” Lee says. “I went out

to Ruidoso (Downs in New

Mexico) the week of the All

American Futurity in 1998 to

gather information and to

interview people at Ruidoso

who understood the sport and

handicapping. I dove in head

first into Quarter Horse

handicapping, and it’s been a

joy.”

Find Lee’s nightly picks for

Lone Star Park here.

Jennifer K. Hancock is a member of the American

Quarter Horse Association’s Wrangler Racing Aces Fan

Education team. Her resume includes working as a

racehorse groom in college, the press box coordinator

at Sam Houston Race Park, the editor of The

American Quarter Horse Racing Journal and currently

as a freelance writer and marketer at her own Lone

Oak Marketing.

2015 Bank of America

Racing Challenge

Championships Winners

- Challenge Championship

Daytona B

- Distaff Challenge

Sudden Separation

- Derby Challenge

Marys Coronitas

- Juvenile Challenge

Careless Lightning

- Distance Challenge

CR Tuckernuck

- Bonus Challenge

Jess A Rogue

40

PLAY WITH OUR PROS!

Wednesdays

6:15 pm ET

Full-Card Live Chat

Fridays

7:30 pm ET

Full-Card Live Chat

EACH WEEK THROUGH DECEMBER

Featuring:

- Free live streaming video

- Free BRISNET past performances

- Expert analysis in real time

MEET OUR TEAM: BRIAN W. SPENCER

Editor’s Note: We continue a season-long series spotlighting the members

of the Horse Player NOW staff by introducing you to Brian W. Spencer.

Brian W. Spencer currently serves

as Racing Analyst and Manager of

Communications at Fair Grounds

Race Course & Slots, which he

commenced in 2013, and he was

hired in 2015 to fill the same role

at Arlington International

Racecourse, providing daily

selections and pre-race analysis on

the simulcast feed, and handling

racing and general PR during the

live meets.

Spencer joined Horse Player NOW

in April 2009, but was discovered

as a blogger in 2007 among the

dozens of outstanding aspiring

horse racing enthusiasts on the ‘Big

Blog Page’ created by HPNOW

founder Jeremy Plonk, a precursor

of things to come. He also was a

frequent contributor to Steve Byk’s

popular Derby Trail forum.

Soon after, Spencer captained the

HP NOW team at the 2010

Preakness Stakes, providing onsite

fan education in the Pimlico

infield's first "Wagering 101" tent.

Spencer also been a part of full-

team onsite fan education

initiatives at subsequent major

racing venues across the country.

42

A graduate of

Portland State

University with a

Bachelor of Arts in

English, he names identifying

hidden trips and analyzing form

cycles among the keys to his

handicapping style.

“Handicapping is all about

discipline. When every horseplayer

has access to the same

information, it's discipline that will

give you the edge,” says Spencer.

“Watching every replay, every day,

on the same circuit will give you a

huge jump on your wagering

competition. A substantial part of

whether or not a day at the races

is a success is little more than how

much homework you've done.

Every player starts from the same

place, so every advantage you can

possibly give yourself is key.”

His favorite jockey is Florent

Geroux; Larry Jones is his

favorite trainer; and

Debussy’s 2010 Arlington

Million win is the most

memorable race he’s

attended (click right to play).

For Spencer, nothing beats a

delicious seafood gumbo at Fair

Grounds when spending a day at

the track.

In addition to handicapping, Brian’s

2009 story about Chicago-based

career maiden Ottos Lotto was

published by several racing

websites and was a well-received

human interest story.

You can follow Spence on Twitter

@brianwspencer

43

SALUTE TOMMY MASSIS 2015 BREEDERS’ CUP BETTING

CHALLENGE CHAMP!

MEET OUR TEAM:BRIAN NADEAU

Editor’s Note: We continue a season-long series spotlighting the members of the Horse Player NOW staff by introducing you to Brian Nadeau.

A member of the National Turf Writers Association, Brian Nadeau has been a mainstay with Horse Player NOW since January 2010, serving as our year-round New York handicapper and Florida handicapper in the winter, as well as captaining and coordinating the daily BUZZ Report.

Nadeau also provides on-air analysis and handicapping for Capital OTB-TV in the Capital District of New York and for the past five years has written and produced the official weekly newsletter for the Breeders' Cup.

Nadeau has been a regular in the Saratoga Press Box for the past decade, first as a press intern with NYRA before joining ST Publishing in 2006 as a writer/handicapper

and working on the award-winning Steeplechase Times and Saratoga Special. He also served on ST projects such as the Keeneland Special and Breeders' Cup Special, has been a radio guest of several racing programs including Ralph Siraco's Race Day Las Vegas and wrote freelance articles for The HorsePlayer Magazine.

46

The keys to Nadeau’s handicapping style include patience, race selection, recognizing overlays, form cycles, and homework on both charts and trips.

“Success at the race track is an elusive goal that is only attained through hard work and disciplined play,” says Nadeau with regards to playing the races. “Finding which races are for you can be a tiresome process but a rewarding one in the end. Simply put: Do what you do best. Handicap yourself, as well as the races, in order to identify and take advantage of your strong suits while removing your weak ones. Practice discipline and patience and wait for the right play to maximize your success.”

A State University of New York - Oswego graduate with a Bachelor of Arts in Public Relations, Nadeau currently resides in Saratoga Springs.

He names Ramon Dominguez his favorite jockey, Jonathan Sheppard

his favorite trainer, and the trio of Skip Away, Surfside, and Flanders as his favorite horses.

Among the most memorable races Nadeau has attended was the 2010 Breeders’ Cup Classic with Blame and Zenyatta (click video above to view), although he also fondly remembers seeing the 1997 Belmont Stakes tussle between Touch Gold and Silver Charm. And this June he had the privilege to cover American Pharoah’s Triple Crown clincher at the Belmont Stakes for the follow-up edition of HPNOW Mag.

When it comes to spending a day at the races, you can’t beat a day at Saratoga with a Shake Shack Burger, Nadeau’s favorite race track food. – HPN

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You don’t have to be right about a horse to admit you were wrong. American Pharoah twisted me in knots throughout his career. But just because I couldn’t find the handicapping pursuit lucrative (or even keep from embarrassment), doesn’t mean I can’t come around to realizing greatness. Let’s review:

I picked him 2nd to stablemate Lord Nelson in last year’s Frontrunner at Santa Anita. Even before his scratch in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile, I was on the Texas Red express and that at least worked out well. (In hindsight, I’m pretty fortunate that AP didn’t make the gate.)

The Rebel was an easy spot with a huge pace advantage, so even a layoff contrarian like me had American Pharoah on top. But that need to get cute and find value reared its head a month later at Oaklawn when I went for the closer Far Right, who came into the Arkansas Derby fresh and with a pace set-up.

And, no, I didn’t learn my lesson in the Kentucky Derby, going for Dortmund – a pick I would wheel back with in the Preakness as well. Score two more for American Pharoah.

In the Belmont Stakes, I finally came around to the Triple Crown champ. A year prior, I picked against California Chrome, but this time I had seen enough to know I shouldn’t think too much.

There was no beating the champ in the Haskell over a track built for him and his barn never misfires there. And, I followed suit with American Pharoah in the Travers – this time, for once, it was he who was wrong and not me. After Beholder’s scratch in the Breeders’ Cup Classic, I thankfully settled on AP’s pace edge. That's a 4-for-9 public handicapping mark I have to live with for eternity. - JP

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