Eclipse Awards could very well be on the line this year in the?online bettingBreeders? Cup Juvenile and the Mile and we?ll look at some of the possible key players this week.
Each race carries a $2 million purse as Juveniles will go a mile and a sixteenth and the Milers will roll on turf.
Upsets were anything but rare in the Juvenile in recent years as the average winner paid nearly $18 in the history of the event.
In the 7 races that have been run at Churchill, the average winner has paid slightly less at $13.20.
Last year, Todd Pletcher?s trainee Uncle Mo parlayed a win in the Grade 1 Champagne to remain unbeaten taking the Juvenile with an ideal 2-hole trip to win by over 4 lengths with a 108 Beyer.
This year Pletcher will be loaded again as he has both Stat and Big Blue Nation set to roll. They just ran 2nd and third respectively in the September 5 Hopeful at Saratoga.
The winner of that race, Currency Swap, could also make some noise. Swap won his debut despite lugging out and proved he could handle the slop in the Hopeful.
The?sports betting?Norfolk Stakes at Santa Anita was a coming out party for Creative Cause, who upset the 3-5 chalk Drill and he did it going away.
Cause made amends for getting beat by Drill in the Del Mar Futurity but his Beyer in the Norfolk, 84, was his career lowest.
The blood is there for Cause to have a solid career as he is out of Grade 2 winner and over $1.1 million earning dam Dream of Summer.
Drill, meanwhile, is out of a winning dam who is kin to Grade 2 winner and near $250,000 earner Magic Storm.
Players should give extra attention to Hansen, who took the Bluegrass Cat at Turfway in late September. His dam won 2 of 3 starts and is kin to multiple stakes winner and near $400,000 earner Marry Me Do. The best thing Hansen may have going for him is his exceptional trainer, Michael Matz.
Matz, of course, trained the ill-fated Barbaro, who won the 2006 Kentucky Derby.
Over the years, the superfecta has been the place to be in the Mile. Going into last year, the average?online wagering?Mile ?super? paid nearly $18,000.
Last year was an exception as the superstar mare Goldikova came from 7th of 11th to pay $4.60. Second choice Gio Ponti was second as the ?super? paid just a tad under $600.
This year some of the key candidates include last year?s winner who may shoot for an unprecedented 4th straight Mile score and the horse that just beat her in the Arc, Dream Ahead, who may aim for this race or run next in Hong Kong.
Other foreigners that must be respected are recent Group 1 winner Excelebration and recent Group 2 winner Strong Suit.
Americans to consider are the Del Mar Handicap exacta finishers Caracortado and the up and coming Mr. Commons.
If Goldikova doesn?t make the trip, the race obviously opens up in a big way but online bettors should look to some second stringers from across the pond for value.
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