Maddux Sports Blog

Super filly Rachel Alexandra returns to action today for the first time since her impressive win in the Preakness. She’ll return at Belmont, the track she avoided by skipping the Belmont Stakes earlier this month. Though she has never won on the track, and her jockey Calvin Borel is both inexperienced and unsuccessful on the surface, she finds herself in a very good spot to win. She’s back against the fillies in the Mother Goose Stakes, a race run at a mile and an eighth that has attracted just four challengers for the big filly. Though it’s a small field, and Rachel Alexandra is the clear and deserving favorite, it’s still an interesting group that has gathered to face her. Here’s a look:

(more…)

The Belmont Stakes got a lot less interesting from the public perspective on Friday with the news that Rachel Alexandra will not be running in the race. Though I was beginning to hold out hope because the decision was taking longer than expected, this is pretty much exactly what I was expecting since about 12 seconds before the Belmont ended. Though the filly ran one heck of a race and deserves all of the credit in the world for what she accomplished, she was losing ground to the Derby champion, Mine That Bird, awfully quickly, and it was just a matter of moments before she would have been caught and passed. The Belmont is significantly longer than the Preakness (5/16 of a mile), and is further than any horse in the race is ever likely to be asked to run again in their lives. She clearly didn’t like the track at Pimlico on Preakness day, but the fact is that there are more reasons to believe that she could have been beaten in the Belmont than there were to think that she could have won the race. That’s not to say that she couldn’t win – she certainly could – just that there was a much greater chance that she could lose the Belmont than there was that she would lose the Preakness.

(more…)

It’s been several hours since the race ended, so my thoughts have had time to percolate. Here’s what I’m thinking:

I owe it to Rachel Alexandra to say that I was impressed. She didn’t like the track, but she still managed to get to the lead surprisingly easily and hold it right to the end. It wasn’t the race that her fans was hoping she had, but at least she came through for the win. A filly hadn’t done that since 1924, so she deserves a world of credit.

(more…)

The more I look at this race, the more confused I get. It is far from a clear cut race – I could make a case for as many as nine horses of the 13 to win it (I’d leave out Luv Gov, Flying Private, Tone It Down and Take The Points, though of those the last is by far the most compelling). Let’s take a good look at the field, and then I’ll construct a superfecta ticket for kicks.

(more…)

The biggest single story heading into the Preakness on Saturday is the filly, Rachel Alexandra. She’s the first filly since 1999 to run in the race, and only the third since the start of World War II. No filly has won since 1924. She was sold last week, reportedly for as much as $10 million, and her new owners have paid $100,000 to make her eligible for this race because she wasn’t previously nominated for the Triple Crown. She has been installed as the strong 8/5 favorite in the 13 horse field, and I expect that price to be even lower by post time. You have to be certain that there is real value if you are going to bet on a horse with odds that low, so the biggest puzzle to address between now and post time is whether or not this filly is for real. That’s for every bettor to decide for themselves, but here’s a look at the arguments in her favor, and those that go against her:

(more…)

The Preakness entries have been received, and the odds and post positions will be set later on this afternoon. There are 13 entries, including headliners Mine That Bird, Pioneerof The Nile, Friesan Fire, and of course the filly Rachel Alexandra. It’s all but certain that Rachel Alexandra will be made the favorite. Now it just remains to be seen how much of a favorite she is. There’s a chance that she will go off at even money or better by post time. I think shes a special horse, but that would be ridiculous. We’ll look at the race more closely tomorrow and Friday.

(more…)

The evening will be all about basketball of course, but before we get there there is a whole lot of horse racing to get through. This is the most active single day so far en route to the Kentucky Derby with the Santa Anita Derby, Illinois Derby, and Wood Memorial all going, and all going to figure into the Derby picture. They are all on NBC today, too, starting at 5:00 ET. I’ll look ahead to all of those in a second, but before I do I need to talk about the race I am watching right now.

(more…)