I made it to Louisville without losing a bag or missing a plane. That's a good return on investment right off the bat.
So...Louisville during the Breeders' Cup. Kinda insane.
I can't remember a time in my life when I've been in a town that is so focused on horse racing. Everything in Louisville right now is Breeders' Cup...and it's fantastic. The hotel bar was filled with people holding racing forms or with folks just talkin' horses. Where else would you see that?
If you're a horse racing junkie, Louisville is the destination you should be striving for.
Now that the pleaseantries are out of the way, let's talk Day 1 of the 2010 Breeders' Cup.
My five hour flight from Seattle to Louisville gave me plenty of time to peruse the Form another two or three times, and I think I finally came up with my top picks for Day 1.
Marathon: Precision Break is 15/1 on the morning line and I really like his races on the synthetic surfaces in Europe. That seems like an overlay to me...I'll take Precision Break to win at anything above 10/1.
Juvenile Fillies Turf: If you've read anything I've written this week you already know where I'm going in this race. Kathmanblu won impressively at Keeneland on the grass, has Julien Leparoux in the irons and is a big, fat 10/1 on the morning line. I'm all in.
Filly and Mare Sprint: This is the toughest race of the day, in my opinion, but I'm going to go after a price and play Switch on the cutback at 20/1 on the ML. Stamina won't be a problem and this filly can really run. I figure a 20/1 shot in a race I don't have a great opinion about will work.
Juvenile Fillies: I think A Z Warrior is the standout and I'm going to play her hard in my Pick 4 but I really like Awesome Feather as an upset play. 6/1 ML isn't great but I have a hunch she's going to drift a bit higher.
Filly and Mare Turf: Midday (GB) is the logical choice but I'm going to go with the Japanese horse, Red Desire. I love her last effort and I think she might be sitting on a big one.
Ladies' Classic: Blind Luck is the logical choice but the Breeders' Cup is no time to be picking chalk. I'm all in on Malibu Prayer as I think she might be able to grab an easy, uncontested lead. If she can't, then Havre de Grace is my "B" play,