Winter Racing Plans: Where and Who to Play This Season

With the Breeders' Cup in the rear view, it is time to press onward. We have plenty of incredible wintertime racing to watch and wager, and before you know it, the roses will be in bloom and they'll be going into the gate for the Derby.

Churchill Downs

Churchill Downs has plenty on the docket. You will see horses finishing out the season and others prepping for Turfway Park, Gulfstream, Fair Grounds, Belmont, and some for Oaklawn Park. Overall, it's a good meet to watch and wager, and if you keep copious notes, you'll come away with a horses-to-follow list. All the while, there's still good racing to build your winter bankroll.

New York

In New York you'll be playing Manny Franco and Flavien Prat until it gets too cold and they head to Florida, along with Kendrick Carmouche and Dylan Davis. Use them with Linda Rice, Bill Mott, George Weaver and Todd Pletcher. A trainer to watch this year is Mark Casse, since Belmont has a new synthetic track.

Turfway Park

Turfway Park brings out Luan Machado, Walter Rodriguez, Fernando De La Cruz, and a rider on the upswing, Danny Sheehy. Connections to watch are Mike Maker, Brad Cox, Eric Foster, Brendan Walsh, Tommy Drury, Kelsey Danner, and the synthetic magician himself, Mark Casse.

Florida

Florida has the barns of Casse, Saffie Joseph, Antonio Sano and Jose Francisco D'Angelo. As the meet goes on, the best riders in the nation will find their way to South Florida.

Oaklawn Park

Oaklawn brings Ken McPeek, Steve Asmussen, Ron Moquett, Chris Hartman and Mark Casse, with riders Francisco Arrieta, Cristian Torres, Keith Asmussen and Rafael Bejarano.

Fair Grounds

Fair Grounds will showcase Jose Ortiz, Axel Concepcion, Marcelino Pedroza and James Graham. Joe Sharp is having quite the year, as is Steve Asmussen, and Brad Cox, Cherie DeVaux and Bret Calhoun get plenty of the purses.

How the Tracks Play

Belmont's synthetic surface should be safe, but this is its first winter meet, so pay close attention to how the track plays in the cold. Oaklawn is pretty honest, and Fair Grounds has one of the longest stretches in the country. Gulfstream gets red hot as its meet goes on, and it's definitely worth following. Turfway Park offers up some super-sized fields that attract players from all walks. Handicapping synthetic is a bit tougher, but if you find the top finishers, you will be rewarded.

Start Slow, Then Pick It Up

Just because the weather gets colder doesn't mean the racing does. It heats things up quite nicely. Start by watching and wagering lightly, then pick up as the meet goes on. I usually like to watch and bet smaller at first, and start picking up speed if the meet shows a bias or a rider or trainer gets hot.

Just bundle up and enjoy the races!

Ed