Remington Park’s closing-night card Saturday features the $400,000 Springboard Mile, which awards points to its top-4 finishers toward next year’s Kentucky Derby qualifying. Points are allotted 10-4-2-1, based on finish, for a race that’s produced Derby runners like Suddenbreakingnews (2016) and Will Take Charge (2013) among its notable alumni. Six stakes races worth more than $840,000 will be offered on the Saturday program at Remington Park.
Kentucky Derby points also will be in play Saturday in the Grade 2 Los Alamitos Futurity, a race Bob Baffert trainees have dominated seven of the past eight years. The last Los Al Futurity winner to add the Kentucky Derby was Real Quiet in 1997-’98.
Key Remington Park Betmix Stakes Stats (2022 Season)
Favorites Win: 36%
Average Win Odds: 3.2-1
Top Jockeys: Christian Torres (4 wins, 33%), Leandro Goncalves (4 wins, 31%), David Cabrera (4 wins, 20%)
Top Trainers: Kari Craddock (4 wins, 31%), C.R. Trout (3 wins, 37%), Karl Broberg (3 wins, 37%)
What To Watch For This Week
Marathon runners are in the spotlight at Gulfstream on Saturday with the 1 3/8-mile Via Borghese Stakes for fillies and mares and the unique, 2-mile H. Allen Jerkens Memorial Stakes for the colts and geldings … Aqueduct presents four stakes for the New York-bred runners on its Saturday card … Los Alamitos wraps up its brief December meeting on Sunday with mandatory payouts in all pools. Southern California racing then shifts to Santa Anita on Dec. 26 for the start of its Classic Meet.
Friday Weekend Firestarter
Trainer Joe Sharp is off to an exceptional start at the young Oaklawn meeting, and jockey Francisco Arrieta has been his go-to rider. They team up twice Friday in Hot Springs, first in Race 6 (#5 Itwasthisbig, 20-1 ML) and again in Race 8 (#5 Fair Dinkum, 3-1 ML). Both runners exit races at Churchill Downs.
1/ST BET App Top Handicapping Tracks of the Week
The free 1/ST BET app allows you to apply millions of data points across dozens of handicapping factors in mere seconds and immediately place your wagers. Here’s where the artificial intelligence was most dialed-in last week by win percentage:
45% Zia Park
42% Mahoning Valley
38% Fair Grounds
33% Turfway Park
32% Mountaineer
Tracks With Most Reliable Favorites Last Week (By Win %)
55% Zia Park
46% Tampa Bay Downs
45% Charles Town
45% Mountaineer
45% Delta Downs
Tracks That Were Longshot Havens Last Week (Most Winners 10-1 or More)
7 Woodbine
6 Delta
6 Gulfstream
6 Golden Gate
5 Oaklawn
5 Turfway
America’s Hot Jockeys Last Week
Jose Lezcano (8-22, 36%) // Aqueduct
Christian Torres (7-20, 35%) // Oaklawn
Jamie Rodriguez (6-17, 35%) // Laurel
Luis Saez (13-39, 33%) // Gulfstream
Angel Diaz (7-25, 28%) // Mountaineer, Mahoning, Charles Town
America’s Hot Trainers Last Week
Brittany Russell (4-7, 57%) // Laurel
Elizabeth Dobles (4-7, 57%) // Gulfstream, Tampa
Joe Sharp (4-8, 50%) // Oaklawn, Fair Grounds
Gerald Bennett (5-11, 45%) // Gulfstream, Tampa
Linda Rice (7-18, 39%) // Aqueduct
Tournament Play Returns to Xpressbet This Week
Xpressbet will offer a series of low-entry ($40) qualifiers Wednesday, Thursday and Friday towards Saturday’s $500 National Handicapping Championship December Qualifier. Three all-expense entries with travel into January’s NHC are up for grabs in the Saturday main event. For contest races, registration and more, visit xpressbet.com/tournaments.
– Statistics courtesy Betmix