James Willoughby’s ongoing analysis of the Kentucky Derby trail via the perspective of TRC Global Rankings switches up a gear with a look at the G2 Louisiana Derby at Fair Grounds, the first of the 100-qualifying-point races. It is also what we call a ‘regional final’ in the spirit of March Madness, the ongoing NCAA basketball tournament.
As far as handicapping is concerned, it is from now on that value Read more
The weekly TRC industry digest - a round-up of international racing news from the past week.
James Willoughby picks out his TRC Global Rankings Performers of the Week from the Group and Graded results in the week that ended on Sunday.
TRC Global Rankings is committed to making the best possible predictions. After all, this is the only way to make rankings that are meaningful. Other rankings that are abstracted from an iterative process of learning are just an exercise in playing with numbers.
To this end, sometimes we need to use races outside the usual Group and Graded classifications. Often, these races are richly endowed affairs that will eventually be Read more
When Mine That Bird stormed home through the slop at Churchill Downs to win the 2009 Kentucky Derby as a 50/1 outsider, his story immediately became so legendary that a feature film was made about it just five years later. The post-race articles told of a trainer from New Mexico sporting a broken leg and his unknown gelding driving across the country to arrive at one of racing’s most hallowed Read more
The end of November last year, a nasty accident in the post parade at Del Mar in California closed the door on the career of superstar jockey Gary Stevens, one of the modern era’s most recognizable and decorated talents in the saddle. Not that the world stopped revolving for him that day.
Since then, Stevens, now 56, has undergone successful neck surgery, has unveiled a presenting gig on Fox Sports Read more
Horse racing exists in many and varied forms on all four corners of the globe. Many of the events on this list, however, are unusual hybrids that actually feature under the official rules of racing, or at least form part of a ‘conventional’ racecard. Albeit with a few notable exceptions.
Generally speaking, the events included are horse races – ‘gallops’ as opposed to harness racing/trotting/pacers – wherein a field of Read more
