By Ed McNamara Handicappers often make the mistake of overthinking the Kentucky Derby by ignoring the lessons of the recent past. To cash a win ticket in eight of the last 10, all you had to do was be...
By Ed McNamara As I write this, the afternoon temperature on Long Island is 18 degrees, with winds of 15 mph making it feel like 4. If not for the seemingly endless pandemic, I would have strongly con...
By Ed McNamara Breaking into a major circuit is usually a serious challenge for a jockey. You must cultivate new relationships with trainers and getting prime mounts early on is difficult. But not if ...
By Ed McNamara I’ve been a public handicapper for much of the past 40 years. So much in racing has changed since September 1981, when I began my touting career by picking The Meadowlands‘ ...
By Ed McNamara Back in the mid-Sixties, 14-year-old me watched “That Was The Week That Was,” an Americanized version of an earlier British TV series that satirized current events. Some of the poli...
By Ed McNamara It’s tough to hit a pick 3 or a pick 4, but when you do, there’s a feeling of accomplishment. You didn’t zig when you could have zagged, and vice versa. You dodged all...
By Ed McNamara It began at age 12 on the primitive bush tracks of Louisiana, and it will end on a December night far from the spotlight. In the time between, Robby Albarado created a highlight reel eq...
By Ed McNamara Like most star athletes, jockey Irad Ortiz, Jr. is a Type A personality who excels because of aggressiveness as well as talent. His “take no prisoners” approach, which helped win th...
By Ed McNamara The controversy surrounding Bob Baffert and his Kentucky Derby victory will linger, but first-place finisher Medina Spirit is gone. The gritty little colt collapsed and died Monday morn...
By Ed McNamara Racing in New York never ends, an eternal loop of horses running in circles around Aqueduct, Belmont Park and Saratoga. Some people play it year round, and others, like me, avoid the Bi...
