Crist Blog With Steven Crist

Reigning Monarchs

2010-03-10T16:49:31Z

No reigning Horse of the Year has lost his or her debut the following season since Ferdinand in 1988, but such horses are only 18 for 31 over the last 50 years... Read More......(read more)

Big 'Cap Weekend Notes

2010-03-08T00:12:06Z

Waiting just one more week on Pool 2 also would have let bettors factor the results of next Saturday's Rebel, San Felipe and Tampa Bay Derby into their picks... Read More......(read more)

Decking the Hall

2010-03-03T16:12:52Z

A change to election procedures for the Racing Hall of Fame means that voters won't have to choose between Rachel Alexandra and Zenyatta again in 2015... Read More......(read more)

More Favorites

2010-02-26T01:57:48Z

The ancient rule of thumb that favorites win one-third of all races may need a longer thumb: In 2009, favorites in fact won 36.66 percent of the 55,984 thoroughbred races... Read More......(read more)

Flirty Alexandrian Dance

2010-02-21T17:42:32Z

Eskendereya's 8 1/2-length blowout in Saturday's Fountain of Youth received an overnight Beyer Speed Figure of 106, the fastest figure by a 3-year-old... Read More......(read more)

Pick Your Pick-4

2010-02-19T21:09:12Z

All 11 of Saturday's graded stakes, including four Triple Crown preps, are part of pick-4's being offered at their five host tracks, including two overlapping.... Read More......(read more)

Derby Futures Pool 1

2010-02-15T23:21:22Z

Of the 552 possible combos in the year's first Derby Futures exacta pool, exactly 24 would pay less than $200 and 24 would pay more than $10,000... Read More......(read more)

Makeup Weekend

2010-02-12T22:19:55Z

This holiday weekend features 14 graded stakes around the country and a third try at launching the twice-cancelled Magna 5:.. Read More......(read more)

Very High Quality

2010-02-07T05:45:42Z

Quality Road's Donn earned a Beyer Speed Figure of 122, the highest awarded to any race since Midnight Lute's 124 in the 2007 Forego... Read More......(read more)

Apple Blossom Time?

2010-02-05T02:20:57Z

Removing the handicap conditions from the Apple Blossom spared someone from having to weight the two of them, which could have been tricky... Read More......(read more)

NHC XI

2010-01-31T06:55:54Z

Brian Troop had a pretty lousy day at the races Saturday: $60 in bets and only a $33.40 return. The net result? A check for $500,000.... Read More......(read more)

Contest Eve

2010-01-29T05:45:07Z

On Saturday night, I'll be handing some horseplayer a check for $500,000... Read More......(read more)

Weekend Notes

2010-01-25T02:09:06Z

While the first steps on this year's Derby Trail were in the spotlight Saturday, it was a pair of last year's classic candidates who turned in the day's top performances... Read More......(read more)

The Icon Project Vote

2010-01-21T16:13:35Z

Put down the pitchforks and torches: That lone Eclipse vote for Icon Project over Zenyatta turns out to have been a simple error... Read More......(read more)

And the Winners Were...

2010-01-19T04:23:25Z

The 130-99 tally in Rachel Alexandra's favor was the closest margin since the one-man/one-vote system replaced an electoral-scheme seven years ago, but still not the widely expected squeaker Read More......(read more)