As of today, we are 10 races into the 2022 Kentucky Derby American prep races with 17 to go. Classic Causeway leads the pack with 16 points and $246,100 in earnings. In second place is Pappacap with 14 points and $558,000 in earnings. Pappacap runs next on 02/19/22 in the Risen Star stakes against 3rd place derby contender Epicenter. I usually don’t spend too much time following the results of the prep races because they start in September and end in April. A lot can change in 7 months. April is when I start looking closer at the point leaders leading up to the derby in May.
Lately I’ve been playing the late pick 4 at Santa Anita on Friday’s. TVG has a promotion during the month of February where you get to split $3000 with TVG players who hit the late pick 4. On Feb 4th I won for $52.80. My share of the 3 grand was only $13.22. That means that 227 other TVG customers also hit the late pick 4 that day. Last Friday (Feb 11), I only got one out of 4 correct. The payout would have been $315.65. I’m sure the TVG promo was a lot better on that one. I’ve hit 4 pick 4’s for a total of $151.45, so far this year.
I find it quicker and easier to handicap a pick 4 than every race on the card. I put the 4 races on a spread sheet and list the results of the last 3 races for each horse. I like to see what purse and distance they raced for, how they finished, and the speed figure. The problem with this method is that I’m missing race conditions, pace, jockey and trainer changes, and various other angles that impact the race. I don’t like reading race forms and have been looking for a report that lets me compare entries and shows relevant information. The best tool I’ve seen is TrackMaster EquiGraphix. It only costs $3 per race card and has lots of graphs and icons that are easy to understand. I may give that a try next time I handicap a pick 4.