Greetings from Noel Michaels’ Weekly Champions, your premier destination for top weekend wagers and featured selections from seasoned handicapper and tournament betting innovator Noel Michaels. Visit us regularly for a selection of highlighted picks crafted to assist you in winning some bets and generating profit. Noel’s insights have appeared across virtually all horse racing prediction outlets, including in print for the Daily Racing Form, The HorsePlayer Magazine, and American Turf Monthly; digitally at DRF.com, Twinspires.com, and USRacing.com; from the trackside paddock at Arlington International Racecourse; and broadcast on HRTV, TVG, NYC OTB Extra, NYRA’s Talking Horses, as well as on television channels WAVE-3 Louisville, ABC KOLO-8 in Reno, Nevada, and channel 72 Long Island Cablevision.
Six Essential Resources for Novice Bettors
- Begin straightforwardly using a clear manual for understanding horse racing wagers.
- Uncertain about a specific term? The lexicon of horse racing is unique. We’re here to clarify it for you.
- Exactly what constitutes a speed rating? This introductory explanation of speed figures covers all the necessary information.
- Placing wagers on horse races might seem daunting. The ABR team compiled a list of recommendations and precautions for newcomers entering the world of race betting.
- Everyone makes errors when wagering on horse racing; here are eight insights gained through practical experience.
- Calculate the expense of each wager beforehand using our Betting Calculator, brought to you by NYRA Bets.
With only a few more weeks remaining in the current year, time has certainly passed quickly. The Gulfstream Park Championship Meet is already well underway, and the caliber of competition and betting opportunities there are approaching their peak. Gulfstream will present an appealing 11-race card this Saturday, highlighted by two stakes events for three-year-olds on the turf – the Tropical Park Oaks and the Tropical Park Derby. For our selections this weekend, we will concentrate on these two challenging, evenly matched races. Should we successfully identify the victors, we anticipate a lucrative day at Gulfstream Park. Good fortune to all.
Saturday, December 13
Gulfstream Park, Event 8, $125,000 Tropical Park Oaks, scheduled start 3:47 p.m. ET
A complete roster of three-year-old fillies is scheduled to compete over 1 1/16 miles on the grass in the Tropical Park Oaks, vying for a $125,000 prize. While not a graded stakes event, the field quality is comparable to one, making it an excellent opportunity for bettors. The leading candidate is #3 And One More Time, trained by Mark Casse, who recently returned from a one-year absence to claim a one-mile turf victory at Woodbine in her initial three-year-old start. She previously triumphed in Woodbine’s Grade 1 Johnnie Walker Natalma Stakes as a two-year-old, and it was encouraging to observe her achieve a strong speed rating in her comeback win. Further enhancement in her performance is anticipated this Saturday in her second race following the extended break. #4 Destino d’Oro represents another competitor of graded stakes caliber in this lineup who merits inclusion in your betting slips. She was victorious in this summer’s Grade 3 Pucker Up Stakes at Ellis Park for conditioner Brad Cox, and her subsequent pair of defeats occurred in exceptionally challenging contests: the $2 million Blackwood Dueling Grounds Oaks Invitational Stakes and the Grade 1 Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup Stakes Presented by Dixiana. Destino d’Oro is an adaptable filly capable of tracking the pace or rallying from the rear, and Cox appears to have identified an optimal setting for her to improve her current form. #5 Mischief in Motion has performed creditably in analogous stakes conditions in her two most recent outings and stands as another serious competitor here. She captured Delaware Park’s $151,000 Christiana Stakes in front-running style two races ago, then secured a second-place finish, losing by a length, in the $75,000 Cellars Shiraz Stakes over this very track and distance last time, having been too close to a blistering early pace. If the in-form jockey Emisael Jaramillo (9 victories from 34 rides, 26% at the meet) can conserve her energy slightly today, she might possess sufficient stamina to contend for the win.
The Wager: Place a win bet on #3 And One More Time (5-1) and combine her in exacta and trifecta boxes with #4 Destino d’Oro (3-1), and #5 Mischief in Motion (10-1).
Gulfstream Park, Event 11, $125,000 Tropical Park Derby, scheduled start 5:17 p.m. ET
Yet another complete lineup of stakes-level horses has been gathered for the concluding event on the 11-race program, the Tropical Park Derby, contested over 1 1/16 miles on the turf. Conclude your day successfully by wagering on #7 Chapman’s Peak, who has demonstrated excellent form in three consecutive turf appearances, achieving a maiden victory at Kentucky Downs, an allowance win at Keeneland, and a close second-place finish in a particularly challenging running of Churchill Downs’ Grade 3 Commonwealth Turf Stakes, all in rapid succession in his last three starts. He continues to show progression in each outing and will be exceptionally difficult to overcome. Three contenders in this field are coming off the Grade 3 Hill Prince Stakes at Aqueduct, including the victor, #3 Tiz Dashing, who delivered his best career performance after competing effectively in two graded stakes races at Saratoga this summer. He is another three-year-old who continues to develop and possesses a strong opportunity to finish the year with a triumph. Lastly, we consider #12 Souper Forces and #6 Layabout, both of whom are coming from a one-two finish in last month’s $75,000 Showing Up Stakes on the Gulfstream Park turf, where Souper Forces secured victory by half a length. In fact, it might have been Layabout who performed more impressively of the pair, having raced too close to a swift early pace from post position 11. Layabout’s starting gate assignment is more favorable in this event, as Souper Forces drew the outermost post this time. Layabout is a previous stakes winner on this specific turf course and will be ridden by Junior Alvarado.
The Wager: Place a win bet on #7 Chapman’s Peak (5-2) and combine him in exacta and trifecta boxes with #3 Tiz Dashing (7-2), and #6 Layabout (10-1).
