Gulfstream/Florida Derby Results

A bit of success yesterday in the late Pick 4 at Gulfstream yesterday. We didn't hit the ultimate goal of taking down the Pick 4, but won the last three races of the (race 11-14) sequence and nailed the late Pick 3. 

Race 11, the one we lost was a strange race. Swiss Skydiver went to the lead, was not seriously challenged by anyone else, despite the incredibly slow first 1/2 mile of 49 seconds, and no one bother to make a challenge late in a race where the 9-1 "Diver" went wire-to-wire. Head scratching and puzzling. Oh, well. Sometimes, you just don't get the race you envisioned when you handicap it. Zulu Alpha and 

On the day, we gave you 18 horses to consider. Out of those, nine hit the board, so it was a 50% "in the money" average. If you look at the total "in the money" spots available -- 4 races X 3 spots = 12....I gave you nine of the twelve, which is 75%. We had three winners, three places and three shows.  

I spent a total of $132 on the three wagers I placed, both Pi ck 3's in the sequence, and a smaller Pick 4. I didn't hit the Pick 4 or the first Pick 3, but the final Pick 3 fell into my win column and it returned $131.35 on the 50 cent wager. A great day of watching racing and lost 65 cents. I'll take that. 

Tiz The Law was all he was cracked up to be in the Florida Derby. He held off any attempts by Ete Indian and overcame a stubborn, psce-setting and huge-priced Shivaree iin the stretch to dominate the field. 

The real (and next) question now is whether they'll take "Tiz" to Oaklawn to run in the Arkansas Derby five weeks from now? Oaklawn jumped up and grabbed the date that Churchill had for the Kentucky Derby,...after Churchill moved it. Who will ship to Arkansas to test him? Will Ete Indian try again? How about Modernist, Wells Bayou, Authentic, Mr Monomoy or Nadal? Do they go after "the big guy" in five weeks? 

We'll see. We'll see if horse racing is still being conducted in May. This COVID-19 isn't exactly slowing down, you know...

We did get a big effort out of Bemma's Boy in Rqce 12 to start our late Pick 3. He shot by Zulu Alpha and Channel Cat in the stretch of the thurf race and rewarded us at 9-1. Florent Geroux...remember I told you he is a great turf jockey yesterday? He came up with the perfectly timed ride. Then, in race 13...it was "Geroux go-time" again...as he took 6-1 Social Paranoia to a win on the turf over a competitive field...knocking out a couple of our other oicks in Somebeyay and March to the Arch. Another masterful ride by "Flo-Geo". 

A note from a reader on yesterday's picks: 

"So, I played the top four Paulie Picks in each race. I played a $5 exacta box on each race. It cost me $240. I hit two of the four races and got back almost $350. Keep the picks coming Paulie! 

We'll see you next week, hopefully with something good to handicap.


paulie
xxxxx