Every Sunday Noel Michaels will provide free full-card picks for a one racecard in North America. A veteran handicapper and tournament-play pioneer, Michaels also writes a weekly “Weekend Winners” blog for America’s Best Racing with a focus on key stakes races at marquee tracks. This feature will be straight-forward: full-card picks for one Sunday slate of races of his choosing.
Trainer Roger Attfield made a lasting impression when he spoke during his induction into the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame at Saratoga Springs, N.Y., in 2012. He used the occasion to make a heartfelt plea in behalf of the sport that means everything to him. “The best horse should be able to win,” he told those in attendance. “We’ve got to clean up some of the stuff going on out there and get rid of the rubbish. You only need two or three bad apples to spoil the basket.”
There was no shortage of superlatives tossed around before, during, and after the 1998 edition of the Breeders’ Cup Classic, and for good reason. “Best field I’ve ever seen,” Seth Hancock, president of Claiborne Farm on co-owner of one of the 10 Classic runners (Arch), told BloodHorse before the race. “You put up the money and you are going to get the best of the best.”
