Races of the Week

The streak is over. My selections both finished out of the money last week. Lemons Forever ran fourth in the Coaching Club American Oaks and Live Life finished sixth in the John C. Mabee Handicap. I'll try to rebound this weekend.

The Daily Racing Form's races of the week are the Jim Dandy Stakes, scheduled for today at Saratoga and the Bing Crosby Handicap, scheduled for tomorrow at Del Mar. The Jim Dandy is also Equibase's race of the week.

In the Jim Dandy, I think I'll go with Sunriver. Todd Pletcher and John Velazquez, who train and ride Sunriver, teamed up to win two stakes races at Saratoga last weekend. Preakness winner Bernardini will probably be the heavy favorite, and he certainly looks formidable, but the three consecutive improvements in his Beyer speed figure indicate that he'll probably regress off of the 113 he ran in the Preakness. Also, Bernardini's connections are likely looking ahead to the Travers Stakes in a few weeks, and using the Jim Dandy as a prep. The Form provides free past performances.

My selection in the Crosby is Carthage. Carthage and Bordonaro are both coming into this race off of long wining streaks. Bordonaro will likely be the favorite, but I think Carthage will hold on for the win. The DRF provides free past performances.