Breeders Cup 2018 plus forgiveness. On Friday and Saturday November 2nd and 3rd the Breeders Cup horseraces will be run at Churchill Downs in Kentucky. There will be two year-olds, seasoned veteran horses, turf (grass) races, vast race distance variations, long shots and favorites. Good luck to all who choose to wager on the hardest and most exciting two days in U.S. racing. Oh, and the foreigners will be coming too with their horses to compete (especially on turf) to make it even harder. The casual race fan waits for the Kentucky Derby on the first Saturday in May, but hardcore gamblers and horseplayers know that usually it is Breeders Cup where there is a chance to win big.

This has been an unusual year for me as I have been working on film writing, going to film festivals, and having shoulder surgery and rehab, but I have only been to wager on the horses a handful of times. Therefore, I am not going to give you any specific horses to wager on. I’m just not as current this year. Just enjoy what is an absolutely amazing two days of racing. Here I will give a plug for my book Zen and the Successful Horseplayer (How to Win and Find Calmness in Horse Wagering). You (and I) will definitely want the calmness on Breeders Cup days.

Here I’m going to take a moment out and finally forgive a jockey for his “wrongs”. Lanfranco “Frankie” Dettori a European jockey, and a good one, I rip apart fairly regularly for the ride he gave Swain in the Breeders Cup Classic at Churchill Downs on November 7, 1998. I can still see it clear as day in my mind as Swain turns for the finish line inching closer to the leaders as Dettori blows the ride as he doesn’t control the horse and he drifts out to the middle of the track, constantly and incrementally losing ground to finish third. In my book I characterize it as “probably the worst ride in a major race in the history of horse racing” p 38. Well Mr. Frankie Dettori, all these years later I forgive you and will try not to bring up your name every time I see a bad ride. I have won money on you over the years since, in fact probably a lot more than I lost that day when I bet Swain.

So good luck, and may all your horses be steered correctly down the stretch.