In the spirit of March Madness, we are conducting a little experiment to determine how racing fans would evaluate the “best”, “greatest” or “most popular” (or any other criteria you think is applicable) horse of the last 5 or so years. Think of this as the “People’s Choice Awards” for racing. Use whatever criteria you think best determines which horses advance from round to round.  Let us know how you arrived at your conclusions.

How it works:  Each day from March 16 through the end of the month, we will feature one matchup. We will post career specifics and some highlight races on our site to help you in your handicapping. Then you the fans will vote– favorite the tweet if choosing horse A, retweet if selecting horse B. Voting windows will close by 10:00 p.m. each night. The horse with the most votes will advance to the next round. 

Continue reading Horse Madness: Play In Round–Main Sequence v. Blind Luck →

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In the spirit of March Madness, we are conducting a little experiment to determine how racing fans would evaluate the “best”, “greatest” or “most popular” (or any other criteria you think is applicable) horse of the last 5 or so years. Think of this as the “People’s Choice Awards” for racing. Use whatever criteria you think best determines which horses advance from round to round.  Let us know how you arrived at your conclusions.

How it works:  Each day from March 16 through the end of the month, we will feature one matchup. We will post career specifics and some highlight races on our site to help you in your handicapping. Then you the fans will vote– favorite the tweet if choosing horse A, retweet if selecting horse B. Voting windows will close by 10:00 p.m. each night. The horse with the most votes will advance to the next round. 

More details can be found here

And here’s the bracket–Bracket

Today’s Race

Today’s matchup features a contrast in styles–the hard knocking Shackelford v. the often dominant Uncle Mo.  Retweet the tweet setting forth today’s matchup if you believe Shackelford should advance, or favorite it if you think Uncle Mo wins this matchup.  The winner gets a date with Queen Z.

Shackelford:  It wasn’t always pretty, but few race horses over the past five years showed the grit and grind of Shackelford.  Winner of three grade ones–including the 2012 Preakness–and on the board in four more, Shackelford was a horse that always commanded respect.

His PP’s can be found here: Shackelford PP’s

And here’s his  Preakness Win

Uncle Mo:  After a dominating 2yo campaign, the racing world was convinced that Uncle Mo was its next superstar.  However, injuries derailed him from the Triple Crown and a disappointing Breeders’ Cup Classic will always lessen his legacy.  That said, how many other horses in the last five years had a New York Times article written about them which drew comparisons to Secretariat?

Uncle Mo’s PP’s can found here: Uncle Mo’s PP’s

And Uncle Mo’s BC Juvenile romp.

Let us know who wins this matchup and why.  And come back tomorrow to see Blind Luck battle Main Sequence.

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The Problem: The sport of racing has enjoyed great champions over the past five years.  From the late race heroics of Zenyatta to the determination and resolve of Wise Dan. However, one of the most frustrating aspects of racing is the inability to settle debates as to the “greatest” on the track. Divisions created by gender, surface, distance, and geography make it nearly impossible and impractical for the best of the best to meet or for debates to be resolved.

Continue reading The March Madness Handicap →

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This series, cleverly named Derby Prep-onomics, is intended to evaluate each of the Kentucky Derby prep races which award Kentucky Derby qualifying points. Our goal is to evaluate the tracks that will host Kentucky Derby prep races to see what they are doing from a marketing and promotion standpoint. We will also hope to gauge the impact that hosting a Derby prep race has on the host track from an attendance, handle and publicity standpoint.

Continue reading Derby Prep-onomics–January 17, 2015 Lecomte Stakes, Fairgrounds →

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This Tuesday, Bloodhorse published an interesting article coming out of the Jockeys’ Guild Assembly, which was held in Hollywood, Fla. on January 19 and 20. (Article available here: http://www.bloodhorse.com/horse-racing/articles/89718/track-executives-work-to-promote-jockeys). The article discussed efforts described by Kentucky Downs president Corey Johnson and Remington Park president Scott Wells to attract fans and customers to horse racing by marketing and promoting the jockeys. Mr. Johnson’s proposal includes commencing a new media outlet, JockeyTalk360.com. It also, admirably, includes an aspect that will seek to raise money for the PDJF. The question that we have, however, is will a new (or renewed) focus on the riders lead to any appreciable increase in the number of new fans that begin to follow the sport? Continue reading Jockeying for New Fans: Is Promoting the Sport’s Human Athletes Part of the Answer? →

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We could not have been more excited to receive the emails notifying us that the Breeders’ Cup approved our request for media credentials. We were going to the Breeders’ Cup–as press!  After our initial excitement waned, however, one question resonated—now what?  How do we cover our favorite sporting event on the planet?

When Nolan, Johnny, and I started Thorobros six months ago, it was never our intention to report race results. Nor was it our intention to be a pick sheet or to offer pre and post-race analysis.  DRF and Bloodhorse more than had those aspects of racing covered.  Instead, we began with the lofty and vague intention to critically analyze the business and marketing aspects of the sport in hopes of making an impact.  But how did that intent translate to the 48 hour opportunity afforded to us by the Breeders’ Cup?

Our answer was actually pretty obvious. We were going to cover the Breeders’ Cup.  Physically cover it; using every minute of our time at Santa Anita to explore every inch and activity the event had to offer. By immersing ourselves in the sport’s premiere event, we hoped that we would observe more about the culture, trends, and characters of the racing industry and be better positioned to advance our global objective. Continue reading Covering the Cup: What We Learned at BC14 and Suggestions for BC15 →

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Yesterday featured impressive performances and memorable moments.  Unfortunately, for the Bros, it didn’t feature life changing scores or any impressive totals in our Battle of the Bro Picks.

Standings:

Nolan: $32.00

Sean:  $10.80

Special Guest Lodge $6.80

Johnny: $4.00

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The wait is over.  Breeders’ Cup 31 is finally upon us. 

While not a “picks site,” the gambling aspect of the Sport of Kings cannot be ignored, and we here at Thorobros certainly do not intend to ignore it this weekend.  The Breeders’ Cup offers some of the best betting opportunities of the year and we hope to be fortunate enough to cash one or two “big ones.” 

But in addition to the financial incentives, picking a winner also brings the satisfaction of being right.  It’s a great a feeling when your hours of homework payoff and you realize you outsmarted 95% of the betting population.

In that spirit of competition, we here at Thorobros are having a little Battle of the Bro Picks, where each of us will pick one horse, per Breeders’ Cup race, for a $2 across the board bet.  We’re still working out the details of what the winner gets, but it will likely involve numerous beers and a volcano burrito from Taco Bell. 

Internal “handicapping contests” among friends offer great side action, are easy for new fans to comprehend, and can accommodate any budget. We always encourage this activity when we have a group of friends at the track, especially when many of those friends are new to the sport.   Give it a try this weekend with the Breeders’ Cup races, and definitely let us know how it goes.

Best of luck everyone.

Continue reading Friday Breeders’ Cup Battle of the Bro Picks →

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