Seasons of racing

After the euphoria of the Breeders Cup a lot of fans lose interest in racing for a bit. Sort of like a hangover after a night on the town. Many even take an extended break from following and handicapping racing. For me personally I rarely take breaks and if I do its just from the handicapping side of things and only for a week or so. But that's because I dont view the racing season as something that starts with the TC trial and culminates at the BC. To me racing has several different seasons and its easy to get excited about new things starting up. Here is what the year looks like from my perspective.

Jan-Feb: Winter meets are usually interesting from a handicapping perspective. There are lots of winter meet specialists, especially in NY. It can be fun finding them out. This is also the time of the year that I'm looking forward to the TC Trail starting. So finding under the radar 3yo's is an interesting pastime. Its also where I start looking for older horses who might have just improved. Horses like Southern Image, Mineshaft and Brass Hat all emerged in the early months and carried their form later into the year. I start looking for BC candidates right from Jan 1st.

Mar-Apr: This is time for the Triple Crown Trail. Possibilites abound and Derby fever strikes. To top it all off you also get the delightful Keeneland Spring Meet. Another thing I love during this period is looking for combackers from last year. By this time many of the "big" horses from last year are making debuts. Playing them, or against them is lots of fun, plus there is more speculation around those older horses who have emerged in the early months.

May-June: The Triple Crown is of course the higlight but this period is also accented by Royal Ascot at the end of June.

July: This is always the between month, I use it to take stock of what I've observed thus far in the year. I'll even start looking at possible BC horses more seriously.

Aug: This period could just be called Saratoga, although it ends in early September. I love the showpeice summer meet and the only dull days are dark days at the Spa.

Sept-Oct: This period is dedicated to all things Breeders Cup and this is likely my favorite time of the year. Sometimes it goes into early November but essentially it ends in Oct most years. You also get the Keeneland Fall Meet as a bonus.

Nov-Dec: This is where I start dedicating myself to looking at maidens and 2yo's. All of the promising 2yo's who either didnt make it in the summer or had some bad luck in the summer are wound tight to get a win. Everyone wants to be able to say that thier horse (maybe future stakes winner) was precocious enough to win at two. Churchill, Aqueduct, Hollywood, Santa Anita and Calder are home to these maidens and not only can following them be profitable but it also gives you an excellent line on the horses who might be on the TC trail next year. I watch a ton of video during this period and almost no horse who ends up on the TC trial is unknown to me.