2017 Triple Crown Guide – EZ Horse Betting

2017 archive: This guide preserves the original pre-race outlook. The completed series and a correction to Tapwrit’s preparation appear below; dates and offers belong to 2017.

Now that 2016 came to a close and a new year ushers in the promise of Spring, those who love EZ horse betting start thinking about the road to the Triple Crown. The early months of a new year are an exciting time for horseracing fans as they watch prep races and begin to identify the horses that they believe will be strong contenders in racing’s most important events—the Kentucky Derby, the Preakness Stakes, and the Belmont Stakes.

We’ve put together a little preview and guide of the 2017 Triple Crown races and preps that will help you enjoy the series and perhaps increase your chances of winning your horseracing bets. Before you get started reading, why not take a minute and check out our recommended racebooks? You’ll find many of them offer great sign-up bonuses at this time of year.

The 2017 Triple Crown races

As always, the Triple Crown races in 2017 will consist of the following:

• The Kentucky Derby. The 143rd Run for the Roses will be held at Churchill Downs on Saturday May 6, 2017.  On May 5, 2017 the Kentucky Oaks will be contested beneath the Twin Spires. This is the marquee event of the Triple Crown and it draws thousands of fans to Louisville, Kentucky each year while millions watch on television. Numerous celebrities are in attendance, and watching people at the Kentucky Derby is almost as fun as watching the horses. The entire week leading up to the event is one big party.
• The Preakness Stakes. This year is the 142nd running of the Preakness Stakes at Pimlico Racecourse in Baltimore, Maryland. The race takes place on Saturday May 20, 2017, two weeks after the Kentucky Derby. Each year features two days of stellar horseracing which includes the running of the Black Eyed Susan on Friday. Thousands of racing fans will congregate in the Pimlico infield for a party that features prominent musical artists.
• The Belmont Stakes. The “Test of the Champion” will be held on Saturday June 10th, 2017 at Belmont Park in New York. The final jewel of the Triple Crown, this is where the magic happens. In 2017, a horse seeking the Triple Crown needed to win the Belmont at Belmont Park after taking the first two events. Venues in later seasons must be checked separately. The race is part of a week-long racing carnival that features high-quality horseracing on Friday and Saturday. There is something magical about this racetrack with the majestic skyline of New York City looming in the background.

The 2017 Triple Crown prep races

In order to qualify for entry into the Kentucky Derby and ultimately compete for the Triple Crown, the points standings help determine entry priority in an oversubscribed field, alongside nomination and other eligibility requirements. Horses earn points by faring well in races that have been designated as preps for the Derby. These races are ran all over the country at different racetracks and often present many great EZ Horse Betting opportunities. The prep races also give you a chance to observe the Triple Crown contenders in advance and evaluate their chances of winning one of the three Triple Crown races.

Here is a list of important prep races that you should mark on your calendar:

• The Jerome. This race will be held at Aqueduct in New York on January 7, 2017, and is the first prep race of the new year. The winning horse is awarded 10 points toward eligibility for the Kentucky Derby.
• The Lecomte. Worth 10 points, this race will be held on January 21, 2017 at the Fair Grounds Racecourse in New Orleans.
• The Holy Bull. Annually contested at Gulfstream Park in Florida, this race is often a turning point for many young horses that are coming into Triple Crown form. This year’s event will be held on February 4, 2017 and will award 10 points to the winner.
• The Risen Star. This the first race in what has come to be termed the Kentucky Derby Championship Series. This is when the major prep races begin. The race will be held at the Fairgrounds Racecourse in New Orleans on February 25, 2017 and there are 50 points up for grabs.
• The Tampa Bay Derby. There have been years when the winner of this race has gone on to do very well in Kentucky. Scheduled for March 11, 2017 at Tampa Bay Downs, this is an important prep that awards 50 points.
• The UAE Derby. A part of the legendary Dubai Racing Carnival, the UAE Derby will be held on March 25, 2017 at Meydan Racecourse in the UAE. The prestige of this race is so great that the winner will receive 100 points.
• The Arkansas Derby. Often a strong indicator or how a horse will perform in the Kentucky Derby, the Arkansas Derby will be held at Oaklawn Park on April 15, 2017. This race is one of only six prep races that award 100 points to the winner, and it is one of the last chances for horses to earn the points they need to enter the Kentucky Derby.

Check our Bovada racebook review, Twinspires review or even our Betamerica review. Availability depends on the operator, the customer’s jurisdiction and current terms. online racebook comparison for folks anywhere!

Further reading:

• Horses to watch in 2017
• How Do Horses Qualify For The Triple Crown?
• 2017 Kentucky Derby Recap

Lessons from the 2017 Triple Crown for Future Seasons

The 2017 Triple Crown season — in which no horse completed the series, with Always Dreaming winning the Derby, Cloud Computing the Preakness, and Tapwrit the Belmont — reinforced several principles that apply to every Triple Crown season. The failure of the Derby winner to win the Preakness in 2017 continued a pattern that had occurred multiple times in the preceding decade, reminding bettors that Derby winners are often underlaid favourites at the Preakness where a rival’s preparation, likely trip and price require a fresh assessment.

The Belmont confirmed another recurring principle: that horses pointing specifically to the mile-and-a-half trip, without the fatigue of the Derby-Preakness double, often outperform their market prices against tired rivals. Tapwrit finished sixth in the Derby and skipped the Preakness before winning the Belmont. His route therefore illustrates a break between races, not a horse that bypassed the Derby. A winning example alone does not establish an overlay or prove that similarly prepared runners outperform their odds. Building these Triple Crown patterns into a systematic annual betting approach — rather than treating each year’s series in isolation — can make the comparison more consistent, but requires a larger sample and a record of prices and losses before supporting a profitability claim. For the full 2017 recap, our articles on 2017 Kentucky Derby recap and 2017 Belmont Stakes recap cover the key races. And our guide to the Triple Crown explained provides the broader framework.

Read this guide as a 2017 preview

The dates, contenders and offers in this article were written before the 2017 races. They are preserved as a record of how the series looked at the time, rather than as instructions for a coming season. Always consult the current official Kentucky Derby, Preakness and Belmont calendars for dates, venue arrangements, ticketing and race conditions; a historic preview cannot establish today’s entry list or online wagering availability.

One useful exercise is to compare the preview’s assumptions with the completed results. Which prep performances translated to the Derby, and which horses advanced or skipped later legs? Note the field, running style, post position and surface for each race before treating a result as a repeatable betting rule. This separates a good pre-race decision from a lucky outcome and keeps later knowledge from changing what was knowable in early 2017.

The completed 2017 series

Compare the official Derby chart with NYRA’s Belmont race account. Record rest days, trip, pace and odds separately. Three different winners demonstrate how the competitive picture changed; they do not establish that betting every rested challenger would have been profitable.