Sorry, not a massive follower of american racing is this Saturday / Sunday or Friday / Saturday ?

It's Friday and Saturday evening/night UK time. I believe the big race is about 11.30pm uk time.

I follow the big races but for most of the supporting card its going to be a 'pin in the paper' job!

Day 1

La Troienne - Sheer Drama/Penwith/Curalina
Eight Belles - Jade Princess/Summer Reading/Carina Mia
Twin Spires Turf Sprint - Summation Time/Mongol Bull/Power Alert
Alysheba - Natchez/Top Billing/Noble Bird
Edgewood - Harmonize/Catch a Glimpse/Heavenly View
Kentucky Oaks - Lewis Bay/Cathryn Sophia/Land Over Sea

La Troienne - Sheer Drama
Eight Belles - Carina Mia
Twin Spires Turf Sprint - Hootenanny
Alysheba - Eagle
Edgewood - Catch a Glimpse
Kentucky Oaks - Go Maggie Go

My money's already on Go Maggie Go at a nice 12-1.

La Troienne: Sheer Drama (Curalina)
Not going to be the first race on that day that looks to be very formful, the La Troienne has some of the better fillies and mares in the older division. Sheer Drama came out of the BC Distaff well to capture the Madison at Keeneland. She just barely lost in this race last year and wants revenge. Curalina is coming off a huge layoff, not having run since her second in the BC Distaff. I don’t like the long layoff, but she has proved to be able to win off a layoff. I’ll at least give her a look.

Eight Belles: Nickname (Marquee Miss)
Nickname tried her hand in some of the bigger stakes races on the Road to the Kentucky Oaks. She’s been knocking on the door and looks to be in good form. Marquee Miss tried the Oaklawn preps, but didn’t stay the trip. She came out and finished third at Turfway. I’d like to see her regain her early 2016 form.

Twin Spires Turf Sprint: Hootennany (Something Extra)
Wesley Ward has one of the best sprinters in the US and is prepping Hootenanny for Royal Ascot in this race. He returned off a long layoff to finish second in the Jacques Cartier up at Woodbine. Ward should have him prepped well for this race. Something Extra has been up there in almost every race and finished third in this race last year. He will need to turn the pages on his rival Power Alert, but the outside was hot last year and it may be hot this year too.

Alysheba: Eagle (Departing)
I’m going to go with the three horses that just love Churchill Downs in this race. Eagle is coming in off of an impressive win over Noble Bird in the Ben Ali. He came onto the scene with a good second in the Mineshaft Handicap and then followed that up with the third in the New Orleans Handicap. He stepped up the Keeneland and took the Ben Ali going away. I’m looking for him to take this one too. Departing has been working well running at Churchill Downs. His last win came in the Firecracker under the Twin Spires and has been improving since then. He may not have a win but he has been knocking on the door.

Edgewood: Catch A Glimpse (Ava's Kitten)
This edition of the Edgewood looks to be very formful. Catch A Glimpse hasn’t done much wrong, and the BC Juvenile Fillies Turf winner looks to be coming into this race in great form. After two easy wins at Woodbine, she has won race after race, improving nicely since then. I can’t bet against her. Ava’s Kitten may prefer going longer than this, but she was just barely beaten by Catch A Glimpse last time out. I expect them to run one-two again here.

Kentucky Oaks: Land Over Sea (Rachel's Valentina)
I’ve been on the Land Over Sea bandwagon for a while, and I’m not hopping off yet. She got very unlucky running against Songbird in five consecutive races. She finished 2nd to Songbird three times and has just looking better and better. Her late strides are impressive. Rachel’s Valentina couldn’t get past Songbird or Weep No More in her last two races, but she has been working well. She only has one start this year and four starts overall, but she may like going long.

La Troienne: Sheer Drama
Eight Belles: Carina Mia
Twin Spires Turf Sprint: Hootenany
Alysheba: Eagle
Edgewood: Catch A Glimpse
Kentucky Oaks: Go Maggie Go

La Troienne: Sheer Drama
Eight Belles: Nickname
Twin Spires Turf Sprint: Guns Loaded
Alysheba: Eagle
Edgewood: Harmonize
Kentucky Oaks: Land Over Sea

Matt

La Troienne: Brooklynsway(sheer drama)
Eight Belles Carina Mia (Stageplay)
Twin Spires Turf Sprint Power Alert (Hootenanny)
Alysheba noble bird (Eagle)
Edgewood catch a glimpse (Avas kitten)
Kentucky Oaks weep no more (lewis bay)

Sorry, havent got time to look at Fridays racing, can I copy 17days picks please?

Shhhhh. Don't tell me you are copying anyone's picks lol.

And I don't care. As long as you think they've got a chance, you can put whatever horse you want.

A Bit out of my depth wth this but will give it a go

La Troienne: Curalina
Eight Belles: Carina Mia
Twin Spires Turf Sprint: Hootenanny
Alysheba: Cat Burglar
Edgewood:Harmonize
Kentucky Oaks: Weep No More

Depending on how i do in Chester I may throw all these in
an ew acca

Pick your own horses

Matt

Kentucky Derby Weekend Standings (After Day 1):
1- Ghostzapper74 - 55
2- Pricey - 55
3- mjtags11 - 50
4- Trebird - 45
5- PJRhodes1970 - 45
6- 17Days - 35
7- SiriusChill - 15

Oaks Day concludes with Cathryn Sophia taking the Oaks. Churchill Downs is not very closer friendly, with the stretch being dead for closers outside of the final furlong. Will be interested to see how it runs tomorrow. Being 2-5 lengths off of the early lead has been the strategy on the dirt while speed on the turf has been key. Similar to last year. Whatever Churchill Downs did (besides being corrupt...) after the 2014 racing season has led to an interesting track.

Luis Saez u effing clown, go back to being a small town jock. He gave my horse Go Maggie Go no chance

Churchill Distaff Turf Mile - Tepin (Rainha Da Bateria)
How does anyone go against Tepin here? One of the best turf horses in the world, Tepin will be on her way to Royal Ascot if all goes well. She followed her Breeders’ Cup Mile win with two impressive wins at Tampa Bay before running away with the Jenny Wiley. She won this race last year and looks to make it two in a row. Chad Brown brings in Rainha Da Bateria who looks to be improving. She will enjoy the return to Churchill Downs.

Churchill Downs - Calculator (Kobe's Back)
Never thought I would be cheering for Calculator as a sprinter, but after a very impressive second in the Carter Handicap, he comes into this race and looks to be the speediest of the bunch. I think this will be his race that he cements himself as a sprinting contender. Kobe’s Back has two straight sprint wins to his name at Santa Anita and is coming into this race in good form. He may not travel well, but it is hard to doubt his abilities.

Humana Distaff - Birdatthewire (Sarah Sis)
There isn’t much early speed in this race so Birdatthewire should not be as far back as she usually is. She should be able to run down this field as long as she isn’t forced too wide. This may be a good race for her. With very little speed, Sarah Sis should be able to get the lead and is by far the quickest horse in this race. Might be alone on the lead and could run away on that.

American Turf - Shakimat (Airoforce)
Very difficult race. I’m going with Shakimat, the probably Queen’s Plate favorite, after his impressive win in the Transylvania, one of the best wins I saw all Keeneland meet. Airoforce finally returns to turf after having a miserable time in the Derby preps and could run well.

Pat Day Mile - Forevamo (Gray Sky)
A wide open betting affair, the Pat Day Mile has a lot of very good 3yos who couldn’t get into the Derby. Forevamo was always in it down in Louisiana and shows a lot of late speed. I’m interested to see him shorten up and try the mile. Gray Sky could very well get the early lead in this paceless race. If he can snag that lead, he may wire the field.

Woodford Reserve Turf Classic - Bolo (Big Blue Kitten)
With Flintshire moving to the States, the turf division needs to step up to challenge the globe-trotting champion. Bolo has been sharp since switching to the turf and likes this distance. Most of this field wants longer, but Bolo may site right at home at this distance. Big Blue Kitten is one of the best turf horses in the country, but is a much better 12 furlong horse than a 9 furlong horse. Without Shining Copper, he might not have the pace to close into, but he has enough talent to take a shot at the end.

Kentucky Derby - Mor Spirit (Gun Runner)
It was tough deciding between Mor Spirit and Gun Runner for the top spot, but ultimately it came down to who had the better late closing kick. While Gun Runner may be better suited for the distance, his closing kick was erratic and wasn’t sustained through the whole stretch while Mor Spirit, although needed to be asked repeatedly, has a strong late kick that gobbles up the ground.
After falling to Airoforce in the slop of Churchill Downs in the Kentucky Jockey Club, he bounced back with a going away win in the Los Alamitos Futurity. Once the year started, he headed to Santa Anita and took the Robert B. Lewis in impressive fashion. However, he met a strong loan leader in Danzing Candy in the San Felipe, unable to run him down, before having to close in the sloppy Santa Anita Derby against Exaggerator. Gary Stevens was told by Bob Baffert to not press him much if there wasn’t a chance to win. With a very good second place finish, he was racing a lot better than Stevens asked him.
His running style is as a solid stalker, sitting about three lengths off the pace, letting the front runners do most of the work up early. Once he hits the top of the stretch, he is geared to make his move. While it does take a lot of asking to get him to kick it into high gear, his late kick is explosive. He was able to easily move by late in both the Los Alamitos Futurity and the Robert B. Lewis, but was unable to take the lead in his other two preps. However, he was able to grab some ground late, even making some ground up on Exaggerator in the Santa Anita Derby. He doesn’t like an off track all that much, but has yet to finish out of the exacta in his seven career races. He should get a fast track on Saturday and should relish the longer stretch of Churchill Downs.
His pedigree shows that he can get the distance, in fact he should relish this distance. While I don’t like that he has Storm Cat on the sire line and not a lot of Mr. Prospector overall, he has the same sire lines as Big Brown (Northern Dancer on both sire line and dam sire line). He has a dosage index of at 1.57 and a center of distribution of 0.44. The average dosage index of the field is 3.33, which is high for the Kentucky Derby. Historically, when the DI average is above 3, the DI of the winner is below 2. With four horses with a DI above 4 (Suddenbreakingnews 4.20, Dazzling Gem 5.00, Nyquist 7.00, and Outwork 11.00) this race has a lot of horses with more speed than stamina (odd since this race is devoid of front runners). With such a high DI average, horses with lower DI will perform better, like Mor Spirit.
In his works, Mor Spirit has been exceptional. In his work on May 2nd, he easily worked out the half mile, going faster than he was schedule, running without even being asked. I love to see a horse who just loves to run, whether asked or not.
Mor Spirit has two hall of famers in his pocket, Triple Crown winning trainer Bob Baffert and three-time Kentucky Derby winning jockey Gary Stevens. He is a horse that loves to run and knows what he is supposed to do, race and win. Mor Spirit has the heart of a champion and has been saving up for this race. I can’t help but think that he is sitting on a huge race. He has the profile of a Derby winner and looks to be getting better as the races get longer.