Horse Racing Forum - USA Thoroughbred Races

Hello everyone, you know what time it is! Forget the Oaks and Derby week pageantry, it's time for something far more celebrated and prestigious: another edition of the Derby Pool Contest, a TBC tradition originally founded by The Shadow. Will anyone dethrone Mylute, our Greatest Handicapper of All Time of All Time, who has won two years running? Only one way to find out!

The rules are as follows:

1. Select one horse from each of the pools listed below. Pools are chosen on the basis of the morning line and my own imperfect judgment. Please forgive.
2. When you post, please note your predicted margin of victory and final time. These will be used as tiebreakers.
3. Feel free to edit selections up until five minutes before post time, but please do make a post noting any changes so that I don't miss them.
4. Points will be awarded if any of your choices finish in the top 6, on a scale of 30-20-15-10-5-1
5. Winner gets the title of Greatest Handicapper of All Time for exactly one year! Our current reigning champion is Mylute, who made Derby history last year by defending her title.

Pool A
Fierceness
Sierra Leone
Forever Young
Catching Freedom

Pool B
Just a Touch
Stronghold
Resilience

Pool C
Just Steel
Mystik Dan
Dornoch
Track Phantom

Pool D
Honor Marie
T O Password
Endlessly
Domestic Product

Pool E
Society Man
Catalytic
West Saratoga
Grand Mo the First
Epic Ride

Enjoy!

the moment i've been waiting for all year.
except this year i haven't watched USA racing at all so 99% of these names are ?????? to me. anyways, expect my pools tomorrow night/Monday. and my mom's too, hope yours participates this year as well, Tessa!

Pool A
Forever Young

Pool B
Stronghold

Pool C
Dornoch

Pool D
T O Password

Pool E
West Saratoga

2'02"10
1 1/2 length

It’s the most wonderful time of the year!

Pool A
Sierra Leone

Pool B
Stronghold

Pool C
Dornoch

Pool D
T O Password

Pool E
West Saratoga

Neck - 2.03.50

Pool A
Sierra Leone

Pool B
Stronghold

Pool C
Just Steel

Pool D
Domestic Product

Pool E
West Saratoga

2'01"28
2 1/2 lengths

Pool A
Fierceness

Pool B
Just a Touch

Pool C
Track Phantom

Pool D
Endlessly

Pool E
Society Man

2:02

1/2 length

Pool A — Forever Young

Pool B — Stronghold

Pool C — Dornoch

Pool D — Domestic Product

Pool E — West Saratoga

Final time: 2:01.50

Winning margin: 3 lengths

This is so hard (mostly Pool A )

Pool A
Forever Young

Pool B
Just a Touch

Pool C
Just Steel

Pool D
Honor Marie

Pool E
Society Man

Final Time: 2:01.15

Margin: 1 1/2 lengths

ETA: changed Pool B at the scratch of Encino

Pool A: Sierra Leone
Pool B: Encino
Pool C: Just Steel
Pool D: Endlessly
Pool E: West Saratoga

1 3/4 lengths
2:02.4

i'll send my mom's once we have the time to sit down together and i show her the PPs .

here's mine:

Pool A Catching Freedom
Pool B Resilience
Pool C Track Phantom
Pool D Endlessly
Pool E West Saratoga

2½ lengths
2:01.40

Pool A
Catching Freedom

Pool B
Just a Touch

Pool C
Mystik Dan

Pool D
Honor Marie

Pool E
Catalytic

2:03.10

1 3/4 lengths

Looking forward to maintaining my streak of bottom 3 finishes.

Pool A
Forever Young

Pool B
Resilience

Pool C
Dornoch

Pool D
Honor Marie

Pool E
Society Man

2:01.40
2 1/4 lengths

Northport wrote: ↑Sun Apr 28, 2024 6:07 pm Looking forward to maintaining my streak of bottom 3 finishes.

Pool A
Fierceness

Pool B
Just a Touch

Pool C
Just Steel

Pool D
Honor Marie

Pool E
West Saratoga

2:01
2 lengths

Pool A
Forever Young

Pool B
Stronghold

Pool C
Mystik Dan

Pool D
Endlessly

Pool E
Catalytic

2:00.4

2 1/4 lengths

Tessablue wrote: ↑Sat Apr 27, 2024 8:16 pm Will anyone dethrone Mylute, our Greatest Handicapper of All Time of All Time, who has won two years running? Only one way to find out!

oh I'm 100% getting dethroned this year.

As I type, I am fixing my mother's hat and listening to some handicapping videos. Having to play catchup this year. It's just after 9 PM where I'm at. This time next week I will probably have been home for about an hour after driving home from the trip.

have a safe trip home Mylute. at least you know you can look forward to at least beating me. AGAIN. my revenge will come one day when perhaps i'm familiar with more than 25% of the field.

A - Forever Young
B - Stronghold
C - Just Steel
D - Endlessly
E - Catalytic

2:02 2/5 by a neck

Mylute wrote: ↑Sun Apr 28, 2024 10:03 pm As I type, I am fixing my mother's hat and listening to some handicapping videos. Having to play catchup this year. It's just after 9 PM where I'm at. This time next week I will probably have been home for about an hour after driving home from the trip.

So exciting, though! I hope you have a great time. And in the unlikely event that you do get dethroned, you've got a great built-in excuse

brunanas wrote: ↑Sat Apr 27, 2024 8:20 pm the moment i've been waiting for all year.
except this year i haven't watched USA racing at all so 99% of these names are ?????? to me. anyways, expect my pools tomorrow night/Monday. and my mom's too, hope yours participates this year as well, Tessa!

Oh yes, we will definitely have another battle of the moms! Neither of us has had a chance to sit down and really figure out our picks, but you can count on it.

Pretty sure I completely whiffed on Honor Marie's placement here, his final odds will probably put him in Pool B instead of Pool D... oh well. Enjoy the freebie, everyone

Pool A
Sierra Leone

Pool B
Just a Touch

Pool C
Just Steel

Pool D
Honor Marie

Pool E
West Saratoga

2:01.23. 1 length