ITM Players' Newsletter presented by 1/ST - March 28th, 2025
Almost 4 hours of weekend previews for racing across the world!
A 90 minute Players’ Podcast. An hour long, full card Florida Derby card preview. 50 minutes of Harness Players’ Podcast and another half hour or so of Kentucky Derby weekend content on YouTube. In short, time to get listening!
The Players’ Podcast has everything covered, from Gulfstream and Oaklawn’s stakes laden cards, to G1 action in Japan, plus some Santa Anita coverage. There’s even more Gulfstream content with a separate show from Nick Tammaro and Brian Nadeau where they go over the entire 14 race card on Saturday.
We have a wide array of Kentucky Derby prep previews to check out. Over on YouTube there are individual previews for both the Florida Derby and Arkansas Derby, as well as an updated ITM Derby Top 10 ahead of this pivotal weekend. For written content you can read Eric Solomon’s usual “Road to the Kentucky Derby” series, in addition to my horse-by-horse write-ups on attheraces.com:
Last but not least there’s a few ITM Plus items worth checking out. We have a free preview of an ITM Plus show within today’s Players’ Podcast as Marshall Gramm joins PTF to discuss the Arkansas Derby card. I also shared my FL Derby notes from the Players’ Podcast on inthemoneypodcast.com that would typically go out to Plus customers. Also be on the lookout for daily coverage of the Keeneland Spring Meet beginning next week!
MYWAYP,
PTF
Subscribe to ITM Plus for exclusive picks, written analysis, and shows from your favorite ITM contributors! Coming this weekend:
Arkansas Derby Day Stakes - PTF & Marshall Gramm
Gulfstream Saturday Middle Pick Five (Retail Only!) - Mikee P & Justin Christein
$1 minimum and low 15% takeout. Retail only — No CAWs!
Make sure to save and follow the ITM blog for daily picks from your favorite tracks and more racing coverage:
Aqueduct /// Gulfstream Park /// Oaklawn /// Santa Anita /// Laurel Park
Players’ Podcast - Florida Derby Day and Much More!
You know we are getting into the teeth of the horse racing calendar when we drop a 90 minute Players’ Podcast.
We kick off with PTF and JK giving their thoughts, tips, and analysis on a stakes-laden Florida Derby card with thoughts on the last six races on the card — all stakes — highlighted by the Grade 1 Florida Derby. Will Sovereignty cement his spot as one of the Kentucky Derby favorites? Listen and found out what we think.
Next up Mikee P (Mike Pribozie) chats with Alex Henry about the JRA Races taking place Saturday night into Sunday morning. Alex gives her thoughts on the G1 Takamatsunomiya Kinen.
Following that, it’s a special presentation, a FREE In the Money Plus Preview, with PTF and Marshall Gramm. Marshall shares his view on all the stakes on the card and the late Pick Five and lets us know what he thinks of Cornucopian’s chances in the Grade 1 Arkansas Derby, another key prep race for the Kentucky Derby.
Last but not least, we return to PTF and JK with their ideas on the Saturday Santa Anita Pick Six.
Players’ Podcast - Florida Derby Full Card w/ Nick Tammaro and Brian Nadeau
Nick Tammaro and Brian Nadeau handicap the entirety of the 14 race Florida Derby Day program from Gulfstream Park with an extended look at the card’s biggest races.
Harness Players’ Podcast - March 26 Fraser/Borgata Series Leg 1
Mikee P and Ray Cotolo bring another edition of the Harness Players Podcast for March 26. Fraser Downs is back for Friday, March 28, with a late Pick 4 with a solid lineup. The Borgata Series kicks off Monday, March 31st, with 5 divisions of Leg 1 of the upper-level pacing series at Yonkers Raceway.
Thirty-eight horses begin the series with 5 races for 50,000 purses. Check out the $1 Pick 5 covering the 5 races starting in Race 5 Monday Night!
TWINSPIRES TOURNAMENTS TOUR
March 3 through March 30, 2025
All tournaments on TwinSpires during this time frame are eligible for points.
Only the top 8 scores will count towards the final leaderboard. It is NOT the first 8 scores. If you already have 8 scores and your 9th score is higher than your lowest of the previous 8, then that score will replace your lowest score in the leaderboard.
Florida Derby
PTF is back with Mikee P. to discuss the G1 Curlin Florida Derby on Saturday, March 29, 2025 at Gulfstream Park. The race offers 100 KY Derby qualifying points to the winner.
The Florida Derby has been the gold standard for Derby Prep races having 15 winners of this race go on to win the Kentucky Derby since 1956. More recently, Mage finished second in this race before going on to win the Run for the Roses in 2023. You have to go back to 2017 to find the last Florida and Kentucky Derby winner when Always Dreaming became the third horse in a five year span to accomplish that feat (Orb in 2013 and Nyquist in 2016 were the other two). Maximum Security won this race in 2019 and crossed the finish line first on Derby Day, only to have his number taken down. Tiz the Law won this race in 2020 and went on to win the Belmont, which was the first leg of the 2020 Triple Crown.
Arkansas Derby
PTF and Mikee P. are back for another Kentucky Derby Prep on Saturday, March 29th, the Arkansas Derby at Oaklawn Park. The race offers 100 KY Derby points to the winner.
Road to the 2025 Kentucky Derby – The Grade 1 Arkansas Derby – By Eric Solomon
The Arkansas Derby is one of two Grade 1 Derby Preps this weekend, and both races have runners that feel like they could be legitimate contenders on the first Saturday in May. Nine runners in this race will try to follow in the footsteps of Sunny’s Halo, American Pharoah and Smarty Jones by winning this race en route to the Kentucky Derby.
ITM Kentucky Derby Top 10
Welcome to our updated TOP 10 list of the 2025 Kentucky Derby, one of horse racing’s most exciting events! In this video, we analyze several of this year’s most promising three-year-olds targeting the Run for the Roses at Churchill Downs on May 3.
2025 Kentucky Derby Top 10 + Other Contenders
Big shifts in the prospective Derby field after two preps last Saturday. Learn more about how those races affected the Derby picture and how this weekend’s preps shape up. Plus…
New section for horses who’ve secured a spot in the Derby starting gate
Fields shaping up for the Blue Grass, Wood Memorial, & Santa Anita Derby
Recent Beyers, replays, and next likely starts for the Top 10, all horses locked into the Derby field, and 10 other interesting horses who have final prep races approaching. Plus freshly updated thoughts on over a dozen other horses on the Derby trail.
Players Podcast - Weekend Recap 3/24/25 Plus Early Fla/Ark Derby Thoughts
Mikee P. and Nick Tammaro recap the Weekend of racing, including the Kentucky Derby Preps LA Derby and Jeff Ruby Stakes. 1/st Racing tracks Santa Anita and Gulfstream Stakes from the weekend are also discussed. Undercards from the big race days, including the loss of Sierra Leone, find their way into the discussion. Nick gives a few early Florida Derby thoughts.
Players’ Podcast - (Non-Racing Content) Baseball Opening Day 2025
PTF is joined by James Schiano of his eponymous Youtube channel and the Mets’D Up Podcast to talk about the upcoming baseball season with Opening Day upon us.
Backstretch Edge – Sponsored by Adelphi Racing – Episode 3 – Romero Maragh
The third episode of the Backstretch Edge sponsored by Adelphi Racing. Nick Tammaro and Joe Migliore sit down with jockey Romero Maragh, jockey of recent Adelphi Racing Club winner Twirling Beauty.
JK + 1 - Ep 92 - Rob Atras
Presented by @Qatar_Racing
JK and Rob talk about handicapping, claiming, Maracuja, his goat, the Yankees, and Bill Clinton...
