Sports

Let’em Run looks at Jeff Ruby Stakes and Louisiana Derby

Published

3 days ago

March 22, 2025

By Fred York and Sean Miller

With just 45 days remaining until the Kentucky Derby, the racing action heats up this weekend with a thrilling lineup at Gulfstream Park and two major Derby prep races: the Jeff Ruby Steaks at Turfway Park on Tapeta and the Louisiana Derby at Fair Grounds on dirt. Let’s dive into the late Pick 5 sequence at Gulfstream before shifting focus to these pivotal Derby qualifiers.

Let ‘Em Run Preview: Gulfstream Park Late Pick 5 & Derby Prep Races

Race 7 – 3:50 PM EST – The Texas Glitter Stakes – 115K – 5 Furlongs (Turf)

#7 Gabaldon (7-5) – Excellent post position for Jaramillo to dictate the race. A two-back 82 BSF speaks volumes, and he broke his maiden in a stakes race at Gulfstream first out.
#1 Turbulent Force (4-1) – Shooting for a third straight win; Dylan Davis takes over the reins from Tyler Gaffalione, who is in New Orleans.
#6 No Evidence (2-1) – Paco Lopez stays aboard this resilient colt, who came back to win his last race impressively. His last effort was a key race, giving him a strong case here.
Bet: $5 Exacta Key: 7 over 1,6,2 ($15 total)

Race 8 – 4:20 PM EST – Claiming 10K – 5 Furlongs (Synthetic)

#2 Founder’s Day (3-1) – Tough to close at this distance, but Edgar Zayas knows how to do it. This horse is 4-for-11 on Tapeta but 0-for-3 at this distance.
#4 Happy Ride (5-2) – Class drop, turn back to 5F, and Paco Lopez in the saddle all point to a strong effort. His last two Tapeta runs at Gulfstream suggest he fits well.

Race 9 – 4:50 PM EST – OC 25K/N1X – 1 1/16 Mile (Turf)

#7 Without Cause (10-1) – Speed of the speed in the Mark Casse barn, Dylan Davis retains the mount. Should control the pace.
#5 North End Lady (6-1) – Class dropper with closing ability, broke maiden impressively at Saratoga, working well, and gets a sharp trainer change to David Fawkes (30% off layoffs).
#6 Vino Rogue (3-1) – Blinkers on, dropping in class, and top BSF in the field. Trainer Anthony Dutrow has her primed for a big effort.
Bet: $20 W/P on #7

Race 10 – 5:20 PM EST – Claiming 35KB – 5 Furlongs (Synthetic)

#5 Running Rocket (9-5) – Loves Tapeta and Gulfstream, best races on synthetic, and Junior Alvarado takes the mount. “Look Out”
#7 Masked Man (8-1) – 28% synthetic trainer Kent Sweezey sends out a horse 2-for-2 on Tapeta.
#3 Jolly Boss (10-1) – Saffie Joseph enters this speedster with a 7lb apprentice. Wild card.
Bet: Single #5 in any horizontal wagers (P3, P4, P5)

Race 11 – 5:52 PM EST – MSW 94K – 1 1/16 Mile (Turf)

#7 Buzz Rocket (6-1) – Big post improvement from last time (post 12). He showed tremendous fight in his last start.
#6 Golden Channel (3-1) – Strong turf pedigree, had a rough trip last out, and Jersey Joe Bravo stays aboard.
Bet: $2 Exacta Box: 1,6,7,12

LOUISIANA DERBY/JEFF RUBY PREP RACES

Turfway Park – Race 12 – 6:25 PM EST – Jeff Ruby Steaks – 1 1/8 Mile (All Weather)

This prep race features an overflow field of 13 runners on the Tapeta surface. The morning line favorite, #9 Poster (3-1)with John Velazquez, will likely attract heavy betting. However, I’m taking a shot with #4 Final Gambit (10-1), trained by Brad Cox. He’s a closer who should benefit from a lively pace, and underrated jockey Luan Machado rides him well.

Fair Grounds – Race 12 – 6:42 PM EST – The Louisiana Derby – 1 3/16 Mile (Dirt – G2 – $1M Purse)

This field features familiar names like #1 John Hancock (7-2) and #6 Built (4-1), both expected to be strong contenders. However, I’m siding with #2 Chunk of Gold, a $2,500 purchase who ran a phenomenal race last out despite a rough trip. He finished second behind Built and has the ability to improve.

Final Thoughts

Be sure to tune in on Saturday, 3/22/25, as Sean “The Genius” Miller and Fred York will break down these races further after scratches on our podcast. Thanks for your support, and best of luck at the races!

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No. 1 ranked and defending World Series Champs University of Tampa faces St. Leo tonight.

Published

7 hours ago

March 25, 2025

Austin Reed

The #1 University of Tampa Spartans sweep the Embry-Riddle Eagles in a double-header and the weekend series.

Final (Game 1 – 10 Innings): #1 Tampa 4, Embry-Riddle 3

Final (Game 2 – 7 Innings *Run Rule): #1 Tampa 10, Embry-Riddle 0

Records: #1 Tampa (23-4, 9-0 SSC), Embry-Riddle (16-10, 3-6 SSC)

Location: UTampa Baseball Field | Tampa, FL.

All-Time Series: This was the 34^th meeting between these two programs. The Spartans are 22-12 against the Eagles.

GAME ONE

HOW IT HAPPENED:

Brayden Woodburn led the inning off, beating out an infield single to second base. Jhoander Irigoyen would move Woodburn to second with a ground ball to the Eagle’s shortstop. Cole Russo followed with a single up the middle to bring home Woodburn for the game’s first run. Kevin Karstetter followed, reaching base on an error by the Eagle’s first baseman, and Russo would advance to third on the play. Maddox King followed with a fly ball to center field to bring Russo home. End 2 | 2-0 Tampa
With one out and down to their final two outs, Woodburn delivered, launching his second home run of the season. End 9 | 3-3 Tie
Karstetter led the inning off with a single through the left side. Karstetter advanced to second on a King ground out. Jordan Williams was intentionally walked, and Mike Valdez followed with a walk to load the bases up. On a 0-2 off-speed pitch, J.D. Urso delivered with a single over the shortstop’s head to bring home Karstetter to walk it off. Final | 4-3 Tampa

AT THE PLATE:

Woodburn: 2-4 (Game tying home-run), R, & RBI
Karstetter: 2-4 & R
Urso: 1-5 (Walk-off single) & RBI
J. Williams: 1-4, BB, & SB
Russo: 1-4, R, & RBI

ON THE MOUND:

Skylar Gonzalez started on the mound. He threw 6 innings while striking out 3 and giving up 1 run. Gonzalez ended with a no-decision on the afternoon.
Ryan Stefiuk came in relief for Gonzalez. He threw 2.1 innings while striking out 2 and giving up 2 earned runs.
Jacob Fletcher came in relief for Stefiuk. He got 2 outs in the ninth.
Michael Alfonso came in relief for Fletcher. He threw a scoreless tenth while striking out 1. Alfonso picked up the win and improved to 2-1 on the season.

GAME TWO

HOW IT HAPPENED:

With one out, Nico Saladino would double to right field. Urso followed with a single through the 5-6 hole to bring in Saladino for the game’s first run. Saladino would ground out to shortstop; however, Urso would advance to second on the play. Woodburn continued to swing a hot bat singling through the left side to bring home Urso. End 1 | 2-0 Tampa
Karstetter led off the inning, beating out an infield single that the Eagle’s shortstop through into the turf and passed the first baseman, advancing Karstetter to second. Santiago Garavito followed, launching his first home run of the season over the left-field wall. King then reached first on an error by the Eagle’s shortstop, who threw the ball away once again, giving King a free extra 90 feet. J. Williams then perfectly executed a bunt single to the pitcher to advance King to third. J. Williams then stole second base. Saladino then hit a fly ball to left field to bring home King. Bot 2 | 5-0 Tampa
Russo led off the inning with a walk. Karstetter followed with a single through the right side to set the Spartans up in business with first and second and nobody out. Russo and Karstetter would advance to second and third on a wild pitch, and King would walk to give the Spartans the bases loaded with nobody out. J. Williams doubled to the right field to bring Karstetter and Russo home and advance King to third. King would come into score, and J. Williams would advance to third on a wild pitch. Urso would bring in J. Williams, grounding out to second base. End 5 | 9-0 Tampa
Woodburn would lead off the inning with a walk and come around to score on a throwing error by the Eagle’s pitcher. End 6 | 10-0 Tampa

AT THE PLATE:

Saladino: 2-2, BB, R, & RBI
Woodburn: 2-3, BB, SB, R, & RBI
Williams: 2-4, SB, R, & 2 RBI’s
Karstetter: 2-4, 2 R’s, & RBI
Garavito: 1-4 (HR), R, & 2 RBI’s
Russo: 1-3, BB, & R
Urso: 1-4, R, & 2 RBI’s

ON THE MOUND:

Jake Stipp started on the mound. He threw 7 scoreless innings while striking out 4. Stipp picked up the win in his outing and improved to 5-0 on the season.

UP NEXT: The #1 Spartans will play a mid-week matchup with SSC opponent St. Leo on Tuesday, March 25^th, at 6:00 PM.

Live stats Live stats Box Score Box Score

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Power conferences fill this year’s Sweet 16 for the first time ever

Published

7 hours ago

March 25, 2025

Austin Reed

Years of bracket chaos have given way to the year of the power conference.

Cinderella is staying home this time.

The Sweet 16, a popular destination for bracket-busting mid-majors, will be made up entirely of teams from power conferences, a first since the bracket expanded to 64 teams in 1985.

Not a Saint Peter’s or Loyola Chicago in the bunch. Not even a Butler or Gonzaga.

The bracket was set up for this following a chalky first round, when the top four seeds went a combined 16-0 for the sixth time ever. Two No. 12 seeds got through to the second round and one 11.

They all lost.

Highest seed to reach the Sweet 16: No. 10 Arkansas. Everyone else is 6 or higher, with all four No. 1 seeds and three of the four 2s ( sorry St. John’s ).

There will be four conferences represented at regional sties in San Francisco, Newark, Indianapolis and Atlanta. That’s the fewest in NCAA Tournament history and a far cry from the record of 11 (three times)

Speaking of records, the SEC racked up a trio of ‘em.

First, 14 teams made it into the bracket. Record.

Then, six teams lost in the first round. Record.

Now, seven SEC teams are in the Sweet 16. Sweet record.

“We have worked hard as a league to get where we are this year and it’s always tough,”

Tennessee coach Rick Barnes said. “But I would like to think even as fans that we would all have each other’s back this time of year and then we can go back to what we normally do.”

The other conferences — all three — fared fairly well as well.

The Big Ten was the early big bracket winner, becoming the first league to go 8-0 in the first round and stretched it to 10-0 until BYU knocked off Wisconsin. Four teams were bumped out in the second round, but Michigan State, Michigan, Purdue and Maryland are feeling sweet.

The newfangled Big 12 also represented itself well, matching a league record set in 2002 by landing four teams in the Sweet 16.

Arizona is new to the Big 12 while Houston and BYU joined last year, so there were better odds than just a few years ago. Even so, four teams — with Texas Tech — gives the league a chance at three national champions in the past five years.

The Atlantic Coast Conference, maligned by a rough early March start, has one Sweet 16er, and it’s a good one.

Duke and fabulous freshman Cooper Flagg were one of the favorites to win the national championship to open the season and still look that way after toying with its first two NCAA Tournament opponents.

“For us to win by this margin, I think this speaks to the level of killer instinct that our guys have, the competitiveness and the connectivity,” coach Jon Scheyer said after the Blue Devils’ 89-66 win over once-formidable Baylor.

One thing is for certain: There won’t be a three-peat.

The first repeat champion since Florida in 2006-07, UConn kept the dream alive with an opening win over Oklahoma. The bid to join John Wooden’s UCLA teams as college basketball’s only three-peaters came to an emotional end on Sunday with a 77-75 loss to top-seeded Florida.

“We’re a passionate program,” UConn coach Dan Hurley said, twice stopping to compose himself. “The players play with it. I coach with it. You’re always (expletive) drained when it’s over.”

The passion this year has been in the power — conferences.

___

AP March Madness bracket: https://apnews.com/hub/ncaa-mens-bracket and coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/march-madness. Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here.

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Sports

Power conferences fill this year’s Sweet 16 for the first time ever

Published

8 hours ago

March 25, 2025

Austin Reed

Years of bracket chaos have given way to the year of the power conference.

Cinderella is staying home this time.

The Sweet 16, a popular destination for bracket-busting mid-majors, will be made up entirely of teams from power conferences, a first since the bracket expanded to 64 teams in 1985.

Not a Saint Peter’s or Loyola Chicago in the bunch. Not even a Butler or Gonzaga.

The bracket was set up for this following a chalky first round, when the top four seeds went a combined 16-0 for the sixth time ever. Two No. 12 seeds got through to the second round and one 11.

They all lost.

Highest seed to reach the Sweet 16: No. 10 Arkansas. Everyone else is 6 or higher, with all four No. 1 seeds and three of the four 2s ( sorry St. John’s ).

Speaking of records, the SEC racked up a trio of ‘em.

First, 14 teams made it into the bracket. Record.

Then, six teams lost in the first round. Record.

Now, seven SEC teams are in the Sweet 16. Sweet record.

“We have worked hard as a league to get where we are this year and it’s always tough,”

Tennessee coach Rick Barnes said. “But I would like to think even as fans that we would all have each other’s back this time of year and then we can go back to what we normally do.”

The other conferences — all three — fared fairly well as well.

The newfangled Big 12 also represented itself well, matching a league record set in 2002 by landing four teams in the Sweet 16.

The Atlantic Coast Conference, maligned by a rough early March start, has one Sweet 16er, and it’s a good one.

One thing is for certain: There won’t be a three-peat.

The passion this year has been in the power — conferences.