For the seventh year in a row, America’s Best Racing is challenging some of the brightest minds in horse betting to come up with their top three picks for key races every weekend leading up to the 2023 Triple Crown and then continuing through the 2023 Breeders’ Cup World Championships. The handicappers face off in what we like to call the “Big Race Showdown.”

The players’ picks will be posted here and a running bankroll will be kept to track their success all year long. Bankrolls will be tabulated on the basis of $2 exacta and $2 trifecta box bets of each player’s top three selections. We will also be keeping track of which playercorrectly selects the most winners.

Your players for the 2023 Big Race Showdown season are Edison Hatter (In the Money Media Analyst, Meadowlands On-Air Host), Ashley Mailloux (freelance racing analyst), Jessica Paquette (Racecaller for Parx Racing, Thoroughbred Retirement Foundation), John Piassek (Communications Manager, Maryland Horse Breeders Association),  Roberto Rodriguez (El Potro Roberto, DRF en Espanol), Mike Somich (The Magic Mike Show, Somo Bombs Handicapper – The Racing Dudes), Naomi Tukker (Eclipse Award-winning Sports Broadcaster, World Horse Racing Producer),  Darwin Vizcaya (Handicapper and Host, La Trifecta from America’s Best Racing), Rowan Ward (Chartcaller at Hawthorne Race Track and a Freelance Writer), and Brian Zipse (Senior Writer for Horse Racing Nation and Host of HorseCenter).

This week’s Big Race Showdown races are:  the Fourstardave Handicap Aug. 12 at Saratoga, a Breeders’ Cup “Win and You’re In” Challenge Series race for the FanDuel Breeders’ Cup Mile Presented by PDJF; and the the Beverly D. Stakes Aug. 12 at Colonial Downs, a qualifying race for the Maker’s Mark Filly and Mare Turf. 

The Fourstardave will be televised live on FOX during a three-hour “FOX Saratoga Saturday” program. The Beverly D. will be held at Colonial Downs for the first time in its history as part of a card that used to be the centerpiece of Arlington International Racecourse’s summer meet, headlined by the Arlington Million Stakes. The Beverly D. and Arlington Million from Colonial Downs will air on FanDuel TV as part of their daily package that also features comprehensive coverage of Del Mar’s summer meet along with racing from Gulfstream Park, Woodbine, Monmouth Park, and many other tracks.