2018 Jerome at Aqueduct Picks

Jerome Stakes Preview and Odds

*Note: Due to poor weather, the Jan.1 Jerome Stakes was cancelled, and will be run at a later date.*

After picking up a win and 10 Kentucky Derby qualifying points in the (G1) Champagne Stakes at Belmont back in October, Firenze Fire sits in a tie with four others for third place on the Derby leaderboard, and leads the field here as the even-money morning line favorite.

A Florida-bred trained by Jason Servis, Firenze Fire has three wins overall in five lifetime starts, and has been a bit of a feast-or-famine type colt, as in his two other races he finished off the board.

He was last seen running seventh in the 2017 Breeders' Cup Juvenile. He ran evenly but lacked any real response when they turned for home in the 1 1/16 mile race, so it will be interesting to see how he handles the one-turn mile here.

Others Stepping Up to Stakes Racing

Lining up to take him on as second choice in the ML at 4-1 is Seven Trumpets, who will be making his stakes debut off of two straight wins at Churchill Downs. The second of those was a 6 1/2 furlong allowance event where he sat off a fairly quick pace through the first half-mile before taking over that the top of the stretch to win by a half length. 

Diamond King, who was originally listed at 7-2 in the morning line ran in - and won - a minor stakes event at Laurel Park on Saturday instead of the Jerome. 

Breaking from just inside of Firenze Fire is another Florida-bred in the form of Old Time Revival (10-1) who scored his maiden win in his third try going seven furlongs at Laurel Park in mid-November. Despite a bobble at the start he quickly regained his footing and was in command by the half-mile point, pulling away to win by almost five lengths. Expect him to try and go for the lead and take the field as far as he can. 

Down on the inside post, Honor Up (6-1) is a New York bred for trainer Bill Mott. Two starts back he gave up the lead late to finish second racing one mile on the Aqueduct dirt, but made a big step forward last time out to get his maiden win by more than 11 lengths, also at one mile on the Aqueduct dirt.

The Jerome Stakes goes Monday, January 1 from Aqueduct Race Track in New York. It's race #7 of 8 on the day, with an expected post time of 3:34 PM Eastern.

Entries w/ ML Odds

1. Honor Up (6-1)
2. Diamond King (7-2)
3. Regalian (15-1)
4. Old Time Revival (10-1)
5. Firenze Fire (1-1)
6. Smooth B (20-1)
7. Seven Trumpets (4-1)
8. Millionaire Runner (30-1)  

Jerome Stakes Picks

• 1) #5 - Firenze Fire
• 2) #1 - Honor Up
• 3) #4 - Old Time Revival
• 4) #7 - Seven Trumpets

You can bet the Jerome Stakes and the entire schedule of Kentucky Derby qualifying races right up until Derby Day on the first Saturday of May with an account at any quality online racebook. 

Category : Betting Picks

Tag : BetOnline , Horse Racing