posted June 2, 2008 at 17:06 in Triple Crown Betting Trends

Similar to the way Bill Belichick allegedly utilized players on the injured reserve at his own discretion; hard-working horse betting fans can look to the vet list at their local track to discover clues about some runners that may not exactly be 100%.

Granted, this is a slippery slope as horses, like people, can feel bad one day and great the next but combined with the power of the past performance and where horses have been pointed to, those that look at the vet list will get clues to future winners.

At Hollywood Park, bettors can find the vet list on the track’s web site and is should be utilized. Just a cursory glance of the runners involved will be able to identify horses that bettors should stay away from in the near future or at least be very careful with them if they are on a ticket.

Gary Mandella, the son of Hall of Fame trainer Richard Mandella, recently acquired a runner named Annual Statement but this filly should be played very carefully if at all.

She had been on vacation for the entire 2007 season and in her only start in 2006, she ran okay but was still well beaten in a cheap maiden claimer.

Put on turf for her first start of 2008 at Bay Meadows, the filly was slow early and passed tired horses at 7-1 to run second.

She evidently bled through the Lasix she was using that day and that is a major concern for bettors no matter when and where the filly shows.

A logical spot for her would be a maiden $25K claimer at Hollywood, but horse bettors should make sure they get value before taking a shot at a bad bleeder.

On the other side of the ledger, the vet list has identified a possible future play in Bermuda Winner. Trainer by the very capable Molly Pearson, the runner graduated at Turf Paradise showing good speed and was troubled in his last race there in April.

After that race, the runner was gelded, the ultimate equipment change, and there is a strong reason to believe the horse will run the race of his life next time.

He has posted 2 solid Hollypark drills in May and will be dangerous if he shows up in a $12.5 or $16,000 claimer.

Celebration, a filly trained by Brian Koriner, a good guy with young horses, must be followed. She had two excuses for her seasonal debut when on the wrong surface while overmatched but she had a setback mid month and came down with a sickness.

The miss showed signs of getting better with a decent workout on May 24 and if she gets one more solid work under her belt, she just may be able to wire a field of $40K starter foes on turf.

Her best asset may be the fact that she has speed but doesn’t absolutely need the lead to win. If this miss catches a race with limited speed, she’ll be double dangerous.

Cagey horse bettors should put the vet list on the short list of things to check before teeing it up.

Check the BetUS Locker Room for the latest info on Horse Racing, Big Brown the Triple Crown, Full Track Odds, Past Triple Crown Winners, and the 2008 Belmont Stakes