Let ’em Run Review of Oaklawn and Aqueduct
Well folks, we rang in the New Year with some solid results, including nailing the winner of The Smarty Jones at Oaklawn on Saturday. So this is how the rest of the races played out on Saturday.
Another example of @Let_em_Run
picking winners …check it out and tune in… @john_kostin @EJXD2 @CirincioneJr @bogey1967https://t.co/nKAxUhGHB6— Let ‘em Run!!! (@Let_em_Run) January 4, 2026
Oaklawn – Review of Saturday 1/3/2026
Race 7
The pace played out as predicted with #4 Two Dollar Eddie and #5 Nicholai going nose to nose when the gates opened, but #5 Nicholai was too strong and held on to the wire. Our pick #11 Rock Solid finished gamely to pick up 3rd place.
Race 8
#3 Render Judgement needed this race off a long layoff, as expected, when last seen in the 2025 Kentucky Derby, but our picks #6 Super Cruiser and #8 Dance Some Mo finished 1st and 2nd, a nice result.
Race 9
This was our home run, when we were all over the #6 Bourbon Bash, who went off at 10-1 and got his picture taken and paid a handsome $22.00 for the effort. He was also well touted in the Podcast on Saturday.
Race 10 – The Smarty Jones
We kept the momentum going here, as we loved the #7 Strategic Risk, as our top pick in this Derby Prep race. Trainer Mark Casse and jockey Javier Castellano are worth keeping an eye on with this runner, as we approach the 1st Saturday in May. The payoff for the win was $7.00.
Race 11
Our top pick, #1 Five o’ Somewhere was the speed of the speed in a race loaded with speed, but did not come running when the gates opened, and that had our 2nd choice, #11 Stiglets left to pick up the pieces, and hit the wire in 1st.
John and myself were all over this late P5 at Oaklawn, but just misfired in 1 pick in each race, and missed out on a $4390 P5 payout. If you used horses we both touted, you could have put together a winning ticket.
So the moral of the story is, stay tuned and remember, our opinions, plus your opinions, could be a winning combination!
Aqueduct
Race 3 – The Jerome Stakes
The field was narrowed down to 4 runners when the scratches came out, and we looked at this as a jockey race, and landed on the #1 Enforced Agenda. Unfortunately, when the gates opened, the horse never got the message, and the race for our pick was over from the start. The winner was the #3 My World who ran a nice race to pick up the victory, and 10 points for the 1st Saturday in May.
The Kentucky Derby Prep Races will begin to heat up, now that the New Year is upon us, and the point totals for the winners creep up as well (20 and above as the year progresses). Some notable preps to keep an eye on, The Holy Bull on 1/31/26, The Risen Star on 2/14/26, and The Fountain of Youth on 2/28/25, to name just a few.
Podcast Schedule and What’s Next
So tune in Friday at 3PM for our Happy Hour Podcast, when special guest John O’Hara will join host John Kostin for a Q.A. session. John O’Hara has a long connection in the horseracing industry, and currently is the Managing Partner of Four Leaf Clover Stable, LLC. Both will take a look at Race 9 at Fairgrounds, The Gary Palmisano Sr. Memorial Stakes, a 100K dirt sprint, with a competitive field of 10 runners.
We will then be back to break down the Late P5 at Gulfstream Park on our Saturday show at 12:30pm.
All Podcasts can be seen on multiple streaming apps and social channels. So in closing: Bet smart, cheer hard, fast horses equal serious fun and until next time, “Let ’em Run”.
