Haskell Invitational 2017
How to Watch the Haskell
The 50th annual running of the Haskell Invitational Stakes (G1) is set to kick off at
Monmouth Park in Oceanfront, New Jersey on Sunday, July 30.
The Haskell Invitational Stakes is one of four Road to the Breeders’ Cup World Championship qualifying races that will run during the July 29-30 weekend; the other three being the the Bing Crosby Stakes, the King George VI & Queen Elizabeth Stakes, and the Clement L. Hirsch Handicap. The winner of the Haskell will automatically earn an entry into this year’s Breeders’ Cup Classic.
The 2016 Haskell Invitational Stakes was won by Exaggerator, who defeated a field of five other top horses that included 2016 Kentucky Derby (G1) winner Nyquist. This year’s Haskell also looks to attract some of the top three-year-olds racing today, including McCracken, Belmont Stakes runner-up Irish War Cry, Practical Joke, and Battle of the Midway, who finished third in this year’s
Kentucky Derby.
If you’re excited to watch this year’s crop of Haskell contenders battle it out for a spot in the
Breeders’ Cup you can do so by tuning into NBC.
Their television coverage of the 50th annual Haskell Invitational will take place between 5-6 PM Eastern on Sunday, July 30. You will need to look up your local television listings for the exact channel number in your area.
Don’t worry if you’re a cord-cutter, as you have a few options to watch the Haskell. If you own a streaming device such as a Roku or Apple TV all you have to do is download the NBC Sports app and you will be able to livestream the race. You can also view it on your computer via the
NBC Sports Live website. The NBC Sports app is available in the Apple App Store, Google Play, the Windows Store, Amazon Fire TV, and Chromecast.
As always, the races are available for free, LIVE on TwinSpires.
The Haskell Invitational Contenders
| PP |
Horse Name |
Trainer |
Jockey |
ML Odds |
| 1 |
Irish War Cry |
Graham Motion |
Rajiv Maragh |
5-2 |
| 2 |
Battle of Midway |
Jerry Hollendorfer |
Flavien Prat |
5-1 |
| 3 |
Timeline |
Chad Brown |
Javier Castellano |
3-1 |
| 4 |
Practical Joke |
Chad Brown |
Joel Rosario |
4-1 |
| 5 |
McCraken |
Ian Wilkes |
Brian Hernandez |
9-2 |
| 6 |
Hence |
Steve Asmussen |
Paco Lopez |
12-1 |
| 7 |
Girvin |
Joe Sharp |
Robby Albarado |
6-1 |
Top-5 Bets in the Haskell Invitational
The 2017 Haskell Invitational will once again be the highlight of Monmouth Park’s summer meet, and feature some of the best three-year-old colts challenging each other over a distance of 1 1/8th miles. This race has featured some of the best horse’s of their grade winning including Exaggerator, American Pharoah and Bayern in the last three years. Those last two went on to win the Breeders’ Cup Classic the same year they scored in the Haskell. So whomever wins the 2017 renewal is sure to gain some much needed momentum heading in to the world championships.
You won’t the be the only one laying something on the line in the 2017 Haskell either. This is a part of the Breeders’ Cup “Win and You’re In” series, meaning that whomever wins at Monmouth’s marquee race will book a berth in to the 2017 Breeders’ Cup Classic. Here’s a look at the top-five horses to bet on.
5) Irish War Cry – Graham Motion’s Irish War Cry is coming off a surprisingly strong performance in the 2017 Belmont Stakes, where he finished second behind Tapwrit. Despite a strong pedigree and great training, the difficulty in assessing Irish War Cry is in regards to his consistency. A 10th place finish in the Kentucky Derby and a 7th place end in the Fountain of Youth Stakes muddy his win in the Wood Memorial and Holy Bull, along with his strong performance in the final leg of the Triple Crown. If the good Irish War Cry shows up, he can win handedly. If the bad one shows up, then you’re looking at an out-of-money finisher.
4) Girvin – As one of the top contenders in the 2017 Haskell Invitational, Girvin deserves some attention. He is coming off a runner-up finish in the Ohio Derby where he fell well behind Irap. Prior to that, he had a brutally tough run in the Kentucky Derby where he dropped to 13th. It’s hard to ignore his recent results. Girvin’s potential is always going to be there, but most racing fans don’t rate him as highly as the oddsmakers will.
3) Practical Joke – With a win in the 2017 Dwyer fresh in everyone’s minds, Practical Joke will be near the top of the betting board when the 2017 Haskell Invitational kicks off. That’s not unfounded, but there are some concerns. Namely, we’re not sure if Practical Joke is entirely above the rest of his classmates in the three-year-old age grade. His 5th place finish in the Kentucky Derby was preceded by two runner-up finishes in the Blue Grass Stakes and the Fountain of Youth. In other words, we know that he’s good, it’s just hard to believe that he’s truly next level.
2) Battle of Midday – You are looking at one of the sneakier plays in the 2017 Haskell Invitational. Battle of Midway has had an unheralded start to his racing career, but those that are in the know have taken notice. He finished 2nd in the Santa Anita Derby prior to finishing a respectable 3rd in the Kentucky Derby. Since then, he has broken through in a stakes race by taking the Affirmed in late June. That victory was a simple gallop for Battle of Midday, who finally proved that his talent is worth backing. Many will be looking at this son of Smart Strike for the win in the 2017 Haskell Invitational.
1) Timeline – Timeline is the biggest mystery in the 2017 Haskell Invitational. Trained by Chad Brown, this undefeated son of Hard Spun has certainly proven himself worthy of consideration. At 4-0-0 with wins in both the 2017 Pegasus Stakes and the 2017 Peter Pan, Timeline could be the next breakthrough talent. We frankly see it every summer, when a non-Triple Crown colt emerges in the thick of the season. It’s easy to get excited about Timeline given the rest of the field. He’s the great unknown, and could very well be a stock worth jumping on early. The uncertainty around him means that he’ll offer great value on the board so he’s going to be the strongest play next to Battle of Midday.
More on the Haskell:
How to Bet, the Haskell Invitational Podcast
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