Racing Dudes Fantasy League Official Rules and Draft Results

The results are in! The 5th Annual Dudes’ Triple Crown Fantasy League Draft is now complete, and for the first time ever, there are more than just two players. The first four years featured only Jared and I in the contest, but this year, we added four new teams:

• Award-winning Kentucky Derby writer Mike Spector (aka Saratoga Slim)
• Racing Dudes podcast theme song author/singer Ryan Stillman (with legendary handicapper Jon White as general manager)
• Racing Dudes content editor Curtis Kalleward (aka Magic)
• Dan Waite, who represents the fans

Let’s take a look at the official rules of the league, how the draft went down, and the official stables for all six players.

The Rules

Scoring:

Horses will earn points for finishing first, second, third, and starting a race. Below is the breakdown of how to earn points:

⁃ Kentucky Derby Prep Season Races and Japan/European Prep Races

Win: 20 points
Place: 10 points
Show: 5 points
Start in the race: 1 point

⁃ Kentucky Derby Championship Series

Win: 50 points
Place: 25 points
Show: 10 points
Start in the race: 5 points

⁃ Triple Crown Races

Win: 100 points
Place: 50 points
Show: 25 points
Start in the race: 10 points

A Triple Crown winner is worth an extra 1,000 point bonus!

Claiming Periods: There will be two chances to claim horses:

⁃ March 1st – The cost to claim each horse will be 20 points

⁃ NEW: April 26th – The cost to claim each horse will be 40 points

⁃ The team with the lowest point total at the first claiming period will get first selection on the claim. After that, the waiver order will remain the same for the second claiming period.

Trades:

⁃ Trades are now allowed! All trades must involve an equal amount of horses. All teams must always have five members at all times.

⁃ All trades must be approved by the commissioner in case of obvious shenanigans. Example: Slim bribes another player with money or other things to make a ridiculous trade.

Prizes: 

$50 buy-in; winner takes all. Also, the winner of the contest will get to pick the outfit that the last-place finisher must wear on Day 2 of the 2018 Breeders’ Cup at Churchill Downs. Example: If Magic wins and Jared finishes last, then Magic will make Jared (a Chiefs fan) wear this lovely item.

Draft Results

1. McKinzie
2. Good Magic
3. Bolt d’Oro
4. Solomini
5. Principe Guilherme
6. Catholic Boy
7. Nero
8. Instilled Regard
9. Greyvitos
10. Copper Bullet
11. Mendelssohn
12. Montauk
13. Untamed Domain
14. Marconi
15. Avery Island
16. Dak Attack
17. Noble Indy
18. Concur
19. Vino Rosso
20. Mourinho
21. Sporting Chance
22. Restoring Hope
23. Curlin’s Honor
24. Enticed
25. Mask
26. Vision
27. Navistar
28. Zulfikhar
29. Combatant
30. Hollywood Star

The Teams

Ryan Stillman and Jon White 

1. McKinzie
2. Montauk
3. Untamed Domain
4. Enticed
5. Mask

Ryan and Jon shocked the world by taking McKinzie with the first pick, but they have supreme confidence in the Bob Baffert-trained colt. The hopes of this team ride on this son of Street Sense. Montauk is a highly-regarded maiden breaker for the defending Kentucky Derby-winning trainer Todd Pletcher, as is Mask for trainer Chad Brown. How Untamed Domain likes the dirt will be key, as he could become the steal of the draft if he takes to it well.

Curtis “Magic” Kalleward

1. Good Magic
2. Mendelssohn
3. Marconi
4. Curlin’s Honor
5. Vision

He got who he wanted! Good Magic is his favorite horse, and for good reason, as he won the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile and they share the same name. Taking Mendelssohn in the second round was a big gamble, but he is regally bred to do big things. A trio of maiden breakers fill out his roster, but all three have tremendous upside. If they develop at the right time, then this team could become dangerous.

Mike “Saratoga Slim” Spector 

1. Bolt d’Oro
2. Copper Bullet
3. Avery Island
4. Restoring Hope
5. Navistar

Slim might have been the most thrilled member of the draft, as he was not expecting to get Bolt d’Oro at number three. He was also able to secure the Grade 2 Saratoga Special winner Copper Bullet, as well as the Grade 2 Remsen runner-up Avery Island. Perhaps the most intriguing member of his team is the highly-regarded Restoring Hope. He’s still a maiden, but Baffert is very high on this colt (as is Jon White).

Jared Welch 

1. Solomini
2. Greyvitos
3. Dak Attack
4. Sporting Chance
5. Zulfikhar

Nobody was surprised with his pick of Solomini, as Jared is Zayat Stables’ number-one fan. His first four choices are very solid, as they are all stakes winners. The key to his team will be how Dak Attack and Sporting Chance return off of the injuries that kept each out of the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile. If they come back running strongly, then this team is loaded. He also has a sneaky Baffert horse in Zulfikhar.

Aaron Halterman

1. Principe Guilherme
2. Instilled Regard
3. Noble Indy
4. Mourinho
5. Combatant

The defending champ will rely heavily on trainer Steve Asmussen’s Principe Guilherme and Combatant. Both horses have shown great promise in a short amount of time. Instilled Regard may have been the best horse in the Grade 1 Los Alamitos Futurity and is bred to get better as the distances get longer. The recent maiden-breaker Noble Indy is an intriguing Pletcher prospect.

Dan “The Fan Man” Waite

1. Catholic Boy
2. Nero
3. Concur
4. Vino Rosso
5. Hollywood Star

The Fan Man got sneaky after picking the talented Catholic Boy first. That was a slam-dunk pick, but then he got creative with maidens Nero and Concur. That strategy could blow up in his face, but he also picked up the highly-touted Vino Rosso from Pletcher’s barn; he could be something special. Hollywood Star rounds out his team, and he is sure to get plenty of chances to gain points with trainer Dale Romans calling the shots.

Check back each week as I will do scoring updates, power rankings, and analysis for each team!