McLean’s Selections Hit Home Runs on Holiday Meet Opener at Turfway Park

(Stats for 2025 are completely updated through last night’s races)

I’ll be the first to tell you that I am not the best handicapper in the world when it comes to All-Weather surfaces. I don’t know what it is, really or actually. I’ve tried various versions of my “system,” and nothing truly has worked.

And, to support those statements and sentiments, are my statistics. Which I publish every single day for your review.

In the 2025 “Winter Meet” — which ran from January through much of March, of this year — I had the second worst set of stats of any meet that I covered for the past 11+ months. The only meet where I performed more poorly? Keeneland. Which, I’ll be honest, I detest to handicap, for several reasons.

In the winter/spring, I hit just 90 of 338 races, for a paltry win rate of 26.63%. My top pick for Turfway’s winter meet hit the board just 53% of the time. I did better than that at Keeneland. Ugh. And, my “Key Play of the Day” — which has been truly outstanding this year — hit only 45.71% of the time during the winter. That is nearly 10 full percentage points less than my overall total for the year.

So, see? The numbers reflect my inabilities at Turfway Park.

Until last night — Opening Night of the 2025 Holiday Meet.

Over 9 races, I picked 4 winners. And, despite my critics who think and opine that I only select favorites, I nailed the last two races of the night. The winner of the 8th race — Bundchen — paid a whopping $36.52 for each $2 wagered across the board. The winner of the 9th race — Payrula — returned $25.12 for each $2 wagered across the board.

If you had more than the minimum? Well, you finished up the night with more money to line those wintry pockets than you started with, I’m sure of it.

Here’s hoping that we can continue this new found success at Turfway Park. I love the new place that Churchill Downs has created in Northern Kentucky. Just wish I could do better there.

Here’s hoping.