2011 Haskell Invitational Odds & Post Positions

Written by Jake Thompson
Thursday, 28 July 2011 18:40

Horse racing odds are up after the draw for post positions took place today in the 2011 Haskell Invitational.

The 2011 Haskell Invitational from Monmouth Park is set to be run on July 31st, and we now know the post positions and morning line odds for the 8 horses in the starting lineup.  The 1 1/8 mile race on dirt has a 5:00 PM ET post time on the ABC channel, with some of the best 3-year-old horses in the game running for their portion of the $1,000,000 purse.  You’ll have to wait until Friday to hear our 2011 Haskell horse racing picks, but for now we’ll give our quick thoughts as well as information on the jockeys and how each horse did in the draw for post positions.

2011 Haskell Invitational Post Positions, Horses, Odds, Jockeys, and Thoughts

1 – Coil, 3/1 odds, Martin Garcia

Coil was our big surprise horse when we listed the probable Haskell entries yesterday, but the 3/1 odds on him don’t seem to indicate he was flying under the radar as much as we thought.  He has more potential than anyone in this field and should be right in the thick of things after a nice spot in the post positions draw.

2 – Joe Vann, 15/1 odds, Javier Castellano

The post position might allow Joe Vann to influence how this race unfolds, but it doesn’t mean that the worst horse in the 2011 Haskell field is going to pull the huge upset.  If a jockey of Javier Castellano’s caliber can’t get him better than 3rd in lesser races, I don’t think he’ll do much in this talented group of horses.

3 – Pants on Fire, 4/1 odds, Rosie Napravnick

Pants on Fire has won 2 of 3 career races with Napravnick on board and I’m hearing good things from Monmouth Park about how he’s looked in works recently.  He’s a good bet at 4/1 odds and I will most likely have him in my exotics.

4 – Concealed Identity, 12/1 odds, Christopher DeCarlo

Although he has the racing style to mix it up a bit, I just don’t think Concealed Identity can carry his speed with the other top horses in the Haskell this year.  He might be worth a flyer in a superfecta box, but I probably won’t use him.

5 – Shackleford, 5/2 odds, Jesus Castanon

It’s going to be tough to beat Shackleford at this distance because of his ability to carry speed.  He’ll likely try to wire the field and it will take a supreme effort from the other Haskell contenders to finish stronger than the 2011 Preakness winner.

6 – Ruler on Ice, 4/1 odds, Jose Valdivia, Jr

The horse racing odds are too low for me to take a shot on the 2011 Belmont Stakes winner here.  He’s done his best work on a sloppy track and the recent heat wave should ensure that Monmouth Park is as dry as ever at post time.

7 – J J’s Lucky Train, 20/1 odds, Pascacio Lopez

With the unexpectedly low odds on Coil, many are making J J’s Lucky Train the “wise guy” pick after he finished 2nd in the Woody Stephens last time out.  Lopez has had success on this horse previously but I just don’t think he will do much in the Haskell.

8 – Astrology, 9/2 odds, Mike Smith

This is the perfect distance for Astrology but I have my concerns about him being this far out after a bad draw for post positions.  He’ll need to deal with traffic early if he hopes to stalk the pace and it might be too much to overcome with so many other talented Haskell horses looking to do just the same.