For the ninth year in a row, America’s Best Racing is challenging some of the brightest minds in horse betting to come up with their top three picks for key races every weekend leading up to the 2025 Triple Crown and then continuing through the 2025 Breeders’ Cup World Championships. The handicappers face off in what we like to call the “Big-Race Showdown.”

The players’ picks will be posted here and a running bankroll will be kept to track their success all year long. Bankrolls will be tabulated on the basis of $2 exacta and $2 trifecta box bets of each player’s top three selections. We will also be keeping track of which player correctly selects the most winners. In the 2024 Big-Race Showdown, Roberto Rodriguez selected the most winners and highest percentage with 19 winners from 51 contest races for a 37.3% strike rate. Edison Hatter finished second with 18 winners selected from 51 contest races. Darwin Vizcaya led all players by exacta earnings with $641.82 and also by trifecta earnings with $1,131.08. Hatter was a close second in the race for most exacta bet earnings wih $577.60, while John Piassek finished a distant second in trifecta earnings with $595.90.

Your players for the 2025 Big Race Showdown season are Edison Hatter (In The Money Media Podcast Host & Track Announcer), Thomas Kearney (Track Announcer, Shenandoah Downs), Ashley Mailloux (freelance racing analyst), Jessica Paquette (Racecaller for Parx Racing, Thoroughbred Retirement Foundation), John Piassek (Assistant Racing Secretary, Yonkers Raceway),  Roberto Rodriguez (El Potro Roberto, DRF en Espanol), Mike Somich (VSiN Host; The Magic Mike Show – The Racing Dudes), Darwin Vizcaya (Handicapper and Host), Rowan Ward (Chartcaller at Hawthorne Race Track and a Freelance writer), and Alexa Zepp (Handicapper, DRF). Roberto Rodriguez leads all experts with 18 winners from 48 contest races year-to-date, with Edison Hatter next with 17 wins. Darwin Vizcaya owns the best exacta total with $634.02, more than $100 better than Hatter’s total of $510.20. Vizcaya also has, by far, the highest total the trifecta category with $1,112.48; John Piassek is a distant second at $577.30.

This week’s Big-Race Showdown races are: the $300,000 Gotham Stakes at Aqueduct, the $415,000 Coolmore Fountain of Youth Stakes at Gulfstream Park, and the $300,000 DK Horse San Felipe Stakes at Santa Anita Park. All three races are on Saturday, March 1, and award qualifying points for the 2025 Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve on a 50-25-15-10-5 scale.

The Fountain of Youth Stakes and San Felipe Stakes will be broadcast live on CNBC as part of NBC Sports’ 1/ST Racing Tour Presented by MyRacehorse Road to the Kentucky Derby series, airing from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. ET. The show will also be streamed on Peacock. FanDuel TV will also show the Fountain of Youth and San Felipe along with additional races on two big race days at Gulfstream Park and Santa Anita Park, including the Santa Anita Handicap Presented by Yamaava’ Resort & Casino. The Gotham along with other races from Aqueduct as well as Oaklawn Park and Tampa Bay Downs will be broadcast on “America’s Day at the Races.” on FS2.