the cage compared to the Brazilian who hasnt fought since March of last year. Watson

One of the best things about horse racing is that there is really no downtime on the calendar. If any month qualifies as a breather, even in part, though, its December ? but, like I said, thats only in part.Theres much racing action to be found as the winter solstice nears, even as the major jurisdictions take a moment to reset in advance of the Triple Crown season early next year. The options for gift giving to fellow fans and for charitable giving to the Thoroughbred industry are plentiful. And for those dedicated to the sport and its stars, the holiday season is prime time for engaging in rhetorical combat when lobbying for your favorite horse to receive an Eclipse Award.So without further adieu, here are six ways to satisfy your horse racing jones while juggling all of your other holiday duties:1. Who Deserves the Hardware? As per usual, the Breeders Cup World Championships largely settled some categories for year-end Eclipse Awards, but left other ones wide open. This year, it all comes down to a very intriguing debate over the Horse of the Year, to be bestowed Jan. 21 -- who deserves it more, California Chrome or Arrogate? Both have substantial credentials, and making the case for one over the other basically comes down to what criteria a supporter values most. Speed figures? Quality of opponents? Consistency throughout the year? Or head-to-head competition?Other categories are competitive as well (Tepin vs. Lady Eli, anyone?), but the choice between Chrome and Arrogate for Horse of the Year will consume much of the fan chatter before the Eclipse finalists are announced in early January, and deservedly so. Getting off the fence and picking a side is mandatory, even if both of these superior athletes deserve every last scintilla of respect for their amazing 2016 campaigns.2. Become an Inner-track Poly-math. Cold weather dictates a different sort of mindset for anyone living above the Mason-Dixon line, in all aspects of daily activity, but certainly with regard to attending live Thoroughbred racing. In New York and Kentucky, the winter months bring a serious downshift in prestige races, with the exception of a couple of Kentucky Derby preps at Aqueduct.But that doesnt mean those enamored with the sights, sounds, thrills and (in this case literal) chills of the live racing experience have to go cold turkey. Getting a fix just requires a bit of attitude and handicapping adjustment and an extra layer or two of clothing.In Queens, the Big A transitions from its fall meet to winter meet in December, and racing moves to its winterized inner dirt track designed to mitigate the effects of harsh New York weather. The track has also upgraded some facilities in recent years following the opening of the Resorts World Casino on the premises in 2011.In Kentucky, the action heads north to Turfway Park in Florence, near Cincinnati. Turfway was one of the first racetracks in North America to adopt the artificial Polytrack racing surface in the mid-2000s. No longer en vogue as a potential surface for horse racings major tracks, Polytrack is still a good option for winter venues, and it has enabled Turfway to curb weather-related cancelations. The track has also helped itself in recent years by scheduling more evening racecards, and patrons attending on Friday evenings may be surprised by the robust crowds, especially during December.3. Or, Go West! (and South!) On the other hand, maybe the best cure for horse racings winter blues is to simply seek out warmer climes, even if only viewed longingly on a screen. To that end, two of the sports iconic racetracks pick back up in December, one early, the other right after Christmas. Gulfstream Park starts first in south Florida, beginning its signature Championship meet this weekend with the Claiming Crown. That popular mini-festival brings together horses who are the backbone of the industry for a momentary stance in the spotlight. Then, in the following weeks, Gulfstream segues into top-class competition when many of the leading owners, trainers, and jockeys from the New York circuit come down to Hallandale Beach for a long stay.After a memorable Breeders Cup and a roughly two-month respite, Santa Anita Park re-opens on Dec. 26 with its traditional stakes card highlighted by the Grade 1 La Brea and Malibu Stakes. These two meets will, along with Oaklawn Park, Fair Grounds, Tampa Bay Downs and Aqueduct, garner the bulk of racing fans excited attention as the Road to the Triple Crown unwinds and spring beckons.One significant change in 2017, however, has added a substantial amount of buzz to the early winter calendar: the inaugural Jan. 28 Pegasus World Cup Invitational at Gulfstream. Anticipation for this $12 million race is sure to percolate all throughout the holiday season, especially if reports continue to point to a possible California Chrome and Arrogate rematch.4. Analyze the Futures Market. Churchill Downs just closed their first Kentucky Derby Future Wager pool, featuring 22 individual horses and an all others pool, but why stop there? Las Vegas offers horseplayers the chance to dig deep for a Derby diamond in the rough via future bets offered by bookmakers such as The Wynn Las Vegas and William Hill.As of late November, Wynn offers far more wagering choices, and William Hill has generally better odds on the more accomplished 2-year-olds to date (recent Kentucky Jockey Club winner McCraken, for example, is booked at 10-1 by Wynn and 14-1 by William Hill, and closed at 12-1 in the first Churchill future pool). The real challenge, and fun, though, lies in selecting and backing a horse who has done relatively little other than show some small glimpse of classic potential that only you can detect. The only Road to the Kentucky Derby points prep race in December is the Dec. 10 Los Alamitos CashCall Futurity, but quality maiden races and allowance races will commence in earnest at the tracks mentioned above, providing many opportunities to spot a rising star.December is the perfect time to channel Nostradamus and lock down 150-1 or better on a pedigree play or visually impressive maiden winner that you just know is bound for a drapery of May roses, but rest assured that the Vegas futures will still offer value to the judicious bettors well into spring, until the Derby points accumulate and eliminate all but 25 or so horses.5. All Eyes East to the Fragrant Harbor. The Breeders Cup World Championships may have tied the bow on big events here in the U.S., but there is another major racing festival remaining on the calendar this year, half a world away, and its one not to miss. TVG will provide coverage of the Longines Hong Kong International Racing Festival at Sha Tin Racecourse on Dec. 11, which features four international Group 1 turf events.Hong Kong racing fans are fervent in their passion for the sport and for gambling, and these races annually attract many of the best grass horses in the Eastern Hemisphere along with a few from the U.S. and Europe. As of Nov. 29, two Breeders Cup horses are scheduled to participate: Longines Turf winner Highland Reel and Turf Sprint third-place finisher Pure Sensation. Highland Reel will attempt to land a repeat win in the Longines Hong Kong Vase for trainer Aidan OBrien.6. Harness It. If all else fails, theres something to be said for spending a little time, attention, and money on one of the Northeast or Midwest Standardbred tracks running during December. Perhaps its just my own personal experience leading to bias, but the spectacle of trotters/pacers and their drivers barreling their way through one of those tight-turn tracks like Northfield Park in Ohio or Flamboro Downs in Ontario in the midst of a steady evening blizzard evokes wintertime racing at its most comfortable and familiar.The Standardbred winter circuit took a blow when Chicago tracks Balmoral Park and Maywood Park closed a couple of years ago, but Northfield, Flamboro, Woodbine, Yonkers, Dover Downs, the Meadows, and arguably harness racings best track, the Meadowlands, are all running through the end of December.For more stories like this check out Americas Best Racing. Cheap MLB Jerseys Authentic .com) - The Edmonton Oilers and Vancouver Canucks both take aim at their first wins of the season on Saturday, as the Canucks open their home slate at Rogers Arena. Cheap Marlins Jerseys China . Goals from Jerome Boateng, Franck Ribery and Thomas Mueller extended Bayerns unbeaten run to a record 37 matches. "This record is incredible," Bayern coach Pep Guardiola said. http://www.cheapmarlinsjerseys.com/ .Y. - Rob Manfred was promoted Monday to Major League Baseballs chief operating officer, which may make him a candidate to succeed Bud Selig as commissioner. Cheap Andre Dawson Jersey . Pedro scored from a pass by Lionel Messi in the 33rd minute and added two more goals in the 47th and 72nd after Valdes saved his second penalty in four days following his stop in Wednesdays 4-0 over Ajax in the Champions League. Wholesale Marlins Jerseys . Detroit and Boston are deadlocked, 1-1, and Tigers manager Jim Leyland could be forgiven if he was caught rationalizing instead of dissecting how his club could blow a 5-1 lead late in Game 2.Injuries to Anthony Pettis and Josh Koscheck (which also resulted in Demian Maia being pulled from the card) have made the UFCs fourth trip to Brazil this year a very lackluster one. Speaking of Pettis, Jordan is doing his best impression of the former WEC champ and staying off the UFC 163 predictions as Im riding solo once again. As always you can hit me up on twitter @LynchOnSports if you “Agree” or “Disagree” with my picks or leave your opinions in the comments section below. Jose Aldo vs Chang Sung Jung (Featherweight title fight) James Lynch, TSN.ca (@LynchOnSports): The UFC featherweight champion looks to remain undefeated inside the octagon as he squares off with the entertaining "Korean Zombie" on Saturday night. Original title challenger Anthony "Showtime" Pettis bowed out due to injury earlier this month, giving way to the 26-year old having this opportunity of a lifetime. Many pundits were critical of the decision to put Jung in the title fight, but clearly his exciting style and his international fan base aided in UFC matchmaker Joe Silvas decision to book this match up. Stylistically this should be an exciting match up, with both fighters known for their exceptional standup skills while also being well versed on the mat. Physically Jung holds a slight height and reach advantage, but the question is can he utilize that against the very speedy Nova Unio product. No doubt Jung will also have to be aware of Aldos powerful leg kicks, something previous opponents Frankie Edgar and Urijah Faber had trouble with. The other issue is his time on the sidelines; generally fighters enduring long layoffs in between fights dont perform well. Consider if the fight heads into the championship rounds, will the Taekwondo black belt have the cardio to keep up? I dont see it happening. Aldo should have every advantage in this fight and this should be his fight to lose. I see the Brazilian Jiu-jitsu black belt finding his range in the second, and knocking out the Korean Zombie. Aldo via second round knockout Lyoto Machida vs. Phil Davis This matchup is a bit of a head scratcher in terms of the landscape of the 205-pound division. Since losing to Jon Jones at the end of 2011, the Machida has taken out two top light heavyweight contenders in Ryan Bader and Dan Henderson (a close decision, but he still won). Instead of a title shot, the Brazilian fights Davis which is a considerable step down. The 28-year-old Davis has one edge in this fight and thats his wrestling, being a former NCAA Division I wrestler at Penn State. The Blackhouse member however proved that he can neutralize takedowns against top wrestlers, in his wins over Bader and Henderson. Bottom line, this is Machidas fight to lose and while I dont think he will finish the Allliance MMA fighter, hell certainly out strike Davis on route to a unanimous decision victory.dddddddddddd Machida via unanimous decision Cezar Ferreira vs. Thiago Santos Unless you had the patience to watch the entire two seasons of TUF Brazil on Youtube with subtitles, dont worry if youre scratching your head as to who either of these fighters are. Ferreira won the first season of TUF Brazil in the middleweight tournament and has trained mainly with UFC middleweight standout Vitor Belfort. Fellow Brazilian Santos participated on the second season of TUF Brazil, losing to finalist William Macario in the elimination rounds. Ferreria clearly is the more well rounded fighter and considering Santos is moving up in weight to take this fight on short notice, the edge has to go to the 28-year-old Brazilian jiu-jitsu blackbelt. I see the Ultimate Fighter winner landing more strikes over three rounds and having his hand raised at the end. Ferreira via unanimous decision Thales Leites vs. Tom Watson Four years is a long time, but the wait is finally over for former UFC middleweight title challenger Leites who returns to the octagon to face off with former BAMMA middleweight champ Watson. Winning six of his last seven fights has earned the 31-year old Brazilian his UFC homecoming and no doubt hell be looking to put on a show in front of his home country. The English fighter Watson meanwhile bounced back from a split decision loss to Brad Tavares in his UFC debut, knocking out Stanislav Nedkov back in February. This is a classic matchup between standup fighter and grappler, with Leites having 13 submission victories in 20 fights. While no doubt this should be a competitive matchup, a slight edge has to be given to Watson who has been very active inside the cage compared to the Brazilian who hasnt fought since March of last year. Watson should be able to keep this fight standing and out point the Brazilian Jiu-jitsu black belt over three rounds. Watson via unanimous decision John Lineker vs. Jose Tome With flyweight champ Demetrious Johnson dispatching yet another title challenger this past weekend at UFC on FOX 8, this matchup between a pair of fellow countrymen could produce the next contender in the 125-pound division. Despite Tomes stellar 33-3 record, I see the former Jungle Fight bantamweight champ using his superior striking and speed over three rounds to stop his foe sometime in the third round for his fourth straight victory. Lineker via third round TKO Undercard Picks: Maglahes, Nunes, Moares, McCall, Yahya, Oliveira, Andrade Also be sure to tune into the “Weigh-In” on TSN Radio 1290 Winnipeg every Saturday as myself (@LynchOnSports) and Jordan Cieciwa (@FitCityJordan) go toe to toe in discussing the hottest topics in Mixed Martial Arts. ' ' '