The Continental Mile is a one mile turf race for two-year-olds at Monmouth Park worth $65k. Last year’s winner Rustler Hustler hasn’t turned out to be much of a horse, but the 2011 field has great potential.

Wes Ward’s gelding Black Rhino (El Corredor x Foreign Aid by Danzig) looks to be the pacesetter. He was last seen setting the fractions for Overdriven in the Sanford Stakes before fading to be fourth beaten 7 ½ lengths. Before that he broke his maiden by 8 on the Churchill Downs turf course going five furlongs. Quite an emphatic win! Robby Albarado will ride and he figures to be tough to beat here after firing a :58 3/5 H work at Aqueduct on Wednesday.

Finale (Scat Daddy x Twinkle by Live One) will have plenty of support for trainer Todd Pletcher. He broke his maiden last out going six furlongs on the grass at Belmont and did so by 5 ¾ lengths under only hand urging from John Velazquez. Joe Bravo picks up the mount as Johnny V has several high quality mounts at Saratoga on Saturday. I have to view this as a negative, but in the end it shouldn’t keep you from betting the horse if you like him.

I will make my pick Team Valor International’s filly Visionaria (Byron x Fine Lady by Selkirk). She ships in after a win last out in Milan and owns a record of 2 wins from 3 lifetime starts. Graham Motion is doing very well all around at the moment and has had plenty of success bringing horses in from overseas. I’m hoping this lass can best the boys under his tutelage.  Jose Valdivia will be the pilot aboard the filly.

If you plan to bet the Continental Mile please check out our Horse Betting page for information on where to play. Also, consider checking out the virtual horse racing version of the event by visiting our Horse Racing Games page!

Davona Dale was a champion filly who raced for the storied Calumet Farm. The daughter of Best Turn won 11 of 18 starts. Her best victories came in the Kentucky Oaks, Coaching Club American Oaks, Acorn Stakes, and the Mother Goose Stakes. She was trained by John Veitch who also trained 1978 Travers Stakes winner Alydar. The Grade 2 Davona Dale Stakes is named in her honor. A solid field has gathered and any number of filles could take the top honors.

Bickersons is likely to be the favorite after freaking to a seven length victory in the Grade 2 Forward Gal Stakes last out. The daughter of Silver Deputy earned a 104 BRIS figure for that effort. She has performed well every time that Joe Bravo has has been in the irons. Conventional wisdom would suggests that she will regress in this spot. Her past performances show good efforts on the dirt, minus her debut over a sloppy track. She will be tough to take down if she runs back to her last race.

Dale Roman’s filly Sassy Image owns a win over the track and at this distance. She is riding a three race win streak. Two of those wins include the Grade 3 Pocahontas, and the Grade 2 Golden Rod. She has an adaptable running style. Jockey Robby Albarado should be able to lay fairly close if he chooses, or rally from the back of the pack. He might try to get first jump on the pacesetters before Bickersons is able to. I think this would be a smart decision.

Amen Hallelujah won the Grade 2 Santa Ynez in her last start, but got a tough break drawing the one hole in this race. Julien Leparoux will pick up the mount and he figures to try and take back in the early stages of the race. If she is able to come with one strong run for trainer Richard Dutrow and owner IEAH Stables she could find herself in the winners circle.

Christine Daae broke her maiden last out by 8 3/4 lengths for trainer Patrick Biancone. She is bred to run all day as a daughter of Giant’s Causeway and should do well at this distance of one mile. She sports a nice :59 2/5 B five furlong bullet. Corey Nakatani is in to ride from Oaklawn Park. The filly looks like quite a runner based off her last effort, but she will have to prove she can do it against winners.

Who do you like in the Davona Dale Stakes? Click here for information on how to get my horse racing picks and plays for this race and all the stakes action this weekend!

“Jersey” Joe Bravo is a multiple Grade I winning jockey. His best wins include victories aboard Lion Heart in the Haskell Invitational and a triumph in the Donn Handicap under Formal Gold. He is currently riding at Monmouth Park. I recently had the pleasure to ask him a few questions. Let’s take a look at what he had to say.

Gradedstakes.com: I’ve read that your first winner was aboard Daffy Doc at Calder Race Course. Do you remember anything about that horse or the race?

Joe Bravo: Yea, thank God I was on the best horse. I was in the middle of the track and had no clue until it was over! The horse was the real winner.

Gradedstakes.com: I saw a poll earlier this year that asked “Which jockey would you most like to see win a Kentucky Derby?”I picked you of course! Are there any prospects you can tell us about?

Joe Bravo: This is the best time of the whole year and we are all shopping for our best shot at winning the Kentucky Derby. So many horses are growing into themselves, it’s hard to tell.

Gradedstakes.com: Your father and grandfather were both jockeys. How has that benefited you?

Joe Bravo: The experience they have in the game and were able to pass on is priceless. In this game you learn something new each  and every day.

Gradedstakes.com: You’ve won quite a few big races. The 2004 Haskell Invitational sticks out for me. How did it feel to win that race and beat the heavy favorite Rock Hard Ten?

Joe Bravo: Winning the biggest race of the year at your home track? It doesn’t get any better!

Gradedstakes.com: Your Pennsylvania Derby win was excellent. Anak Nakal hadn’t been doing his best running, but he really responded to you. Was there anything specific that you did, or was he just ready to go?

Joe Bravo: It was wild in the post parade. He was giving me a sense that he had it all along and he just pulled me to the winners circle.

Gradedstakes.com: What race are you most proud of winning?

Joe Bravo: Well I’m going to have to say the Donn Handicap aboard Formal Gold, because it was my first Grade 1 win. Beating Skip Away was cool, because I worked him at least 20 times, but never rode him in a race. I was on top of the world after beating him!

Gradedstakes.com: Who are your favorite horses that you have ridden?

Joe Bravo: Wow that is tough, I’ve been riding for 21 years so there is a long list. Let’s find that Kentucky Derby winner and we can talk about him!

Gradedstakes.com: Which jockeys did you admire when you were younger?

Joe Bravo: When I was coming up, Pat Day and Angel Cordero were great. There are so many talented riders; you have to watch all of them.  Like I said earlier, you learn something new every day.

Gradedstakes.com: Your success at Monmouth has been phenomenal. How do you perform at such a high level year in and year out?

Joe Bravo: This game is similar to a snow ball effect. The owners want the hot jock, so the hard part is keeping people happy when you can’t ride their horse. On the other hand, the easy part is riding, because I love what I do and it doesn’t feel like a job to me.

Gradedstakes.com: Do you have any interesting or funny stories from the Jockeys Room, or otherwise?

Joe Bravo: What happens in there stays in there (laughs).

Gradedstakes.com: Do you have any stories from the poker tables?

Joe Bravo: I live for riding and playing poker. What poker player DOESN’T have some bad beat stories?! I love the game though.

Gradedstakes.com: What do you think of the show Jockeys?

Joe Bravo: It’s OK I guess. I think I would have done some things different, but that’s why I’m a jockey and not a producer (laughs).

Gradedstakes.com: What kind of advice would you give to an aspiring jockey?

Joe Bravo: My best advice would be to get an education. Your next race could always be your last. You had better love this game, because it’s not easy.

Gradedstakes.com: Are there any other thoughts that you would like to share with us?

Joe Bravo: I was born for this (laughs).