This year I’m pitting my (seemingly negligible) handicapping skills against my 2-year-old son, West. I’m sorry to say that the Watman Family Handicapping contest moves on to the next stage of the Triple Crown thoroughly embarrassed, without a ticket to cash among us. In years past, like when competing against gravity by throwing balls of paper with the runners’ names on them out a window and seeing which landed closest to an appropriate commemorative glass, I at least felt no conflict of emotion. Now, it being my own flesh and blood, I find myself ill at ease. I want him to win one. After all, fate should smile on young handicappers and those new to the sport. They should get a pass and cash a ticket so they can feel the thrill. How are we supposed to interest the next generation of handicappers? How are we to guarantee the sustainability of the sport? No one gets hooked on discouragement, right? That takes a special kind of sickness.

So we sat down together and talked about the horses. I tried very hard, but still his attention wavered. I have to warn those of you who would follow the handicapping advice of a 2-year-old that I’m not sure he really gave these decisions his all. Of course, I gave the last iteration my fullest attention, and you’ll note that I, like my son, am down $30.

He swears to me that he understands the question, and just yesterday I overheard him telling someone at the playground that he’d seen a horse, and that it ran very fast. So without further preamble, here are the boy’s picks:

West’s Picks

Win: Riley Tucker

Place: Big Brown (“Are you sure you want to eat chalk in the place pool?” “Eat chalk?” “No, don’t eat any chalk.”)

Show: Behindatthebar

Max’s Picks

Win: Big Brown — If he runs 11 1/2 lengths worse than he ran in Kentucky, he’ll be half a length ahead of these horses. It’s not a good way to make money, but neither can I say with confidence that I believe another horse might win this race.

Place: Hey Byrn — I am impressed that he stayed in the Florida Derby at all, and the bump he got gave him a legitimate excuse for the only race he’s entered this year that he didn’t win. His run in the Holy Bull, last time out, was a solid win.

Show: Tres Borrachos — He will own the lead early in the race, and if he can keep the pace down to something reasonable, he should be able to hold off the late attacks of this bunch. M.W.