The 4 must-watch horse races left in 2017

With the Breeders’ Cup over, you're not alone if suffering from a post-championships hangover. However, there are still plenty of solid races left this calendar year -- some that could continue to change Eclipse Awards votes, and others a nod to the 2018 Kentucky Derby trail.

Here are Dueling Down the Stretch’s races to watch:

1.) The Cigar Mile: Aqueduct’s big winter race contested over a flat mile, typically draws a quality field, and this year looks like more of the same. It was made official this week that Grade 1 winner Practical Joke, last seen finishing fourth in the Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile, will point here for his final career start.

Practical Joke is likely to be joined by Dirt Mile runner-up Sharp Azteca, beaten only by a 1/2 length when Battle of Midway closed to his outside at Del Mar. The race could also attract Jockey Club Gold Cup victor, Diversify, whose connections passed on a "Win and You're In" trip to the Breeders' Cup Classic. Should his connections choose the Cigar Mile, he's the front-runner to beat. 

2.) Remsen Stakes: Another at Aqueduct, this race features 2-year-olds just beginning their careers as compared to the Cigar Mile, often a year-end sendoff. Among its headliners will be Avery Island, highly regarded by trainer Kiaran McLaughlin after a win in Sunday's Grade 2 Nashua Stakes over the same surface. A son of Kentucky Derby winner Street Sense, out of the A.P. Indy mare Kinda Spicy, is bred to get better with age and distance, making him an interesting Kentucky Derby prospect.

It's also expected the Chad Brown-trained winner of Belmont's Futurity, Engage, will try two turns at some point. This is the logical spot.

3.) Los Alamitos Futurity: Speaking of impressive Derby prospect, it was this race a year ago when trainer Bob Baffert unleashed the monster we would come to know as Mastery. This year, Baffert will choose the same spot to test his latest sensation, McKinzie.

The son of Street Sense looked fantastic in his debut, drawing away to win by 5 1/2 lengths in an impressive time of 1:22.70 for the seven furlongs.

The race could also feature Run Away, who was all the rage earlier in the year when winning the Best Pal Stakes. However, after finishing third to Bolt d’Oro in the Del Mar Futurity, he fell out of favor. He was last seen in the listed Barretts Juvenile Stakes, where showed a new dimension by rating off the pace.

4.) Clark Handicap: This race for 3-year-olds and up last year served as a coming out party for Gun Runner, who scored his first Grade 1 victory in the Clark at Churchill Downs, a preview of what was to come for the eventual Breeders' Cup Classic winner.

This year's field looks to have quite an interesting mix, drawing an old veteran, a new and impressive 4-year-old, and a 3-year-old looking for redemption. The old veteran looking to steal the spotlight would be the Baffert trained Hoppertunity, who won this race in 2014.

In his quest to win a second Clark Handicap, he will have to face The Player, the new upstart coming off a dominating performance in Keeneland’s Grade 2 Fayette Stakes. Also expected is McCraken, who was undefeated this year until a dull third in the Blue Grass. Since then he’s had an inconsistent time of things, losing the Kentucky Derby before taking the Matt Winn Stakes under the Twin Spires. Now he is in the middle of a three-race skid, but he has always proven tough to handle when running at his home track.

Obviously, there are plenty of other Stakes to watch, such as the Malibu and La Brea, that will attract nice horses. Between these and those listed above, consider that Breeders' Cup hangover cured.