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By J. Keeler Johnson (''Keelerman'') Twitter: @J_Keelerman Sunday's $100,000 Bob Hope S. (G3) at Del Mar isn't a Road to the Kentucky Derby qualifier, and records show it hasn't produced a Kentucky Derby winner since Gato Del Sol in 1982. But there's a first time for everything, and the Bob Hope—a seven-furlong dash for juveniles—has seen ...

By J. Keeler Johnson (''Keelerman'') Twitter: @J_Keelerman Every year, in the days or weeks following the Breeders' Cup, I like to dig into the juvenile racing scene and highlight up-and-coming Kentucky Derby (G1) and Triple Crown contenders who haven't entered the spotlight yet. Not all of them pan out, but past juveniles featured on ...

By J. Keeler Johnson (''Keelerman'') Twitter: @J_Keelerman Get ready, racing fans! The 2022 Breeders' Cup is set to take place Nov. 4-5 at Keeneland, and the 14 championship races have drawn stellar fields across the board. What are we waiting for? Let's dive in and handicap the fields: Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint Top Selection: ...

By J. Keeler Johnson (''Keelerman'') Twitter: @J_Keelerman Pre-entries for the 2022 Breeders' Cup were released in Wednesday, which means it's time for handicappers to dive deep into the past performances in search of winning horses for the Nov. 4-5 championships at Keeneland. It's too early to settle on specific wagers since final entries ...

By J. Keeler Johnson (''Keelerman'') Twitter: @J_Keelerman It's a given that fillies and mares will win at least five of the 14 races at the 2022 Breeders' Cup. After all, five of the races are restricted to fillies and mares. But it's not uncommon to see fillies and mares conquer males in the open Breeders' Cup races. History is filled ...

By J. Keeler Johnson (''Keelerman'') Twitter: @J_Keelerman The feature race on the second weekend of the Keeneland fall meet is Saturday's renewal of the $600,000 Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup (G1), a 1 1/8-mile turf test that annually draws some of the best three-year-old grass fillies in the country. Certainly the 2022 edition has ...

By J. Keeler Johnson (''Keelerman'') Twitter: @J_Keelerman An epic Saturday of racing across North American includes a pair of Road to the Kentucky Derby qualifiers at Keeneland and Santa Anita. What are we waiting for? Let's dive in and explore the entries: Breeders' Futurity (G1) at Keeneland There are so many directions to go in ...

By J. Keeler Johnson (''Keelerman'') Twitter: @J_Keelerman The $500,000 Champagne S. (G1) at Belmont at the Big A is a fascinating race from a historical perspective. The one-mile event has long ranked among the nation's most prestigious prizes for juveniles, and through the years it's produced 23 Kentucky Derby winners. Triple Crown ...

By J. Keeler Johnson (''Keelerman'') Twitter: @J_Keelerman The $1 million Pennsylvania Derby (G1) at Parx Racing has been drawing strong fields for years, and its rise to Grade 1 status has only strengthened its position as a key Breeders' Cup Classic (G1) prep for elite members of the three-year-old division. Saturday's renewal of the ...

By J. Keeler Johnson (''Keelerman'') Twitter: @J_Keelerman How time flies! It's hard to believe, but the 2022-23 Road to the Kentucky Derby is about to begin. The first official stop on the Kentucky Derby (G1) trail is Saturday's $300,000 Iroquois S. (G3) on opening day of the Churchill Downs September meet. Inaugurated 1982, the Iroquois ...