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By J. Keeler Johnson (''Keelerman'') Twitter: @J_Keelerman One of the best races taking place over Independence Day weekend is the $750,000 Stephen Foster S. (G2) at Churchill Downs. The 1 1/8-mile race awards a ''Win and You're In'' berth to the Breeders' Cup Classic (G1), which isn't surprising since top-class horses like Black Tie ...

By J. Keeler Johnson (''Keelerman'') Twitter: @J_Keelerman One of my favorite races of early summer is the $500,000 Ohio Derby (G3) at Thistledown. As the first major stakes for three-year-olds taking place after the Triple Crown, the lucrative race typically attracts a competitive field dotted with Kentucky Derby (G1) and Preakness S. (G1) ...

By J. Keeler Johnson (''Keelerman'') Twitter: @J_Keelerman Saturday's $150,000 Pegasus S. at Monmouth Park might not have the purse and prestige of last week's $1.5 million Belmont S. (G1), but the 1 1/16-mile event has nevertheless attracted a quality field packed with promising horses. The Pegasus serves as a local steppingstone toward ...

By J. Keeler Johnson (''Keelerman'') Twitter: @J_Keelerman The 2022 Triple Crown winds down on Saturday with the 154th running of the historic $1.5 million Belmont S. (G1) at Belmont Park. Held over the testing distance of 1 1/2 miles, the Belmont has attracted a small but competitive field of eight horses for its 2022 edition. Four of the ...

By J. Keeler Johnson (''Keelerman'') Twitter: @J_Keelerman There's plenty of high-class racing taking place around the world this week. Stateside, the action is a bit quiet compared to last week's stakes-packed Memorial Day weekend, but that doesn't mean there aren't interesting races to review. We'll focus our attention on the Pennine ...

By J. Keeler Johnson (''Keelerman'') Twitter: @J_Keelerman Throughout the winter and spring, we've been handicapping major races for three-year-olds. The Kentucky Derby (G1)... the Preakness S. (G1)... the Santa Anita Derby (G1), Arkansas Derby (G1), Florida Derby (G1), and Blue Grass S. (G1).... We'll keep the trend going by focusing our ...

By J. Keeler Johnson (''Keelerman'') Twitter: @J_Keelerman Technically speaking, the 147th renewal of the $1.5 million Preakness S. (G1) at Pimlico is missing a pretty big name. Kentucky Derby (G1) hero Rich Strike has opted to skip the 1 3/16-mile second leg of the Triple Crown, leaving the Preakness without the star power it typically ...

By J. Keeler Johnson (''Keelerman'') Twitter: @J_Keelerman The weekend between the Kentucky Derby (G1) and the Preakness S. (G1) can be a quiet one in U.S. horse racing, but that won't be the case in 2022. Belmont Park has put together an impressive Saturday card featuring five graded stakes, giving us plenty of quality racing to ...

By J. Keeler Johnson (''Keelerman'') Twitter: @J_Keelerman A stellar field has been entered in the 148th running of the $3 million Kentucky Derby (G1) on Saturday at Churchill Downs. The historic 1 1/4-mile race has drawn 22 horses (including two also-eligibles), including 14 graded stakes winners and four Grade 1 winners. There are so many ...

By J. Keeler Johnson (''Keelerman'') Twitter: @J_Keelerman The Kentucky Derby (G1) is a race like no other, pitting 20 talented three-year-old Thoroughbreds against each other over a 1 1/4-mile distance they've never before tackled. A special race calls for special handicapping techniques, and Derby bettors annually analyze a wide variety ...