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By J. Keeler Johnson (''Keelerman'') Twitter: @J_Keelerman No fewer than 10 Grade 1 races are taking place in North America this weekend, four weeks before the Breeders' Cup. Some of the best horses in training are slated to compete, and the race I'm most excited to see is the $600,000 Breeders' Futurity (G1) on Saturday at Keeneland. The ...

By J. Keeler Johnson (''Keelerman'') Twitter: @J_Keelerman Many graded stakes come up with small fields and decisive favorites, but Saturday's $400,000 Woodward S. (G2) at ''Belmont at the Big A'' (Aqueduct) is an exception. Ten horses have turned out to contest the historic 1 1/8-mile race, and while there are plenty of talented names in ...

By J. Keeler Johnson (''Keelerman'') Twitter: @J_Keelerman Generally speaking, the $1 million Pennsylvania Derby (G1) at Parx Racing is a straightforward race to handicap. While longshots occasionally prevail, on the whole favorites perform to expectations and the results are predictable. Since the Pennsylvania Derby achieved Grade 1 ...

By J. Keeler Johnson (''Keelerman'') Twitter: @J_Keelerman Get ready! The 2023-24 Road to the Kentucky Derby gets underway this Saturday with the running of the $300,000 Iroquois S. (G3) at Churchill Downs. If it feels like we're standing on the precipice of something exciting, that's because we are. Next year marks the 150th running of ...

By J. Keeler Johnson (''Keelerman'') Twitter: @J_Keelerman Pretty much every year, or so it seems, the $1.7 million Kentucky Turf Cup (G2) at Kentucky Downs manages to defy expectations. Maybe it's the rich purse, which annually attracts a large and competitive field. Maybe it's the race conditions: 1 1/2 miles over an undulating ...

By J. Keeler Johnson (''Keelerman'') Twitter: @J_Keelerman Through the years, the $1 million Pacific Classic (G1) at Del Mar has been won by some of the best horses in racing. Just look at the last decade of winners: champions Shared Belief (2014), Beholder (2015), California Chrome (2016), Accelerate (2018), Maximum Security (2020), and ...

By J. Keeler Johnson (''Keelerman'') Twitter: @J_Keelerman Saturday's running of the $1.25 million Travers S. (G1) at Saratoga is one for the ages. The Kentucky Derby (G1), Preakness S. (G1), and Belmont S. (G1) winners are lining up against the reigning champion two-year-old male, with three other stakes winners (including a Grade 1 ...

By J. Keeler Johnson (''Keelerman'') Twitter: @J_Keelerman The $600,000 Alabama S. (G1) at Saratoga is often a predictable race. Seven of the last 10 editions have been won by favorites starting at odds of 1.75-1 or less. But once in a while, something unexpected happens. Like in 2018, when 9-1 longshot Eskimo Kisses launched a ...