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By J. Keeler Johnson (''Keelerman'') Twitter: @J_Keelerman The $500,000 Stephen Foster Handicap (gr. I) would be a great race no matter when it's run, but coming one week after the Belmont Stakes and the end of the Triple Crown, the Stephen Foster serves as the unofficial start of the second half of the racing season and marks the beginning ...

To continue the lyrics from Rodgers and Hammerstein’s “A wonderful Guy” from South Pacific: “I expect everyone of my crowd to make fun Of my proud protestations of faith in romance, Loudly I'll sing about flowers in spring, Flatly I'll stand on my little flat feet and say Love is a grand and a beautiful thing! I'm not ashamed to ...

On a day when one wondered if the Longines finish line clock would begin flashing like the radar-equipped highway signs that blink when they detect a speeder, fast horses delivered swift performances on Belmont Park’s grandest card of racing.Those speedy efforts came before Creator rallied in the stretch June 11 to catch Destin for a narrow ...

No one knows how long the 2016 Triple Crown will remain in the public’s memory banks, but for now at least it should be remembered for its eccentricities, following one of the most memorable and emotional Triple Crowns in history. With the Belmont Stakes still fresh in everyone’s mind, let’s start with the closing act and its unconventional story ...

With the connections of American Pharoah participating in a questions and answers Thursday in celebration of the one-year anniversary of their Triple Crown triumph, I thought it was a good time to post some images of that memorable day and the days leading up to it, as well as one personal shot from the Preakness. Jill Baffert photographed yours ...

By J. Keeler Johnson (''Keelerman'') Twitter: @J_Keelerman The Belmont Stakes is a race that is either predictable or inscrutable-it often seems like there's no in between. When you handicap it correctly, it seems like everything comes together and you nail the trifecta. When you handicap it incorrectly, you can be surprised by not only the ...

Judging from everything I’ve seen over the last several months, I was all prepared to go out on a limb and say that Exaggerator was a horse who could not only win the Belmont Stakes but win in dominating fashion, in much the same way that Point Given, Risen Star, Easy Goer, and Bet Twice won their Belmonts. He demonstrated in the Santa Anita ...

You can’t say the wheels at WinStar aren’t always turning. Approaching the Belmont Stakes, they were cooking up an enticing stew, with all the basic ingredients. They had the Arkansas Derby winner Creator, who they own outright, and the Preakness winner and early favorite Exaggerator, whose breeding rights they have purchased. But there was only ...

It’s Saturday night and the extended family is gathered in the living room for a night of entertainment in front of the television—a scene played out in millions of homes across the country.On this Saturday night the extended family is gathered in the living room for a night of entertainment with the television tuned to TVG—a scene played out in ...

It was 40 years ago, June 7, 1976 to be exact, that I attended my first Epsom Derby. That is the follies part of this column. The following year I returned to England for Royal Ascot, and then in 1978, I went all-in and attended both the Derby and Royal Ascot. A few months later I met my wife-to-be and thus ended my annual racing sojourns to ...