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By J. Keeler Johnson (''Keelerman'') Twitter: @J_Keelerman Handicapping races with odds-on favorites is never an easy task, especially when you're doing it a couple of days in advance. It's a careful balancing act that involves analyzing the merits of the favorite and debating whether they are vulnerable to being upset by a longshot... and ...

Seeing those familiar Juddmonte Stable silks flying way ahead of the others down the stretch in the Travers Stakes, and witnessing the sheer brilliance and dominance of the horse carrying those silks, all you had to do was replace the sandy loam of Saratoga Racetrack with the lush green grass of Europe’s finest racecourses and you might as well ...

Just as a good horse can come from anywhere, so too can good horsepeople. That was readily apparent Sept. 10 at the Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association’s 31st annual national awards dinner where breeders and owners of all shapes and sizes mingled under a tent at Stonestreet Farm near Lexington. Honored were some of racing’s titans: ...

The date September 30 is so ingrained in my mind I sometimes have to pause for a second so I don’t confuse it with the date of my wedding anniversary, which is September 28. (See the confessions I have to make for the sake of this column). I had already entered the portal into the world of Thoroughbred racing, but that was the day I broke through, ...

By J. Keeler Johnson (''Keelerman'') Twitter: @J_Keelerman The Del Mar and Saratoga meets might be behind us, but the great racing action of the summer continues on Saturday with a variety of intriguing stakes races, including the $400,000 Super Derby (gr. III) at Louisiana Downs, a race that has been won in the past by such famous horses as ...

If you look up Racing Times on Google, you will find only a single one-paragraph item on the racing newspaper being closed down after 10 months in existence. But what a 10 months it was following a full blown battle in which the new publication waged war on the powerful monopoly, Daily Racing Form, which had ruled the Sport of Kings since 1894 ...

Each week I write a column in BloodHorse Daily on the Breeders' Cup Challenge that typically includes table information relevant to the week. But because of room constraints, I do not run all race winners to date. Since I have that information--and plenty of room on this blog--I figured I'd post it. Breeders’ Cup Challenge winners, ...

It is a place where locals still line up at springs around town, dipping jugs of water under spigots to gather liquid they believe delivers beneficial minerals. It is not just Saratoga’s water, though, that heals whatever might ail you. A summer’s visit to the idyllic town in upstate New York can drain many of life’s pressures from humans and ...

What do the following horses have in common? Secretariat, Forego, Kelso, Dr. Fager, Damascus, Buckpasser, Affirmed, Alydar, Seattle Slew, Spectacular Bid, Alysheba, Cigar, Easy Goer, John Henry, Arts and Letters, Riva Ridge, Skip Away, Holy Bull and fillies Personal Ensign, Genuine Risk, Lady’s Secret, and Winning Colors just to name a ...