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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 ...

By J. Keeler Johnson (''Keelerman'') Twitter: @J_Keelerman On Saturday, Penn National will host an exciting day of racing led by four stakes races, including the $500,000 Penn Mile (gr. III). I'll be the first to admit that I have a soft spot for the Penn Mile, a one-mile turf race for three-year-olds that has drawn strong fields of talented ...

Once upon a time, not long ago (actually, only three months ago), Twin Creeks Racing Stables had a hot prospect for the Kentucky Derby named Destin. Having a Derby contender was nothing new to Twin Creeks, which is owned by Randy Gullatt, a one-time aspiring trainer, and Steve Davison, who has always enjoyed putting a bob or two on the ...

Hanging on a wall at home is one of my most prized possessions. A gift from the late racing photographer Michael J. Martin, the framed print is of the field of the 1990 Metropolitan Handicap (gr. I) turning for home at Belmont Park. On the lead is the 3-year-old Housebuster, Robert Levy’s homebred who would be named champion sprinter of 1990 and ...