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The excitement as well as the anticipation of owning a racehorse builds in waves. The first jolt of adrenaline comes when the trainer says, “I think we’ve got a good one,” and anticipation starts its crescendo toward the first race when everyone will discover whether the ability that seems evident is genuine talent. Winning kicks the excitement ...

He’s reliable, he’s honest, he loves a mile and a quarter, and he consistently runs fast speed figures. But is Tonalist good enough to win the Breeders’ Cup Classic…away from Belmont Park?The main reason for asking that question is, prior to his victory in the Jockey Club Gold Cup, run at his favorite track and over a sloppy surface he relishes, ...

By J. Keeler Johnson (''Keelerman'') Twitter: @J_Keelerman With just two weeks remaining until the Breeders’ Cup at Keeneland, the racing action this Saturday is a bit quiet, but there are still several good races on the agenda, including the $250,000 Lexus Raven Run Stakes (gr. II) at Keeneland. The seven-furlong race has drawn a large field ...

If there is one element of Thoroughbred racing that has always held true it is that the tides of fortune change very quickly. It is the one sport where you can idolize a Babe Ruth as a fan one day and strike him out with the bases loaded the next. Only here can two worlds intermingle, no matter how divergent they may be. Only here can a ...

Racing Australia chairman John Messara gave a keynote address during the recent 49th International Federation of Horseracing Authorities. His address focused on the 30-year evolution of racing in Australia and provided some valuable insight for racing industry leaders in North America. Messara, also the owner of Arrowfield Stud, began owning ...

American Pharoah vs. Beholder! People are already buzzing. Showdowns between males and females have come in many forms over the years, including battles between top 2-year-olds, 3-year-olds, and older horses. Some have decided championships, some were hyped in the press going into the race, some came in Triple Crown and Breeders’ Cup races, ...

With the completion of this year’s Breeders’ Cup Challenge “Win and You’re In,” races for 2015, I thought I'd look at the four horses to win more than one Challenge race this year, Beholder, who won three; and two-time winners Big Blue Kitten, Honor Code, and Wild Dude. Beholder, by Henny Hughes—Leslie’s Lady by Tricky Creek 2015 ...

There are freak racehorses and there are freak pedigrees. They don’t come around very often, and on those rare occasions when they do, they normally defy explanation. Now, when you have a freak of a racehorse who just happens to have a freaky pedigree, then you have found something extra special. And that appears to be the case with ...

By J. Keeler Johnson (''Keelerman'') Twitter: @J_Keelerman Following the epic, non-stop racing action of the last two weekends, things will slow down considerably this Saturday, with only two graded stakes races on the agenda. However, one of those races is the always-exciting $500,000 Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup (gr. I) at Keeneland, a ...

The Breeders' Cup's return to Kentucky later this month, and specifically to Keeneland for the first time, reminds me of a famous quote from Kentucky Gov. Albert B. ''Happy'' Chandler Sr.: ''I never met a Kentuckian who wasn't either thinking about going home or actually going home.'' The Oct. 30-31 World Championships figures to be one big ...