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By J. Keeler Johnson (''Keelerman'') Twitter: @J_Keelerman Better late than never, the $400,000 Santa Anita Derby (G1) will be contested on Saturday at Santa Anita. The 1 1/8-mile Road to the Kentucky Derby prep race has attracted seven starters, representing some of the most talented 3-year-olds in California. Let's dig in and start ...

By J. Keeler Johnson (''Keelerman'') Twitter: @J_Keelerman Although it's only a Grade 3 with a $100,000 purse, Saturday's Winning Colors Stakes (G3) at Churchill Downs has drawn a surprisingly deep field. Eight talented fillies and mares have turned out to contest the six-furlong sprint, and it would come as no surprise to see the 2020 ...

By J. Keeler Johnson (''Keelerman'') Twitter: @J_Keelerman Guess what? We're three weeks into the month of May, and the Road to the Kentucky Derby is about to heat back up! We're heading into uncharted territory as the restructured series continues on Saturday with the $150,000 Matt Winn (G3) at Churchill Downs. Historically, the 1 ...

By J. Keeler Johnson (''Keelerman'') Twitter: @J_Keelerman If you check out the North American stakes schedule for this weekend, you might come away thinking, ''there's not much going on this week.'' Only a handful of ungraded stakes races are on the agenda, and there isn't a single graded stakes race to be found. But wait—there's good ...

By J. Keeler Johnson (''Keelerman'') Twitter: @J_Keelerman In a normal year, we would be busily rehashing the results of the Kentucky Derby right now while simultaneously looking ahead to the Preakness Stakes. Instead, we're in the midst of a lull on the racing calendar with only one North American stakes race on the agenda. So let's take ...

By J. Keeler Johnson (''Keelerman'') Twitter: @J_Keelerman After five weeks without a single Road to the Kentucky Derby prep race to occupy our interest, the Derby trail will resume on Saturday with two divisions of the $500,000 Arkansas Derby (G1) at Oaklawn Park. Let's dig in! Arkansas Derby Division 1 I'll admit that part of me wants ...

By J. Keeler Johnson Continuing the ''handicapping around the world'' theme we started last week, let's turn our attention this Sunday to the FWD Champions Day card at Sha Tin in Hong Kong, which features a trio of competitive Group 1 races. Most eyes will be focused on Hong Kong's reigning Horse of the Year Beauty Generation, who figures ...

By J. Keeler Johnson (''Keelerman'') Twitter: @J_Keelerman Doesn't it feel like we should be deep into handicapping the Kentucky Derby right now? In a normal year, the Road to the Kentucky Derby would be complete and the Run for the Roses would be just two weeks away. But 2020 has been far from an ordinary year, and with the Kentucky Derby ...

By J. Keeler Johnson (''Keelerman'') Twitter: @J_Keelerman Another day, another stakes race for 3-year-olds at Oaklawn Park, another short-priced favorite from the barn of Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert. In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, which has shuttered racing at many tracks throughout North America, it's comforting to know ...

By J. Keeler Johnson (''Keelerman'') Twitter: @J_Keelerman The COVID-19 outbreak has shuttered racing at many tracks throughout North America, which means there isn't a single graded stakes race on the agenda in the U.S. this weekend. But never fear! Even though there isn't much racing action to cover, we can always start planning for ...