BloodHorse.com

By J. Keeler Johnson (''Keelerman'') Twitter: @J_Keelerman Here's a quick trivia question to ponder: How many of the 2019 Kentucky Derby contenders have ever shown the ability to win a race in gate-to-wire fashion? The answer is two. Just two horses out of the top twenty-two qualifiers, seemingly an indication that the pace of the 2019 ...

By J. Keeler Johnson (''Keelerman'') Twitter: @J_Keelerman It's been a long journey, but the 2018-19 Road to the Kentucky Derby will come to an end this Saturday with the running of two final prep races at Oaklawn Park and Keeneland. The highlight of the day is undoubtedly the $1 million Arkansas Derby (gr. I) at Oaklawn, which will pit ...

By J. Keeler Johnson (''Keelerman'') Twitter: @J_Keelerman The penultimate weekend of prep races on the Road to the 2019 Kentucky Derby is also the biggest and most exciting weekend, with three huge races to be held across the country at Santa Anita, Keeneland, and Aqueduct. If you're not a fan of playing favorites, then you're in luck, ...

By J. Keeler Johnson (''Keelerman'') Twitter: @J_Keelerman Get ready everyone! An action-packed day of racing is scheduled for March 30th, with a championship card of racing at Meydan in Dubai being followed by a stakes-laden afternoon at Gulfstream Park that includes the Florida Derby (gr. I). Let's dig in and examine five of the most ...

By J. Keeler Johnson (''Keelerman'') Twitter: @J_Keelerman If there has been one trend in the Road to the Kentucky Derby prep races this winter, it's been the trend of upset victories. Recent years have seen a high number of winning favorites in winter Derby preps, but 2019 has been noticeably different. A 29-1 upset in the Fountain of Youth, ...

By J. Keeler Johnson (''Keelerman'') Twitter: @J_Keelerman A week later than originally expected, the Kentucky Derby favorites Game Winner and Improbable will make their much-anticipated three-year-old debuts in the two separate divisions of Saturday's $750,000 Rebel Stakes (gr. II) at Oaklawn Park. Both colts are Grade 1 winners trained by ...

By J. Keeler Johnson (''Keelerman'') Twitter: @J_Keelerman Although the slate of Kentucky Derby prep races this weekend is a bit lighter than expected due to the indefinite suspension of racing at Santa Anita, there are still three big races on the agenda, with the $400,000 Tampa Bay Derby (gr. II) at Tampa Bay Downs being the race that ...

By J. Keeler Johnson (''Keelerman'') Twitter: @J_Keelerman I can certainly understand why some handicappers are reluctant to play #7 Hidden Scroll in Saturday's $400,000 Fountain of Youth Stakes (gr. II) at Gulfstream Park. There are plenty of reasons to oppose him, with perhaps the biggest being his 9-5 morning line odds. That's a pretty ...

By J. Keeler Johnson (''Keelerman'') Twitter: @J_Keelerman With 72 days remaining until the Kentucky Derby, the field is slowly starting to crystallize, and we're getting a better idea of which foreign-based runners might have the Kentucky Derby as a distant goal. In recent years, Churchill Downs has done quite well attracting international ...

By J. Keeler Johnson (''Keelerman'') Twitter: @J_Keelerman Six years ago, a horse named Oxbow obliterated his rivals by 11 ½ lengths in the Lecomte Stakes (gr. III) at Fair Grounds. Although he would later reiterate his talent by scoring a classic victory in the Preakness Stakes (gr. I), his dominant Lecomte romp didn't translate to success in ...