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By J. Keeler Johnson (''Keelerman'') Twitter: @J_Keelerman I hope you're ready for another great weekend of racing action! We've got an impressive slate of stakes races on the schedule, including the $750,000 Delaware Handicap (gr. I), and on Friday, the much-anticipated summer meet at Del Mar will begin. Plus, I've found a first-time ...

By J. Keeler Johnson (''Keelerman'') Twitter: @J_Keelerman Get ready, everyone! We've got an absolutely stellar Saturday of racing coming up on July 9th, led by six graded stakes races at Belmont Park, four at Arlington Park, and a wide mix of other exciting races. Leading the way are the $1.25 million Belmont Derby (gr. I) and $1 million ...

By J. Keeler Johnson (''Keelerman'') Twitter: @J_Keelerman On Saturday, Gulfstream Park will host the ''Summit of Speed,'' an exciting day of sprinting that includes nine stakes races. There are so many great races to handicap that I've decided to cover more racing action than usual and handicap four races, with a focus on trying to hit some ...

Current Standings1 Keelerman - 9222 Lola (defending champion) - 8773 Porter - 8764 latenite - 8714 trackjack - 8716 Secretariat - 8707 Aluminaut - 8538 JJ the TV wathcer - 8429 fitzpony - 82610 MDG - 81511 Eric Rickard - 81012 Betty S - 80713 Magnoliagirl - 79414 Van Horn - 78915 Riskaverse - 78616 Quinnbt - 77417 Akita Girl - 73517 MaryZinke - ...

By J. Keeler Johnson (''Keelerman'') Twitter: @J_Keelerman The Ohio Derby at Thistledown has been a significant race for a long time. It was a grade II for more than 30 years and has been won by such notable runners as Skip Away, Broad Brush, Lost Code, King Glorious, and Milwaukee Brew, and although the race has lost some prestige in recent ...

By J. Keeler Johnson (''Keelerman'') Twitter: @J_Keelerman The $500,000 Stephen Foster Handicap (gr. I) would be a great race no matter when it's run, but coming one week after the Belmont Stakes and the end of the Triple Crown, the Stephen Foster serves as the unofficial start of the second half of the racing season and marks the beginning ...

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 ...

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 ...

By J. Keeler Johnson (''Keelerman'') Twitter: @J_Keelerman With just over two weeks remaining until the Belmont Stakes, I thought now might be a good time to take an early look at the third leg of the Triple Crown to see how the race might unfold, and try to identify which horses will have the best chance of winning. Although the ...

By J. Keeler Johnson (''Keelerman'') Twitter: @J_Keelerman In many cases, handicapping a horse race involves analyzing the speed and talent of each horse and trying to project how the race will be run. Will the pace be fast and favor deep closers? Will a talented front-runner take command through easy pace fractions and never look back? ...