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By J. Keeler Johnson (''Keelerman'') Twitter: @J_Keelerman The Road to the Kentucky Derby continues in a big way this week with a pair of important prep races. The Peter Pan Stakes (G3) on July 16 at Saratoga will award 50 qualification points to the winner, while the July 18 Haskell Stakes (G1) at Monmouth Park will double the stakes with ...

Here we are heading to Saratoga with its two important Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve (G1) preps and only days away from the Haskell Invitational (G1). And we still have the Ellis Park Derby, which is likely to attract several Derby hopefuls based in Kentucky. After the top three ranked 3-year-olds - Tiz the Law, Honor A. P., ...

To be honest, we had little idea what would happen when Keeneland announced it would hold a five-day mid-July meeting to take the place of its April program that had been scuttled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. While hoping for the best for the one-of-a-kind summer soiree, there appeared to be several obstacles in the way, yet the Keeneland ...

With the Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve (G1) being run on Sept 5 this year you would think we would have a firm grasp on who the leading contenders are, but for various reasons-one, of course, being the pandemic-we really don't know who these 3-year-olds are?Tiz the Law and Honor A. P. clearly are the two best 3-year-olds in the ...

A reprint from Sept. 12, 2011We've all heard or used the expression, ''No one would have beaten him today.'' Throughout history, there have been numerous horses who, for one or two races, turned in performances so extraordinary, you can't imagine anyone beating them. Often, these horses were meant for great things, but were hampered by a variety ...

While there is plenty of Thoroughbred racing taking place across the country, the opportunities to watch it live are in short supply. Ellis Park, in western Kentucky, started its summer stand July 2 with limited spectators—one has to purchase a seat in advance and provide a phone number for potential contact tracing in the COVID-19 era. Management ...

By J. Keeler Johnson (''Keelerman'') Twitter: @J_Keelerman Could an ordinary allowance race wind up producing the winners of two Road to the Kentucky Derby prep races this week? It might seem unlikely, but this is horse racing, and stranger things have happened. With less than two months remaining until the Run for the Roses, the prep race ...

This reprint from six years ago is to commemorate the 45th anniversary of one of racing's darkest days, the death of the legendary Ruffian. But it is not just about the Ruffian—Foolish Pleasure match race. It is about Ruffian's life and career, partly through personal experience, highlighted by her gut-wrenching battle with ...

By J. Keeler Johnson (''Keelerman'') Twitter: @J_Keelerman There are plenty of horses to consider betting in the $500,000 Metropolitan Handicap (G1) on Independence Day at Belmont Park. That's pretty much standard for the ''Met Mile,'' which has long ranked as one of the most prestigious and productive races on the North American racing ...