BloodHorse.com

By J. Keeler Johnson (''Keelerman'') Twitter: @J_Keelerman A few short weeks ago, the $1 million Belmont Stakes was shaping up to be an intriguing battle between Grade 1 winners Tiz the Law, Nadal, and Charlatan, the three early favorites for the Kentucky Derby. With its shortened 1 1/8-mile distance and newfound status as the first leg of ...

The field has been drawn for this year's version of the Belmont Stakes (G1), and whether you feel it belongs in the classification of classic race or just another mile and an eighth prep for the Kentucky Derby (G1), there is a great deal intrigue to the race, highlighted by the presence of the top-ranked 3-year-old in the country Tiz ...

We didn’t pay that much attention—or have much in the way of retention—while enduring an English literature class at the University of Kentucky, but we remember a quote from poet James Russell Lowell given to us by famed broadcaster Jim McKay in an introduction to the national television coverage of the 1991 Belmont Stakes (G1): And what is so ...

If you think watching racing from Belmont Park and Churchill Downs and other tracks in front of empty grandstands is kind of eerie try watching the races from Royal Ascot where the event normally is highlighted by a sea of top hats and ornate women's hats, with champagne pouring and a proper buzz in the air. And of course the revered presence ...

On April 3, 1972, the front page headline in the Morning Telegraph read, ''Head of the River Wins Everglades Stakes.'' It looked as if the colt's owner Rokeby Stable and trainer Elliott Burch had another top 3-year-old on the Kentucky Derby (G1) trail to follow their champon Arts and Letters. What made this headline so significant was that it ...

June 6 is a historic day in the history of the United States, with Operation Overlord, better known as D-Day commencing that day on the beaches of Normandy in 1944. While it pales in comparison, June 6, 2020, was an important day in Thoroughbred racing. Starting in mid-March, the COVID-19 closings nearly KO’d the sport, and on the first Saturday ...

By J. Keeler Johnson (''Keelerman'') Twitter: @J_Keelerman It isn't often that an ungraded stakes race on a Thursday looms among the most intriguing betting opportunities of a given week, but this general rule will be thrown to the wind when Belmont Park hosts the $80,000 Flat Out Stakes on Thursday, June 11. Held over 1 3/8 miles on the ...

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 ...

The Thoroughbred racing landscape is coming back to life with the depth of a 1960s movie in Cinemascope. The New York Racing Association jump-started its racing calendar June 3, and racing re-broke from the gate at Laurel Park May 30. Monmouth Park in New Jersey has been cleared for a July 3 start. The graded stakes action at Churchill Downs since ...