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By J. Keeler Johnson (''Keelerman'') Twitter: @J_Keelerman With just three weeks remaining until the 2019 Breeders' Cup at Santa Anita, I was tempted to kick off coverage of the much-anticipated championship event with an early look at the major players in each race. But then I saw the field for Saturday's $500,000 Queen Elizabeth II ...

On the final weekend of “Win and You’re In” races across the country, and in Europe, a lot of talent earned their way to Santa Anita Park for the Nov. 1-2 Breeders’ Cup World Championships. While it’s certainly an accomplishment for an owner to get a horse to the big dance at year’s end, having multiple starters is a longshot at best. Don’t tell ...

The answer to this question is almost impossible to answer because you have a ceiling that is so high, it is difficult to assess without getting a bit too carried away. With Omaha Beach, you have to start with the usual questions - How? What? Why? When? and Where? The first question we've addressed, how good is he? What are his limits if he ...

There are times when you just can’t help root for a horse, a trainer, or an owner. When you look at trainer Carlos Martin about to embark on the Breeders’ Cup trail with the brilliant mare Come Dancing, there are a number of thoughts that run through your head, at least if you have any sense of history and are impressed with hard work and an ...

By J. Keeler Johnson (''Keelerman'') Twitter: @J_Keelerman Having come down with an annoying cold this week, I should preface my analysis of Saturday's $300,000 Santa Anita Sprint Championship (gr. I) with the disclaimer that my handicapping will either be very good or very bad—nowhere in the middle. If my handicapping reflects how I feel ...

The evening of Sept. 27 was a memorable one in Central Kentucky. Over at Keeneland Race Course, Gov. Brereton C. Jones was regaled as the 88th Honor Guest at the Thoroughbred Club of America. On the other side of town, friends and family of Will Daugherty gathered to watch a horse he bred, with his father and business partner under the BlackRidge ...

It would be harsh and simplistic to say the Breeders’ Cup Classic is a mess, but that pretty much describes it. Case in point, there is a fairly good possibility that the winners of the Jockey Club Gold Cup, Awesome Again, Travers, Woodward, Dubai World Cup, and Suburban Handicap will not run. You had a 1-5 shot get beat by a 25-1 shot in the ...

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By J. Keeler Johnson (''Keelerman'') Twitter: @J_Keelerman A tremendous week of horse racing lies ahead at tracks across the globe. Eight ''Win and You're In'' qualifiers for the Breeders' Cup are on the agenda, plus three Kentucky Derby prep races in California and Europe. For passionate fans of the sport, it's going to be an unforgettable ...

Every good story in Thoroughbred racing leads to another. Case in point, the stakes results at Parx Racing and Belmont Park Sept. 21 drew a straight line to Central Kentucky, and specifically to the Keeneland sale grounds where the 13-session September yearling sale was nearing completion. At Parx, jockey Sophie Doyle earned her first grade 1 win ...