The big preps for this year’s Breeders’ Cup have come and gone. Grade 1 races were going off at the drop of a hat—and that hat was dropping all the time—earlier this month at Belmont Park, Keeneland, and...
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By J. Keeler Johnson ("Keelerman") Twitter: @J_Keelerman With just two weeks remaining until the Breeders' Cup, it's not too early to start examining the races and begin formulating our potential plays...
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Last week I wrote about the dramatic decline in the number of top stars participating in the big Breeders’ Cup preview weekends. Whether or not this is the beginning of a new trend likely will depend on...
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Doesn't anyone run in preps anymore? We have entered a new era on the Triple Crown trail, where many trainers now plan only two preps for the Kentucky Derby. It has proven successful over the past decade...
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He is north of 50 now, an age where you’d think the only horses he should be riding are going up and down around a carousel. But Mike Smith, in the second half of a clearly delineated career, remains today...
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John Steinbeck wrote, “Somewhere in the world there is a defeat for everyone…Greatness lives in one who triumphs equally over defeat and victory.” Whether or not you consider California Chrome, Songbird...
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By J. Keeler Johnson ("Keelerman") Twitter: @J_Keelerman It's here, folks! We're less than 24 hours away from the start of the 2016 Breeders' Cup, and after days (even weeks!) of handicapping, it's time...
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By J. Keeler Johnson ("Keelerman") Twitter: @J_Keelerman We're getting close now! The 33 rd Breeders' Cup is barely more than a week away, and pre-entries were released yesterday, giving handicappers a...
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Few people, if any, reading this column will have any clue who Lucky Spell is and can only wonder what is behind the bizarre headline above. After all, how is a California-bred filly, who died in 2005...
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They attack in droves, constantly searching for new lands to conquer. In the world of Thoroughbred racing, Aidan O’Brien can be called the modern day Alexander the Great and his four-legged Ballydoyle...
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