America's Best Racing. The Jockey Club.

There's an old racetrack story about a guy who bet $2 on the daily double and wins big. He figured ‘hey, this is the track's money’, so he bet all his winnings on the third race and won again. Wow, he thought, what a windfall! So he let it ride on the fourth race and hit again. Race after race he bet the entirety of his pockets, and race after race he kept winning. By the ninth race he was up $9,000. He noticed the 9 horse was named "Nine Lives." His anniversary, he remembered, was September 9th. His kid was 9 years old. It was fate, he reckoned. So he put it all on the 9 horse to win. The horse came in ninth.

Only a small percentage of horses win their first start, but that doesn’t mean that maiden voyage around a racetrack should be ignored. More often than not, there are important signals about a horse’s ability wrapped into that debut – though sometimes you have to peel away some layers to find it.

American horse racing fans can stand tall and proud June 18 when 2011 Kentucky Derby winner Animal Kingdom runs on the royal lawn of Ascot Racecourse. No matter the outcome, Animal Kingdom carries the strength of a nation. As an American racing fan, I could not have asked for a better “team” to represent everything great about American racing. The magnificent colt is trained by Graham Motion, an American favorite, and will be piloted by Hall of Fame jockey John Velasquez. A very proud day indeed!

For the past 70 years, the Triple Crown and the Breeders’ Cup have been proving grounds for a long list of Thoroughbred racing’s greatest champions. Some horses, though, have transcended the sport’s most famous stages. Horses like Kelso.

Animal Kingdom’s last race didn’t go as planned on Tuesday at Royal Ascot when the Kentucky Derby winner lost to Declaration of War in the Queen Anne Stakes.

The following blog is the writer’s depiction of an imagined racetrack-based story, an ongoing saga, which includes some of the characters depicted in the ill-fated “Luck” series …

The much-anticipated return of 2012 Haskell Invitational Stakes winner Paynter exceeded expectations as he overwhelmed seven challengers on Friday at Betfair Hollywood Park.

There may be slightly more than six months left in another year of Thoroughbred racing, but it’s hard to imagine seeing a more joyous and heartwarming moment in 2013 than what took place on Friday afternoon at Betfair Hollywood Park.

When Animal Kingdom makes his final start on June 18 at Royal Ascot in the Queen Anne Stakes, the 2011 Kentucky Derby winner will have overcome an incredible amount of adversity to compete in arguably the most prestigious meet in the world.

Twice a year in Siena, Italy, an explosion is set off in the center of town. The sound of the blast can be heard for miles around. The purpose of the bomb? To alert the Sienans that the Palio di Siena is about to begin.

This Saturday, June 15, Churchill Downs in Louisville, Ky., has teamed up with Stella Artois and Finlandia Vodka for a special Downs After Dark party!

The 32nd running of the Grade 1, $500,000 Stephen Foster Handicap features the winners of both the 2012 and 2011 editions of the race. Ron the Greek is one of the two, having won last year’s Foster and entering this year’s race after missing a victory by just a half-length in the $1 million Charles Town Classic Stakes in his most recent effort. The other is Pool Play, the 2011 Foster winner who has run poorly in his last two races following a fine 2013 debut when he came a neck short of winning the Grade 3 Hal’s Hope Stakes. Three of the other four entrants come into the Foster off strong wins, led by Alysheba Stakes winner (at Churchill Downs) Take Charge Indy. Successful Dan won the Ben Ali Stakes in April at Keeneland when returning from nearly 10 months off and won last year’s Alysheba in his second start back from a layoff, so he is another who could win. Golden Ticket earned a dead-heat win in the Travers Stakes last summer and is another entering the Foster off a big win on this track last month. Fort Larned, the 2012 Breeders’ Cup Classic winner and Horse of the Year finalist, has run twice this year with no success, although it must be noted that in his first start of the year he did stumble badly and lose his jockey. After an eighth-place finish in last year’s Foster, Fort Larned won three of four graded stakes including the Classic, so he could snap back to top form at any time.

In a crop of colts that created some of the most competitive 3-year-old fields of recent times, I’ll Have Another stood above them all during the 2012 Triple Crown season.

Many racing fans tell a familiar tale about a family member or friend who introduced them to Thoroughbred racing. Often those recollections include the thrill of hearing thundering hooves for the first time, or the adventure of entering the colorful and diverse racetrack setting, or the excitement of sneaking off without permission to the track. For Bill Crager of Buttonwood Farm, his first memories of the sport are sort of a trifecta of the highlights mentioned above and very personal because his introduction to racing came via his grandfather.

After sweeping the Kentucky Derby and Dubai World Cup, Animal Kingdom looks to do something no Kentucky Derby winner hasn’t done since 1936 … run at Royal Ascot.

Now that the intense, nearly blinding spotlight of the Triple Crown has come to an end, attention can be shifted to what awaits during an interesting remainder of the 2013 racing season.

The Belmont Stakes is the Triple Crown race that I’ve had the great pleasure of attending the most; I went to my very first one when I was 14 years old, and I’ve always loved the spectacle of the final jewel of the Triple Crown right outside of New York City.

I grew up betting exactas. That’s what my old man bet and that’s how I learned to play horses. It was a great bet, it seemed. You can’t decide between two horses? Bet ’em both! Maybe they’ll run one-two! Better still, the payoffs were often much bigger than a win bet. Who were these suckers who didn’t play exactas?

Just as the 1930s fashion industry was impacted by the economy, the 1940s fashion industry was greatly affected by the war. To help the American war effort, the usage of raw materials and textiles in non-war products was severely restricted.

The following blog is the writer’s depiction of an imagined racetrack-based story, an ongoing saga, which includes some of the characters depicted in the ill-fated “Luck” series …

Wednesday was the post-position draw for the Belmont Stakes – this is when we (press, fans, horsemen and racing officials) find out where horses will be in the starting gate when they run in the race. It’s an important event, since a horse’s post position can be a big influence on the trainer’s and jockey’s strategy for the early part of the race when the horses leave the gate and head into the first turn. It’s a must-visit event, especially with 14 horses going into this year’s Belmont Stakes.

The story of Animal Kingdom reads like a Hollywood script, but even then it would be hard to believe.

As much as I love going to away games, there really is something great about having huge racing events come to my town. There’s definitely the same sense of anticipation and excitement in the air, but for me there’s much less stress when all of the action is taking place pretty much outside of my stoop. Plus, it’s so fun to see all of the people associated with what I call the “travelling circus” – that is, the photographers, journalists, trainers, jockeys, fans and owners on the Triple Crown trail – here in my city. It means I can finally try to pay back some of the awesome hospitality shown to me over the spring racing series!

As the war descended on Europe, men’s fashion became greatly dictated by economics. Practical, sturdy clothing became a necessity, and no one wanted to be deemed unpatriotic because of a flashy outfit.