America's Best Racing. The Jockey Club.

This year's running of the Grade 1 Metropolitan Handicap - aka the Met Mile - highlights just how strong of a handicap division we have in all parts of the country.

For all of the hoopla surrounding the Kentucky Oaks, the distaff version of the Kentucky Derby generated a perplexing outcome.

It's so sad to think that we are almost finished with the 2013 Triple Crown. Heading into the third and final leg, the Belmont Stakes, we must come to terms that we aren't going to have that Triple Crown winner this year.

In 2009, a small gelding caught the attention of the press when he arrived at Churchill Downs in a trailer driven by his injured trainer.

For most observers, it came as a big surprise that D. Wayne Lukas won the Preakness Stakes. It shouldn’t have.

Synonymous with every party is food, and we’ve got you covered for all things Triple Crown. Benedictine spread, a.k.a. cucumber spread for most of you, goes hand in hand with any pony party.

The morning of the 138th Preakness Stakes I was sure it was going to rain. This was a problem. I had no seat to sit in, confined to the madness of the Pimlico infield and exposed to the elements (both natural and human). As the 100,000-plus fans streamed through the gates, security was taking their umbrellas and throwing them in the garbage.

Sixty-five years ago, Citation unleashed the greatest three-year-old season in thoroughbred racing. Blessed with genuine speed, staying power and a seemingly endless desire to win, Citation inspired his handler Jimmy Jones to boldly say: "My horse could beat anything with hair on it."

“Get your Preak on” – that’s the tag line for Preakness Stakes day, and it’s one that definitely fits the event. People are here to have a good time, no matter what that entails. Some fans are just here for the party; others are die-hard racing enthusiasts who love the spectacle of the races; some people are just here to listen to some amazing bands and some to show off their racing style. The great thing about the Preakness is that it’s the people’s race – it’s the leg of the Triple Crown that really is all about the fans and their experience.

Sorry that I didn’t have a blog yesterday for anyone that was looking for it; I literally spent all day clacking away at my computer, and there’s really nothing I can do to turn that into a decent photoblog. I will say this, though: I had dinner at a place in Timonium last night called Basta Pasta, and it’s really good – highly recommend!

Is the draw, alone, the greatest likely impediment to Orb winning the Preakness? Yes

The 13-race card was themed Black-Eyed Susan day and served to heighten awareness for breast cancer research by benefitting the Susan G. Komen for the Cure fund as the traditional Preakness colors of yellow and black gave way to pink.

So you like Orb to win the Preakness? You don’t say! Everybody is picking Orb, and why shouldn’t they? Not only was that race in the Kentucky Derby spectacular, but it’s only right for the public to back the Derby winner in the Preakness and root for a Triple Crown.

My day began with my phone’s alarm buzzing me awake at 4:30 AM – Orb was due out on the Pimlico Race Course track at 6, and I wanted to be there to see how he handled his new environment after his magnificent final breeze at Belmont Park on Monday.

Solemn and undisturbed, Native Dancer’s connections prepared the grey star’s train car for his trip from Louisville to his home base at Belmont Park. They went about their business without the fanfare of his pre-Derby arrival.

In the 2008 Florida Derby, the racing world saw a flash of brilliance when a bay colt with a white “speed spot” (marking) on his shoulder won his only Kentucky Derby prep by five lengths, stamping his ticket to the Derby.

The field for 138th running of the Grade 1, $1 million Preakness Stakes dwindled a bit since the days following the Kentucky Derby. At one time there were as many as 11 potential challengers to Derby winner Orb, but considering how dominant the son of Malibu Moon was two weeks ago there were just eight challengers entered.

At this point, you’ve enjoyed a Mint Julep (or 3) and are ready for some more fun, right?

Making the Grade, which will run right up until the Belmont Stakes, will focus on the winners of the big races, usually from the previous weekend, who could impact the 2013 Triple Crown. We’ll be taking a close look at impressive winners and evaluating their chances to win classic races based on factors such as ability, running style, connections (owner, trainer, jockey) and pedigree. This week we take a look at Departing, winner of the Illinois Derby on April 20 at Hawthorne Race Course.

Artificial surfaces have created a real problem for handicappers. Though they look like dirt, they tend to be friendlier to horses who prefer racing on turf rather than that messy, brown natural stuff. All of which can create a curveball of sorts when considering a filly like Emollient.

I had the great pleasure of having an Orb-filled day yesterday; well, more like Orb-adjacent, but it was still pretty awesome.

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 …

Every good host knows better than to throw a party without a pie, and what could be more fitting for your party than the world-renowned Derby Pie?

Making the Grade, which will run right up until the Belmont Stakes, focuses on the winners of the big races, usually from the previous weekend, who could impact the 2013 Triple Crown. We’ll be taking a close look at impressive winners and evaluating their chances to win the classic races based on factors such as ability, running style, connections (owner, trainer, jockey) pedigree. This week we take a look at Oxbow, the front-running winner of the Preakness Stakes on May 18 at Pimlico Race Course.