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HOT SPRINGS, Ark. - Harry Hubbard Johnson, who recently left the employ of trainer Steve Asmussen at Oaklawn Park in Hot Springs, Ark., committed suicide Friday in Kentucky. Johnson was Asmussen’s shed foreman, a position that ranks a level below assistant trainer. He died two days following his 27th birthday. “He was a kind soul and a pleasure to be around,” Asmussen said Saturday. “I feel horrible for the whole Johnson family.” Johnson’s death comes a little more than a week after People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) released controversial video and audio footage recorded undercover in the...

Coming off the first batting Triple Crown in 45 years, Miguel Cabrera ­is making a bid to be the first hitter to do so in consecutive seasons. He currently leads the American League in batting average (.391), RBI (55) and is one home run off the pace at 14. In a recent piece here at FanGraphs, Jeff Sullivan commented on Cabrera’s impressive all fields hitting and ability to cover the full strike zone with power. I have put together some imagery to highlight this ability and show a bit of why Cabrera is such a threat.

On Wednesday night, in the midst of a presidential debate, the baseball season came to a close. Although the season didn’t close with as many fireworks as last season, it did have something just as special; something that hasn’t happened in 45 years. Miguel Cabrera of the Detroit Tigers won baseball’s Triple Crown. For those who don’t know, the Triple Crown is only achieved when a batter leads the league in home runs, runs batted in (RBIs), and batting average. The fact that it hasn’t been done since Carl Yastrzemski did it in 1967 speaks to how extraordinarily difficult it...

Cabrera became just the 15th player to win baseball's Triple Crown, joining an elite list that includes Mickey Mantle, Ted Williams and Lou Gehrig. Cabrera topped the American League with a .330 batting average, 44 homers and 139 RBIs, becoming the first Triple Crown winner in the major leagues since Boston's Carl Yastrzemski in 1967.**snip**While the Triple Crown has been decided, the MVP has not. Selected members of the Baseball Writers' Association of America vote for that award, with the winner announced in November. On one hand, Cabrera has dominated the statistical categories favored by traditionalists, the ones that count...

Secretariat awarded Preakness record at 1:53 after review The Maryland Racing Commission on Tuesday voted unanimously to change the official time of the 1973 Preakness Stakes won by Secretariat from 1:54 2/5 to 1:53, a time that will give the two-time Horse of the Year the record in all three of the Triple Crown races. The commission approved the change after two hours of testimony at a meeting at Laurel Park, the sister track of Pimlico Race Course, where the Preakness is held. Penny Chenery, the late horse’s owner, requested the hearing on the basis of analyses conducted by companies...

I"ll Have Another, hours from his historic bid for the Triple Crown in Saturday's Belmont Stakes, was scratched from the race Friday with tendonitis and retired. Originally favored at 4-5 on the morning-line for the 144th "Test of the Champion," I'll Have Another will be the 12th horse since Affirmed in 1978 to win the first two jewels of the Triple Crown and not complete the sweep in the Belmont. see more videos But the crowd at Belmont Park, which would have numbered over 100,000 before the scratch, will still get to see the Kentucky Derby and Preakness champion. In...

Horse racing was dealt a devastating blow on Friday morning. Trainer Doug O'Neill confirmed that his horse, I'll Have Another, won't run in the Belmont Stakes on Saturday afternoon. O'Neill confirmed that news on The Dan Patrick Show. O'Neill cited injury as the reason the horse won't run in the race. "It's his left front leg," O'Neill told the show. "This morning, he looked perfect. I took him and did a little something with him and after training, the swelling came back." O'Neill also said that the horse looked like it was suffering from tendinitis. I'll Have Another was looking...

I'll Have Another has been scratched from the Belmont Stakes.

CNN is reporting that I'll Have Another is scratched from racing in Belmont. No Triple Crown this year.

I'll Have Another won the Preakness Stakes at Pimlico in Baltimore, Maryland. The winner of the Kentucky Derby last time out, Doug O'Neill's colt confirmed his superiority over those reopposing with an impressive display in the second leg of America's Triple Crown. Despite winning the Run For The Roses, the son of Flower Alley was sent off as second favourite with punters expecting Derby second, Bodemeister, to reverse the form with many feeling he had paid the price for setting too fast a pace at Churchill Downs. Mike Smith eased Bob Baffert's charge to the front from gate nine and...

For major races such as this, free past performances are usually provided. It's on a PDF file.Link again here: http://horseracinginside.com/wordpress/free-2012-preakness-stakes-past-performances/

All our usual Triple Crown chat seems to have evaporated. Today is the Second Leg of the TC. A field of 12 goes postward at Pimlico today for the Preakness Stakes.

BALTIMORE (AP)—A year ago, Calvin Borel jumped from the Kentucky Derby winner Mine That Bird onto Rachel Alexandra and won the Preakness. This month, after winning his third Derby in four years, the standout jockey decided to stay aboard Super Saver for the Preakness and take a shot at capturing the Triple Crown. The one similarity is that Borel entered the 2009 Preakness and Saturday’s 135th edition certain his ride would end in the winner’s circle. Heck, he predicted a Triple Crown for Super Saver two weeks ago and won’t back down from that assessment.

Secretariat Foaled 40 Years Ago by David Schmitz (Secretariat, shown as a 2-year-old, was foaled March 30, 1970) March 30 marks 40 years since the birth of 1973 Triple Crown winner Secretariat at Christopher T. Chenery’s The Meadow near Doswell, Va. It’s a date well worth remembering by any racing fan but especially by those who were around during Secretariat’s racing days and more so by those lucky enough to see the strikingly handsome chestnut colt with three white stockings in action. Secretariat’s magnetism was evident soon after the colt’s birth. Chenery’s daughter, Penny, was so overwhelmed after getting her...

TODAY'S MAJOR KENTUCKY DERBY PREP RACES... SANTA ANITA PARK 6th Race , Santa Anita Derby (TELEVISED LIVE ON NBC, BEGINNING AT 2PM PDT, 5PM EDT) Post Time: 2:40 PM (local time) Distance/Restrictions: 1 1/8 Miles, Dirt, 3 Year Olds, Purse: $750,000 Grade: 1 FREE PAST PERFORMANCES FOR SANTA ANITA DERBY: (direct link to pdf file from EQUIBASE -free/no catch)http://ntra.equibase.com/eqbNTRAGetFreeFF.cfm?trk=SA&rd=04/04/2009&cty=USA&de=D&rn=6 ________________________________________________ HAWTHORNE 7th Race , Illinois Derby Post Time: 4:15 PM (local time) Distance/Restrictions: 1 1/8 Miles, Dirt, 3 Year Olds, Purse: $500,000 Grade: 2 FREE PAST PERFORMANCES FOR ILLINOIS DERBY: (direct link to pdf file from EQUIBASE -free/no catch)http://ntra.equibase.com/eqbNTRAGetFreeFF.cfm?trk=HAW&rd=04/04/2009&cty=USA&de=D&rn=7 ________________________________________________...

2009 Derby Contenders:http://www.kentuckyderby.com/2009/racing-information/contenders Contender PP's (Past Performances):Brisnet's weekly updated PDF past performance file of Kentucky Derby hopefuls:http://www.kentuckyderby.com/2009/racing-information/contender-pps For more info at the site (http://www.kentuckyderby.com/), hover your mouse pointer/cursor over "Racing Information" and select from the drop-down menu. --------------------------------------------------------- Prep race schedule from mid-March to Derby Day, May 2ndMarch:Mar 14 2009: Louisiana Derby - Fair Grounds, Grade II, 1 1/16 miles, $600,000Mar 14 2009: San Felipe - Santa Anita, Grade II, 1 1/16 miles, $200,000Mar 14 2009: Rebel - Oaklawn, Grade II, 1 1/16 miles, $300,000Mar 14 2009: Tampa Bay Derby - Tampa Bay Downs, Grade III, 1 1/16 miles, $300,000Mar...

Here are a few must-have links for the upcoming Kentucky Derby... (there's even free video of prior races at the site) 2009 Derby Contenders:http://www.kentuckyderby.com/2009/racing-information/contenders Contender PP's (Past Performances):Here is Brisnet's weekly updated PDF past performance file of Kentucky Derby hopefuls:http://www.kentuckyderby.com/2009/racing-information/contender-pps Derby Prep Schedule: (major races leading to the Derby)http://www.kentuckyderby.com/2009/racing-information/preps-schedule For more info at the site (http://www.kentuckyderby.com/), hover your mouse pointer/cursor over "Racing Information" and select from the drop-down menu.

A photo taken during the early stages of the Belmont Stakes has revealed Big Brown was running with a loose shoe as the Kentucky Derby and Preakness winner attempted to become the first Triple Crown winner since 1979, Newsday reported Monday.

Secretariat is widening now.!....He is moving like a tremendous machine!........Secretariat by 12!.......Secretariat by 14 lengths on the turn!.......Video

NEW YORK -- Big Brown failed in his bid to become horse racing's 12th Triple Crown winner when he finished dead last to Da' Tara in the Belmont Stakes. Da' Tara went wire to wire to beat eight other thoroughbreds over 1½ miles, the longest and toughest of the three classics. "I had no horse," said Big Brown's jockey, Kent Desormeaux. All week long, Big Brown's trainer, Rick Dutrow Jr. said the horse's victory was "a foregone conclusion." He turned out be wrong. The bay colt's disappointing performance followed convincing victories in the Kentucky Derby and Preakness. He failed on...