Mike Brunker

2 days ago | reviewjournal.com | Mike Brunker

There will be no Triple Crown on the line in Saturday’s 157th running of the Belmont Stakes, but it still figures to be one hell of a horse race. The top three finishers in the Kentucky Derby — Sovereignty, Journalism and Baeza — are among the eight horses entered in the $2 million race, which was shifted to Saratoga Race Course and shortened to 1¼ miles from its traditional 1½ miles for the second year in a row to accommodate the ongoing renovation of Belmont Park.

3 weeks ago | reviewjournal.com | Mike Brunker

With Kentucky Derby winner Sovereignty absent from Saturday’s 150th running of the Preakness Stakes at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, the middle jewel of the Triple Crown is not the race we wish it was. But that doesn’t mean it’s not worth betting. The good news is it could have been worse, with Derby runner-up Journalism and the well-regarded Sandman, who finished seventh in the Derby, joining the lineup shortly before entries were drawn Monday.

1 month ago | reviewjournal.com | Mike Brunker

If you want to get a sense of how hard it is to win the Kentucky Derby, just ask Las Vegas businessman Ron Winchell. The 53-year-old Winchell and his late father, Verne, founder of the Winchell’s Donuts chain, have been chasing a victory in the world’s most famous horse race for the better part of a century. The 13 horses they have run in the 1¼-mile race — both homebreds and sales purchases — have come as close as second, but the Winchells have yet to hoist the Derby trophy.

1 month ago | reviewjournal.com | Mike Brunker

With Journalism the solid favorite in Saturday’s 151st running of the Kentucky Derby, I’ve been called on to commit some journalism and offer my opinion on the best way to cash a ticket or two on “the fastest two minutes in sports.”Like the other 19 starters in the 1¼-mile race at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky, Journalism is a 3-year-old thoroughbred who will be attempting to run farther than he has ever gone.

2 months ago | horseracingnation.com | Mike Brunker

The Alameda County, Calif., fair board of directors approved a one-month extension to keep the Pleasanton racetrack open as a training facility while a new business entity explores the possibility of resuming horse racing during this summer’s fair. The extension approved late Tuesday gave trainers, owners and backstretch workers at least a temporary reprieve from the planned closure Tuesday of the Pleasanton training center, according to several people who attended.