John Clay's latest sports column provided by the Lexington Herald-Leader

John Clay

John Clay: Racing world craves greatness from Orb

Kentucky Derby winner Orb will take aim at a Preakness win, then set his sights on becoming the first Triple Crown winner in 35 years.

We have not seen a Triple Crown winner since 1978, but for some reason, maybe because we are optimistic and sentimental fools when it comes to horses, even with two legs of the Triple Crown remaining, this year feels different, as if there really... 2 hours ago

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Archive by category ''John Clay

JOHN CLAY

John Clay: What Calipari said, what he meant

John Calipari held a "summer press conference" on Wednesday where the Kentucky basketball coach addressed last season, the state of the program and his incoming freshman class.In the interest of helping you the reader, we bring you the annotated John Calipari.
RECRUITING

John Clay: Calipari can't win 'em all

Andrew Wiggins' decision to sign with Kansas proves UK Coach John Calipari can't get every top recruit, though one might wonder if that isn't within the realm of Calipari's capabilities.
FOOTBALL

John Clay: Viewing Stoops through rose-colored glasses

Mark Stoops, you're making this tough.
FOOTBALL RECRUITING

John Clay: Barker's commitment sustains Stoops' knack for keeping recruits in Kentucky

HEBRON — Nailing a key commitment from the four-star quarterback Drew Barker will certainly make a national splash, but for Kentucky the significance also extends to the home front.
JOHN CLAY

John Clay's notes: Changes might be coming to NCAA basketball, SEC football

Random notes:
KENTUCKY DERBY

John Clay: McGaughey enjoying reign after long wait

LOUISVILLE — Shug McGaughey sat on a folding chair under a tent on the backside at Churchill Downs on Sunday morning, waiting to go on the Today show, listening via earpiece to a news report from the Syrian border.
KENTUCKY DERBY

John Clay: Orb's win proves 'old way' can be the right way

No sooner had trainer Shug McGaughey been asked in the post-race press conference about the "old-school way" than the head of the legendary Phipps Stable jumped in to make an important point. "Can I answer that question instead of Shug?" Phipps said. "He does it the right way."
KENTUCKY DERBY

John Clay: Oaks-winning owner enjoys big day for 'a little guy'

Ed Stanco is not the type of big-name owner often associated with trainer Todd Pletcher. But when the two paired up to win the Kentucky Oaks with Princess of Sylmar at Churchill Downs on Friday, none of that mattered. "I'm not the big guy that's got the billions and billions to throw at it, I'm ...
KENTUCKY DERBY

John Clay: Dream big, trust gut when placing Derby bet

Knowing that Kentucky Derby Day is the only day some people put money on a horse race, we went in search of some advice for the casual bettor.
JOHN CLAY

John Clay: Derby's controversial new points system produces field of hot horses

Aside from picking the winner, the second-biggest debate concerning this year's Kentucky Derby involves the criteria for picking the horses for this year's Kentucky Derby.