[2] During the early years of his career as a trainer Johnson worked in Arlington Park near Chicago, and the Detroit Fair Grounds in Michigan.
Johnson was also the trainer of Quiet Little Table who beat Forego in a surprise win in the Suburban Handicap of 1977.
[2] In the summer of 2000 Johnson began to train Volponi, a horse that he had bred himself and owned a 50 percent stake in with partner Edward Baier.
[3] Volponi eventually won the prestigious $4 million Breeders' Cup Classic back on Johnson's native turf of Arlington Park, on October 26, 2002.
[7] On July 9, 2004 Johnson entered Angela's Angel in a Maiden Special Weight turf race at Belmont Park in New York.