Wagering Suspended On Trust N Luck In Pool 3 Of Churchill Downs' Kentucky Derby Future Wager
By: John Asher

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (April 2, 2003) - Wagering on Einar P. Robsham's Trust N Luck in Pool 3 of the Kentucky Derby Future Wager ("KDFW") has been suspended after trainer Ralph Ziadie notified officials at Churchill Downs that the winner of the Fountain of Youth (Grade I) would not compete in Kentucky Derby 129 (GI) on Saturday, May 3.

Ziadie told Churchill Downs officials that there was no physical problem with the colt, who finished a distant second to Pool 3 morning line favorite Empire Maker in the Florida Derby (GI) in his most recent start, but he and Trust N Luck's owner had decided to bypass the Derby and to possibly point toward the Preakness (GI), the second jewel of the Visa Triple Crown.

Ziadie said he was "100 percent sure" that Trust N Luck would not be entered in the Kentucky Derby. "There is no chance that we will change our mind," he said. "A mile and a quarter might be a little bit too tough for him. A lot of horses can fall by the wayside after that race and you don't want to go to the Derby unless you have a super horse."

The rules of the Kentucky Derby Future Wager allow Churchill Downs to suspend wagering on a horse in any of its pools once it is determined that there is no possibility that the horse will compete in the Kentucky Derby.

"Churchill Downs truly appreciates Mr. Ziadie's frank discussion of Trust N Luck's Kentucky Derby status and his willingness to discuss his plans with us before the opening of wagering in Pool 3," said Steve Sexton, president of Churchill Downs. "We do our best to ensure that our racing fans are fully informed about the status of the contenders in the Kentucky Derby Future Wager and our new Kentucky Oaks Future Wager. Those wagers carry more than the usual risk and communication by horsemen is a key component in the effort to make sure our Derby and Oaks fans have the best possible chance to win."

The suspension of wagering on Trust N Luck will leave Pool 3 with 23 wagering interests that include 22 individual horses and a mutuel field that includes all other 3-year-old Thoroughbreds. Wagering on Pool 3 opens at noon (all times Eastern) on Thursday, April 3 and concludes at 6:30 p.m. on Sunday, April 6. The first Kentucky Oaks Future Wager also opens at noon on April 3. That four-day pool will conclude on Sunday at 5:30 p.m., one hour before the conclusion of betting on KDFW Pool 3.

The Kentucky Derby Future Wager, now in its fifth year, allows racing fans to place wagers on contenders for the Kentucky Derby weeks in advance of the race at odds that may be more attractive than those they would receive on Derby Day. The Kentucky Derby Future Wager is a $2 minimum wager and is a win bet only. There are 24 wagering interests in each pool, which include 23 individual horses and a mutuel field that contains all other 3-year-old Thoroughbreds - regardless of whether those horses have been nominated to the Kentucky Derby and the Visa Triple Crown. There are no refunds in the Kentucky Derby Future Wager.

Churchill Downs, the world's most legendary racetrack, has conducted Thoroughbred racing and presented America's greatest race, the Kentucky Derby, continuously since 1875. Located in Louisville, the flagship racetrack of Churchill Downs Incorporated (Nasdaq: CHDN) also operates Trackside Louisville, an off-track betting and training facility. Churchill Downs will conduct the 129th running of the Kentucky Derby on May 3, 2003. The track's 2003 Spring Meet will be held April 26 through July 6. Churchill Downs has served as host to the Breeders' Cup World Thoroughbred Championships a record five times.

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