News

  • 16 Derby hopefuls under consideration for Spiral

    At last count, the list of hopefuls for Saturday's Grade 3 Spiral Stakes at Turfway Park stood at 16. With Kentucky Derby qualifying points on the line, the 12 starters will be determined by earnings in graded stakes, then by earnings in stakes, and finally by career earnings.

    Turfway Park Stakes Coordinator Tia Murphy has the Spiral hopefuls list in order of preference as follows:

  • Shanghai Bobby breezes in company ahead of Florida Derby

    Eclipse Award-winning Shanghai Bobby prepared for the Grade 1, $1 million Florida Derby at Palm Meadows Training Center Sunday morning, breezing five furlongs in company with Palace Malice.

    The 2012 juvenile champion, who suffered the first loss of his career in a second-place finish behind Itsmyluckyday in the Grade 3 Holy Bull on January 26, was timed in 1:00, as was his stablemate.

  • Orb scheduled for Florida Derby breeze

    Stuart Janney III's Kentucky homebred Orb will breeze Monday morning at Payson Park for trainer Shug McGaughey in his next-to-last scheduled workout ahead of the Grade 1, $1 million Florida Derby at Gulfstream Park on March 30.

    "He'll work Monday and then blowout a little bit the next Monday," McGaughey said.

    The bay son of Malibu Moon ran into the Florida Derby picture, and onto the Kentucky Derby Trail, with three consecutive victories, the last two of which came at Gulfstream while training all winter with McGaughey's Payson Park-based division.

  • Pletcher duo, Ground Transport drill for Louisiana Derby

    Todd Pletcher's candidates for the Grade 2 Louisiana Derby, WinStar Farm's Revolutionary and Dogwood Stable's Palace Malice, both worked five furlongs at Palm Meadows on Sunday.

    Palace Malice, beaten just a half-length when third in the Grade 2 Risen Star, sped in 1:00 on the fast main track, while Grade 3 Withers star Revolutionary clocked 1:00 3/5.

  • Will Take Charge edges Oxbow to give Lukas Rebel exacta

    Willis D. Horton's Will Take Charge caught stablemate Oxbow in deep stretch and posted a head decision in Saturday's Grade 2, $600,000 Rebel at Oaklawn Park, providing Hall of Fame trainer D. Wayne Lukas with a one-two finish in the 1 1/16-mile event.

    "I felt pretty good 100 yards from the wire," the four-time Kentucky Derby-winning conditioner said.

  • Elghayoor makes some noise in Cicada

    Elghayoor ran down 1-2 favorite Highestmaintenance and I'm Mom's Favorite to take Saturday's $100,000 Cicada at Aqueduct by a half-length. In the process, the dark bay daughter of Ghostzapper earned 50 points toward a starting berth in the Grade 1 Kentucky Oaks on May 3 via the new Oaks point system.

  • War Academy flashes Derby potential at Santa Anita

    Michael Tabor, John Magnier and Derrick Smith's War Academy vaulted onto the Kentucky Derby trail with a 3 1/2-length allowance score in Santa Anita's 2ND race on Friday, in a performance that pleased Hall of Famers Bob Baffert and Mike Smith.

  • Goldencents on course for Santa Anita Derby

    Doug O'Neill reports that dual Grade 3 winner Goldencents came out of his fourth-place finish in last Saturday's Grade 2 San Felipe at Santa Anita in good order and it's on to the Grade 1, $750,000 Santa Anita Derby on April 6 and a rematch with San Felipe runner-up Flashback and new jockey Garrett Gomez.

    "He came out great," O'Neill said of Goldencents, who weakened late to be beaten in fourth by 2 1/4 lengths in the San Felipe. "He looked fantastic. I've got to do a little better job training him. I will, and we'll be tough in the Santa Anita Derby."

  • Talamo already experienced with Derby highs and lows

    It took some time for Joe Talamo to fully absorb the 11th-hour incident that cost him a ride on the favorite in the 2009 Kentucky Derby. Chalk it up to youth, inexperience, naiveté or maturity beyond his years, but the young riding star took it in stride when I Want Revenge was scratched due to injury on the morning of the race.

  • Revolutionary tops Louisiana Derby probables

    Grade 3 Withers hero Revolutionary is one of 13 Kentucky Derby hopefuls projected to line up in the Grade 2, $1 million Louisiana Derby on March 30, Fair Grounds announced Friday.

    Revolutionary will likely be joined by his stablemate from the Todd Pletcher barn, Palace Malice, who was a close third in the Grade 2 Risen Star at Fair Grounds on February 23. Javier Castellano will be back aboard Revolutionary, and Palace Malice picks up Edgar Prado.

  • TwinSpires.com is Presenting Sponsor of Churchill Downs' 'Road to the Kentucky Derby'

    TwinSpires.com, the official online wagering site of Churchill Downs and the Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (Grade I), has been named the presenting sponsor of the “Road to the Kentucky Derby,” the point-based system that determines individual eligibility for the maximum field of 20 horses that will compete in the 139th running of America’s greatest race on Saturday, May 4.

  • Gomez takes over the mount on Flashback

    Agent Tony Matos confirmed Thursday morning that Garrett Gomez has picked up the mount on Triple Crown contender Flashback for the Grade 1 Santa Anita Derby on April 6.

    Gomez replaces Julien Leparoux, who was criticized for his ride on the sophomore son of Tapit in the Grade 2 San Felipe Stakes last Saturday, in which the even-money favorite suffered his first defeat after prompting fast fractions on the front end while going 1 1/16 miles.

  • 'Road to Kentucky Derby' Championship Series Continues With Saturday's Rebel

    The First Leg of the Championship Series on the “Road to the Kentucky Derby” continues Saturday at Oaklawn Park with the $600,000 Rebel (Grade II), which features four horses ranked in the Top 21 in the Point Standings.

    Of the four horses ranked in the Top 21, two will be saddled by Hall of Fame trainer and three-time Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (GI) winner Bob Baffert and two will be saddled by Hall of Fame trainer and four-time Kentucky Derby winner D. Wayne Lukas.

  • Orb has McGaughey thinking Kentucky Derby

    Shug McGaughey isn't one to be afflicted with Derby Fever, but the Hall of Fame trainer admits that he's excited about the prospect of running Grade 2 Fountain of Youth victor Orb in the Kentucky Derby on May 4.

    "Like I said after the Fountain of Youth, I wake up every morning thinking of winning the Kentucky Derby. I wish I'd won it a long time ago so I wouldn't have to worry about it anymore," McGaughey said Thursday morning.

  • Super Ninety Nine, Oxbow face off in Rebel

    Hall of Fame trainers Bob Baffert and D. Wayne Lukas will each saddle a pair of runners in Saturday's Grade 2, $600,000 Rebel at Oaklawn Park, and one of those four is the likely favorite for the 1 1/16-mile contest.

    Super Ninety Nine, one of Baffert's entrants, appears the one to beat off an 11 1/4-length romp on February 18 in the local prep, the Grade 3 Southwest over a sloppy, sealed track.

  • Kentucky Derby Report -- March 14

    Verrazano passed his first stakes test in the Tampa Bay Derby. It wasn't the tour-de-force of his previous start, a 16 1/4-length romp over allowance rivals at Gulfstream Park, but the three-length decision served its purpose.

    Trainer Todd Pletcher is focused upon getting his charge to the first Saturday in May and doesn't need Verrazano peaking too early, especially when the main concern is the 1 1/4-mile distance. The bay colt easily handled his first attempt at two turns Saturday and remains an imposing presence in the Kentucky Derby picture.

  • Cicada draws field of seven

    Stablemates Elghayoor and Railtown Girl, the 1-2 finishers in last month's Dearly Precious at Aqueduct, return Saturday to the New York track to take on five other three-year-old fillies in Saturday's 21st running of the $100,000 Cicada.

  • Ground Transport a live longshot for Louisiana Derby

    The rapidly progressing Ground Transport has taken off in recent days as a live longshot for the 100th anniversary edition of the Grade 2, $1 million Louisiana Derby on March 30 at Fair Grounds.

    The sophomore son of Big Brown breezed a bullet four furlongs in :47 last Saturday at Fair Grounds on the same morning that Grade 2 Risen Star winner Ive Struck a Nerve traveled that same distance in :48 2/5 before pulling up lame shortly after his move.

    Is Ground Transport viable as a longshot for the upcoming Louisiana Derby?

  • Video Road to the Kentucky Derby, Jill Byrne previews Rebel Stakes 3.16.2013

  • Total of 134 fillies nominated to Ashland

    A total of 134 fillies, led by champion Beholder, have been nominated to Keeneland's Grade 1, $500,000 Ashland Stakes, scheduled for April 6. The nominees are available at this link.

    The total number of fillies nominated during the early closing period represents a 67 percent increase over 2012. As with the Blue Grass, a late nomination period closes March 27.