150th GI Kentucky Derby

Albaugh Family Stables's Catching Freedom (Constitution), the GI Kentucky Derby fourth-place finisher, is slated to enter Saturday's $2 million GI Preakness S. at Pimlico Race Course, trainer Brad Cox said Sunday morning via a 1/ST Racing press release. Cox's initial reaction was not to run the colt back in two weeks after the hard race the GII Louisiana Derby winner had under the Twin Spires, in which he finished less than two lengths behind victorious Mystik Dan (Goldencents). However, Catching Freedom has been training so well at Churchill Downs that...

The GI Kentucky Derby hero, Mystik Dan (Goldencents), will be pointed towards the May 18 running of the 149th GI Preakness Stakes at Baltimore's Pimlico Race Course, trainer Kenny McPeek said Saturday morning via a Churchill Downs press release. "All systems go," McPeek said. "He'll ship out in the morning." The champ had a routine 1 1/2-mile gallop at Churchill Downs under retired jockey Robby Albarado, who will be part of the Derby winner's travel team to Baltimore. After an endoscopic exam and bloodwork was analyzed just to ensure everything...

LOUISVILLE, KY--Chad Brown certainly knows how to win. He wins with favorites, and he wins with longshots. Although these days, more of his horses likely fall in the former category rather than the latter. However, despite all the trips to the winner's circle throughout his 17-year career--and there have been many--the Kentucky Derby has eluded him. In seven prior attempts, Brown recorded his best finish with Good Magic in 2018. And while the first jewel in the American Triple Crown hasn't always been Brown's main objective, it certainly is beginning...

With Derby week just around the corner, the morning work tab under the Twin Spires was chock full of participants Wednesday, but one Derby entry went further than the others. Susumu Fujita's undefeated Forever Young (Jpn) (Real Steel {Jpn}) worked six furlongs in 1:19.60 over a fast track. With jockey Ryusei Sakai aboard, the colt posted fractions of :14.80, :28.80, :42.60, :55.20, 1:19.60 and out seven furlongs in 1:33,60. He was joined for the last half-mile by Cuffed Candy (Candy Ride {Arg}), an unraced 3-year-old for trainer Dale Romans. "Thanks...

Trainer Bill Mott's barn sent out a pair of Classic aspirants Thursday morning, including Emily Bushnell and Ric Waldman's GII Wood Memorial winner Resilience (Into Mischief) along with George Krikorian's GI Ashland S. runner-up Just F Y I (Justify). The two returned to the work tab to continue their preparations for the GI Kentucky Derby and GI Kentucky Oaks, respectively. The duo began their work together at 7:30 a.m. ET after galloping about one mile. The defending champion juvenile filly Just F Y I worked to the outside of Resilience...

If you do not happen to be a Lord of the Rings devotee, then as a horse racing fan you might assume that Gandalf, Frodo, Saruman and Sauron were just names some eccentric owners concocted to toy with The Jockey Club. Well, for true disciples of Tolkein, you understand the 'Two Towers' reference is a major theme in the trilogy, but for our purposes it simply denotes coverage. This Saturday, both Oaklawn Park and Gulfstream Park are those poles of power when it comes to authoring graded stakes. Their cards...

Brad Cox won four stakes races over the weekend, including the GII Louisiana Derby and the GII Fair Grounds Oaks. But such a run of success has almost come to be expected from a trainer who never seems to have a bad week. Cox will arrive at Churchill Downs with an army of stakes-caliber horses, including threats for the GI Kentucky Derby and the GI Kentucky Oaks. The multiple Eclipse Award winning conditioner was our special guest on this week's TDN Writers' Room podcast presented by Keeneland. He was this...

The first-ever Kentucky Derby Style Guide has been released In celebration of its 150th Kentucky Derby. The guide, created in partnership with fashion, beauty and entertainment journalist Zanna Roberts Rassi, honors the cultural tradition with a collection of looks that pay homage to Derby fashion from the past 150 years. The guide features classic couture dresses and bowties, colorful hats and timeless accessories, including longstanding fashion partners and brands like vineyard vines, Longines, Radley London and Brackish. "There is truly nothing like the fashion found at the Kentucky Derby," Roberts...

Second Stride's Champions Night fundraiser will convene at The Manhattan Project, 2101 Frankfort Ave. in Louisville from 6:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. on Monday, Apr. 29, the retired racehorse organization said in a release Thursday. An admission donation is set at $25, while the restaurant is giving 10 percent of its bar business during the Derby Week event to Second Stride. Also, there will be the Smoke Easy Cigar Lounge, along with both live and silent auctions of racing memorabilia and experiences. As in the past, the centerpiece will be...

All continues to go smoothly for D. J. Stable and Robert Cotran's undefeated GIII Holy Bull S. winner Hades (Awesome Slew), a trend trainer Joe Orseno hopes to see continue as the colt sits out Saturday's GII Coolmore Fountain of Youth S. at Gulfstream Park to await the GI Florida Derby. Since his two length score in the first leg of the Florida series, Hades has worked twice at four furlongs and at a mile, which prompted the connections to give the second leg some consideration before deciding to pass....

The Derby is not just any race. It is the pinnacle of American horse racing from virtually every angle: breeding, owning, training, riding and yes, even betting (who doesn't want bragging rights for picking the winner?). And the Derby race/event has grown to such importance for the entire industry (the hoopla around the Derby as an event got bigger in the preceding years even while horse racing has been struggling), that its import flows far beyond the private parameters of ownership of Churchill Downs, Inc. Derby day is an industry-wide...

Like one of those old split-flap mechanical signs at train stations, everyone knows that in the new year the 'Run for the Roses' leaderboard will fluctuate. Week-to-week, the top points begin to compound--from 20 to the winner Saturday and going as high as 100 to the winner come April. The trail to Derby 150 begins a much steeper ascent on Saturday at Fair Grounds in New Orleans as the GIII Lecomte S. offers 3-year-old colts 20-10-6-4-2 that can be applied to Bank of Churchill. This year's edition pits a field...