Down the Shedrow

Four years into his training career, Will Walden has established a pattern of sharp, sustained growth. Starting with a nine-win campaign in 2022, his operation has doubled its purse earnings each season since, crossing the $4 million mark last year after scoring a first Grade I victory with Rhetorical(Not This Time) in the 2025 GI Coolmore Turf Mile Stakes. "We owe a lot of it to Rhetorical," said Walden. "What we have now, from the number of horses to the class of horses we have, is really due to him....

The Brian Lynch stable is one of the hottest barns on the Churchill Downs backside and has a big weekend ahead. Winning at a 27% clip in 2026, the operation has collected 37 wins on the year. Lynch was fourth in the trainer standings at Gulfstream's Championship Meet and currently ranks fifth at the Churchill Downs meet, finishing in the money in 30 of his 40 starts. Nic Lynch, who has served as assistant trainer to his father for the past three years, credited the stable's recent success to his...