Eric Reed

SARATOGA SPRINGS, NY - Trainer Eric Reed is looking back and ahead as he prepares GI Kentucky Derby winner Rich Strike (Keen Ice) for the GI Runhappy Travers S. With a firm opinion of what went wrong in the Rich Strike's sixth-place finish in the GI Belmont S. June 11, Reed is expecting a much better performance in the $1.25-million signature race of the Saratoga Race Course meet Aug. 27. He will be the first Derby winner to run in the Travers since Always Dreaming (Bodemeister) finished ninth in 2017....

GI Belmont S. winner Mo Donegal (Uncle Mo) and GI Kentucky Derby Rich Strike (Keen Ice), sixth in Saturday's Belmont, will now be pointed towards the Aug. 27 GI Runhappy Travers S., connections confirmed Sunday morning. "I haven't really talked to the ownership group about it too much, but both of our Travers winners went through the Jim Dandy," Mo Donegal's trainer Todd Pletcher said Sunday. "So to me, if he has a prep between now and the Travers, that would make the most sense." The GII Jim Dandy will...

This week's TDN Triple Crown feature examines the GI Belmont S. entrants listed in "likeliest winner" order. 1) Mo Donegal (c, Uncle Mo--Callingmissbrown, by Pulpit) O-Donegal Racing & Repole Stable. B-Ashview Farm & Colts Neck Stables (KY). T-Todd Pletcher. Sales History: $250,000 yrl '20 KEESEP. You could argue that Mo Donegal lost the GI Kentucky Derby at the post draw after getting stuck with the dreaded rail gate. But his fifth-place effort, beaten 5 3/4 lengths in a stretch finish that featured the 1-2-3 horses all running full-tilt to the...

ELMONT, NY - With regular exercise rider Gabriel Lagunes in the saddle, GI Kentucky Derby winner Rich Strike (Keen Ice) circled the shedrow shortly after 8:30 a.m. on a sticky Thursday morning at Belmont Park. Making his way through the picturesque Belmont backstretch about 10 minutes later with a good-sized entourage in tow, Rich Strike entered the paddock via the tunnel as owner Richard Dawson and trainer Eric Reed, both sporting plenty of black-and-red Rich Strike swag, chatted by the famed Secretariat statue. With torrential pre-dawn thunderstorms leaving the main...

Rich Strike (Keen Ice), the winner of the GI Kentucky Derby and a starter in the upcoming GI Belmont S., was placed on the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission's veterinarian's list May 22 and did not come off the list until last Sunday. However, trainer Eric Reed reports that the horse's presence on the vet's list is not a cause for concern. "He was on there because of routine stuff that we had a chiropractor work on," Reed said "In Kentucky, with anything like that you have to report it to...

ELMONT, NY -- With GI Kentucky Derby winner Rich Strike (Keen Ice) exiting from post four, a field of eight was drawn Tuesday morning for Saturday's 154th GI Belmont Stakes. The historic, come-from-behind 80-1 Derby upsetter heads to the final leg of the Triple Crown fresh after breaking the norm and skipping the GI Preakness S. He has been installed as the third choice on the morning line at odds of 7-2. The $30,000 claim-to-fame will attempt to be the first non-Triple Crown winner to capture both the Kentucky Derby...

Rich Strike (Keen Ice), upset winner of the GI Kentucky Derby, got his first look at the Belmont Park main track on Thursday, galloping 1 1/2 miles over the sloppy going with regular exercise rider Gabriel Lagunes in the irons. The chestnut arrived at Belmont early Wednesday morning to prepare for the GI Belmont S. on June 11. "It seems like he's done everything a little bit better than I thought he would," said trainer Eric Reed. "We actually took him out yesterday and we were going to give him...

GI Kentucky Derby upsetter Rich Strike (Keen Ice) arrived in New York by van from Kentucky at 1 a.m. Wednesday to prepare for the GI Belmont S. June 11. With exercise rider Gabriel Lagunes up, Rich Strike visited Belmont's dirt training track at 9:30 a.m. with the accompaniment of outrider Juan Galvez and his pony Stormy, making two laps the wrong way round. "He settled down a lot the second time round. A lot of that was trying to get him used to the pony. You could see the farther...

RED-TR Racing's GI Kentucky Derby winner Rich Strike (Keen Ice) dazzled fans Monday at Churchill Downs with a five-furlong move in :59 between Races 5-6 in his final major preparation toward the $1.5 million GI Belmont Stakes S. June 11. With rider Gabe Lagunes in the saddle, Rich Strike clipped off eighth-mile fractions of :11.80, :23.20 and :34.80, according to Churchill Downs clocker John Robertson. The 80-1 upset winner of the Derby galloped out six furlongs in 1:12 and completed seven furlongs in 1:26. Trainer Eric Reed watched the work from the...

Roughly 12 hours before his peers were set to take to the Pimlico main track for the GI Preakness S., RED-TR Racing's GI Kentucky Derby upsetter Rich Strike (Keen Ice) returned to the worktab, breezing a half-mile in a strong :47.20. With rider Gabe Lagunes in the irons, the chestnut broke off aggressively with an opening quarter-mile in :22.80 and he galloped out five furlongs in 1:00.60. Immediately following his stunning 80-1 upset beneath the Twin Spires, connections fully intended on pressing on to the Preakness, but it was announced...

It was back to business as ususal for jockey Sonny Leon on Friday afternoon as he returned to Belterra Park six days after his ride of a lifetime aboard Rich Strike (Keen Ice) in an unforgettable edition of the GI Kentucky Derby. Coming off his first-ever graded stakes win in the Run for the Roses, Leon ran second in race one, third in race two, and won going away in race three. Fittingly, the 3 3/4-length victory aboard Runway Rosie (Tonalist) in the $18,800 allowance contest was for trainer Eric...

Well, I guess it's precisely because the protagonists aren't used to the limelight that everybody has so enjoyed their arrival at center stage. But they have quickly learned that once there, with everyone hanging on your every word, you had better know your script.