GI Santa Anita Derby

The connections of Baeza (McKinzie) have had a change of heart and will ship him to Churchill Downs after all. Though some believe Baeza, the runner-up in the GI Santa Anita Derby, is among the best 3-year-olds in the sport, he has only 37.5 Derby points. That puts him at 23rd on the list. Only 20 horses can start in the race. Had this been last year, Baeza would have made it in no problem. His second-place finish in the Santa Anita Derby would have earned him 50 points, which,...

This past weekend we were three weeks out from America's most historic and important horse race, and all was quiet on the GI Kentucky Derby front. Too quiet, in fact. Compared to pro and college team sports, which have expanded their wild-card and play-in formats to capitalize on the immediacy of games with win-or-go-home playoff berths on the line, the lead-up to the Derby has silently shifted in the opposite direction. Instead of maximizing the relevancy of making the final cut as the sport's main event nears, racing rolls out...

Saturday's Santa Anita Derby day showed large increases over 2024 with the all sources handle totaling $22,388,003 and wagering on just the marquee race up by nearly 24 per cent, according to a press release by the track. Bolstered by a big turnout from the Derby Day 5K, the on-track attendance came in at 34,312, a seven per cent jump from last season. It was the largest turnout since 2018. Both the all sources handle and on track attendance are expected to finish the Classic Meet Sunday up by noteworthy...

Journalism (Curlin) has emerged from Saturday's GI Santa Anita Derby victory in good form and as the 2025 GI Kentucky Derby favorite. Having recovered from trouble near the eighth pole and checking near the three-eighths, the son of Classic sire Curlin rallied down the lane to overhaul Baeza (McKinzie) and collect the coveted 100 points to the Derby. The effort garnered a 102 Beyer speed figure. "I thought he showed a lot of poise being down inside," trainer Michael McCarthy said. "He had to kind of bide his time and...

The goal of the Kentucky Derby points system should be to make sure the 20 best 3-year olds in the sport make it into the field. Churchill Downs has tweaked the system a couple of times over the years and the changes, for the most part, have been well received. It's a different story this year. Churchill has tweaked the system so that in any race with five horses or fewer the horses receive fewer points than races with six or more horses. The rule is clearly aimed at Santa...

Tradition since 1995, Santa Anita Park's Derby Day 5K Run & Walk is set for Saturday, Apr. 5 for the 30th running of the event, the track announced Saturday afternoon. The race will kick off at 8 a.m. with participants encouraged to arrive early between 6:30 a.m. and 7:15 a.m. and horsemen as well as locals are reminded that Baldwin Avenue will be closed from 7:30 a.m. to 10 a.m. to all but foot track. The closing extends between the 210 Freeway and Huntington Drive. The race begins from South...

MGSW/GISP 'TDN Rising Star' Messier (Empire Maker--Checkered Past, by Smart Strike) will stand stud in 2025 at New York's Rockridge Stud for $5,000 LFSN in a deal brokered by Matt Bowling of Bowling Bloodstock, the farm announced Friday. The Sam-Son Farm homebred was purchased at the 2020 Fasig-Tipton Selected Yearlings Sale by Donato Lanni on behalf of SF Bloodstock, Madaket Stables, and Starlight Racing for $470,000 and broke his maiden in his 2nd start to become a 'Rising Star', winning by 6 1/2 lengths. He bested Forbidden Kingdom (American Pharoah)...

Bidding opened Thursday for MSW E J Won the Cup (Omaha Beach), who is being offered in a one-horse flash sale on Fasig-Tipton Digital, which will close Monday, Oct. 28 at 2 p.m. ET, according to a press release from the company midday on Thursday. As a 3-year-old this year, E J Won the Cup is a multiple stakes winner, two-time graded stakes placed and his latest Beyer Speed Figures are the highest of his career. In his most recent start in the GIII Oklahoma Derby, the colt was the...

5th-Turf Paradise, $30,000, Msw, 4-25, 2yo, 5f, :59.17, ft, 1 1/4 lengths. DANCING PORKY (c, 2, Honor A. P.--Morning Dance, by Broken Vow) recorded the first worldwide winner for his Lane's End freshman sire Honor A.P. (by Honor Code), who has 80 foals of racing age to his credit. The juvenile, who debuted at Turf Paradise and finished third Apr. 11, was sent off as the 1-2 choice here. Though the colt started slowly, around the far turn he got into gear. Driving down the lane, Dancing Porky crossed the...

In the latest detour in the exhaustive legal saga stemming from Justify's 2018 GI Santa Anita Derby win, the connections of the horse during his racing career filed a notice last week with the California Horse Racing Board (CHRB) requesting that the agency entertain an appeal of a recent board of stewards decision disqualifying the horse from the race and to stay the purse distribution. In response, the CHRB have denied a stay of the stewards' decision but stated that it will "assign a Hearing Officer in this matter where...

8th-Santa Anita, $63,700, Alw (C)/Opt. Clm ($80,000), 10-6, 3yo/up, 1m, 1:35.14, ft, 4 lengths. PRACTICAL MOVE (c, 3, Practical Joke--Ack Naughty {MSP, $310,450}, by Afleet Alex) has never been off the board in his career and after almost six months away since winning the GI Santa Anita Derby by the slimmest of noses over Mandarin Hero (Jpn) (Shanghai Bobby), he returned to the races here like he never left. Enthusiastically hammered down to 2-5 favoritism at the windows and on Lasix for the first time in his career, he left...

Leslie and Pierre Amestoy, the co-owners of Practical Move, share their journey to this year's Kentucky Derby.