Independence Hall

Undefeated and impressive in all three of his career starts thus far, Independence Hall (Constitution) has earned respect as one of the top early choices for the GI Kentucky Derby. Saturday, fans will get a much clearer picture of whether that stature is justified, as the Mike Trombetta trainee heads south to take on a quality field in the GIII Sam F. Davis S. at Tampa Bay Downs. Sent off as a 7-5 favorite debuting in a seven-furlong event on the GI Pennsylvania Derby undercard at Parx, the dark bay...

Studying political science at college, the only Constitution she might have expected to see put to the test right now was the one that opens with the words, "We the people..." As it is, Shannon Castagnola just feels relief that fate diverted her from her original vocation, to chronicle impeachments or caucuses, and instead afforded her a professional stake in one of the frontrunners for the highest sophomore office of 2020. Castagnola is the Director of Marketing and Client Relations at Woodford Thoroughbreds, the farm that bred and raised Independence...

You've heard the name: Twin Creeks. But what you might not know is the racing stable and farm has been involved in some monumental deals in the past decade. Add in their current involvement in one of the hottest freshman sires on the planet and one of his Derby-bound sons, and you're likely to hear a whole lot more about Steve Davison and Randy Gullatt's Twin Creeks in the future. Originally established in 1992, Twin Creeks Farm was founded by the two old school friends from Louisiana. Davison and Gullatt...

The Week in Review, by T.D. Thornton So which 3-year-old ran the more impressive GI Kentucky Derby prep race last week? You're forgiven if you want to grade two of the three stakes as "incomplete" because they more or less equated to public workouts won by heavy favorites who had short fields at their mercy. But there were enough nuggets of intrigue to spark decent debate, even at this early stage of the season. Authentic Goes Green The 7 3/4-length beatdown administered by Authentic (Into Mischief) in Saturday's GIII Sham...

Independence Hall (Constitution) kicked off his 2020 path towards the Triple Crown as expected Wednesday, airing by open lengths in Aqueduct's Jerome S. as the overwhelming 1-9 favorite. Last away, he rushed up outside of rivals to press a longshot through a :23.79 opening quarter. He took over after a half in :47.47, with only New York-breds Bourbon Bay (Bayern) and Prince of Pharoahs (American Pharoah) appearing to have any chance to collar the chalk from there. Independence Hall turned very wide into the straight and presented Prince of Pharoahs...

Though a constellation of three unbeaten 2-year-olds did emerge glittering from the Breeders' Cup, the GI Juvenile itself appeared only to send meteors careering out of their projected orbit. Obviously there's plenty of time for these burnouts to renew their lustre next year. Dennis' Moment (Tiznow) didn't have a prayer after genuflecting as he exited the gate; while Eight Rings (Empire Maker) must be a city block better than he ran, for his trainer to have encouraged clients as important as Coolmore to invest in breeding rights in the days...