Risen Star Stakes

Though one of his daughters lost the services of Magnitude (Not This Time) straight after his GII Risen Star romp, and another must send Chancer McPatrick (McKinzie) in from the cold this weekend, once again last Saturday the extraordinary distaff influence of Bernardini loomed behind the big Derby rehearsals on either coast. True, the winners of both the GII Coolmore Fountain of Youth Stakes and GII San Felipe Stakes were first and foremost repaying a seven-figure investment in their respective dams--each clearly having much else going for them. But the...

Trainer Todd Pletcher has accepted a seven-day suspension imposed by the Horseracing Integrity and Welfare Unit after a horse from his barn tested positive for betamethasone. "After learning of the allegation, Todd conducted an internal investigation and discovered he and his team followed all timelines and protocols as laid out by HISA," Pletcher's attorney Drew Mollica said. "Despite this fact, the test seems to show a trace amount was discovered in the system of the horse, and rather than litigate, Todd made the prudent choice to accept the penalty and...

Winchell Thoroughbreds' Magnitude (Not This Time), who catapulted himself to the top of the list of GI Kentucky Derby contenders with a jaw-dropping 9 3/4-length victory in the GII Risen Star Stakes Saturday, has been forced off the Triple Crown trail by an ankle chip. Winchell Thoroughbreds' racing manager David Fiske confirmed the news first reported by Daily Racing Form's Marcus Hersh Tuesday. "He came out of the race Saturday good," Fiske said. "He ate up all his feed Saturday night. They took him out and gave him a bath...

Rigney Racing's 'TDN Rising Star' Jonathan's Way (Vekoma) breezed an easy five-eighths of a mile in 1:03 1/5 Monday morning at the Fair Grounds as he continues towards his seasonal comebacker in the GII Risen Star Stakes on Feb. 15. "Mother Nature has dealt us a few different tracks (conditions-wise) the last couple of days so I was happy with the work," trainer Phil Bauer said. "I wasn't too concerned about the final time. The gallop out was very good. We are still pointing to the Risen Star as our...

Fair Grounds has bumped purses for the GII Risen Star Stakes and the GIII Lecomte Stakes--both "Road to the Kentucky Derby" points races--in advance of the track's 153rd season. The Risen Star will be increased from $400,000 to $500,000 and the Lecomte upped from $200,000 to $250,000. With eight existing stakes getting a $25,000 boost, a total of $325,000 in increases is scheduled for the track's 63-race stakes program, totaling $8.875 million in purses during the 76-day Thoroughbred meet. "The Louisiana Road to the Derby and Oaks has established itself...

Sierra Leone (Gun Runner), winner of the GII Risen Star S., was the 7-1 favorite when Pool 5 of the Kentucky Derby Future Wager closed Sunday evening. Last year's 2-year-old champion Fierceness (City of Light) was second choice at 9-1. "All Other 3-Year-Olds" closed as the 11-1 third betting option. Japan's G3 Saudi Derby winner Forever Young (Jpn) (Reel Steel {Jpn}) (12-1); GII Rebel S. winner Timberlake (Into Mischief) (12-1); GII Fountain of the Youth S. winner Dornoch (Good Magic) (13-1); GIII Gotham S. winner Deterministic (Liam's Map) (16-1); allowance...

Sierra Leone (Gun Runner), who captured the GII Risen Star S. Saturday, was the 6-1 individual favorite when the Kentucky Derby Future Wager Pool 4 closed Sunday evening. The pari-mutuel field of 'all other 3-year-olds' closed as the 5-1 favorite. Other horses who attracted interest from bettors: Dornoch (Good Magic) (9-1), the GII Remsen S. winner and full-brother to 2023 Derby winner Mage; GI Champagne S. winner Timberlake (Into Mischief) (15-1); GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile third Locked (Gun Runner) (16-1); and champion 2-year-old Fierceness (City of Light) (16-1). Total handle...

'TDN Rising Star' Sierra Leone (Gun Runner) checked off quite a few boxes on his GI Kentucky Derby development checklist with Saturday's half-length score in the GII Risen Star S. at Fair Grounds. In just his third career start, he handled shipping away from his home base, winning as the 5-2 favorite off an 11-week layoff, rating from mid-pack while equipped with blinkers for the first time, and racing under the lights on a sloppy, sealed and eerily shadowy track. And yet, jockey Tyler Gaffalione still believes there's room for...

Frank Taylor, the director of new business and development for Taylor Made, knew that there was an acute labor shortage in Kentucky, with farms unable to find reliable help. But Taylor thought he had a solution. Identify those who were struggling with substance abuse problems, put them into a recovery program and, when they are ready, teach them horsemanship skills that can make them candidates for jobs throughout the industry. Thus, Taylor created Stable Recovery, a rehabilitation program, and the Taylor Made School of Horsemanship. What he didn't know at...

Chad Brown's barn includes a lot of fillies and is dominated by turf horses, which makes winning the GI Kentucky Derby more challenging than it is for trainers like Todd Pletcher, Brad Cox and Bob Baffert, who seem to have an almost endless supply of ammunition. The future Hall of Famer has started just seven horses in the Derby and the best he has to show for it is a second-place finish in 2018 with Good Magic (Curlin). But that doesn't mean the right horse won't come his way, and...

When Perry Ouzts wired the field aboard an 8-1 maiden filly named Caberneigh (Munnings) at Turfway Park last Wednesday night, the 69-year-old jockey established a milestone that garnered little notice in the racing world. The victory extended Ouzts's remarkable streak of having ridden at least one winner in a calendar year to 52 consecutive seasons. Think about the scope of that accomplishment for a moment. On Apr. 2, 1973, Ouzts, then 18, rode his first lifetime winner on just his second day as a licensed apprentice, guiding home an Ohio-bred...

A day after Track Phantom (Quality Road)'s win in the GIII Lecomte S. at Fair Grounds Saturday, trainer Steve Asmussen was already looking forward to starting the 3-year-old colt in the Feb. 17 GII Risen Star S. The sophomore, who ended 2023 with a win in the Gun Runner S., will be following the same New Orleans path to the GI Kentucky Derby that Asmussen used for Epicenter (Not This Time) two years ago. Epicenter won the Gun Runner in 2021 and finished second in the Lecomte to begin his...