Toyota Blue Grass

Keeneland concluded its 2025 Spring Meet on Friday following 15 days of racing that produced total wagering of $192 million. The Spring Meet was slated to begin Friday, Apr. 4, but severe storms and flooding rainfall forced Keeneland officials to take the unprecedented step of rescheduling the opening two days, resulting in the GI Central Bank Ashland and the GI Toyota Blue Grass moving to Monday, Apr. 7 and Tuesday, Apr. 8, respectively. "The success of this Spring Meet is a salute to the power of teamwork, and we are...

A new kingpin graces the No. 1 slot after the final round of 100-point preps. The rankings below are in "likeliest winner" order, and are independent from the "Road to the Derby" points leaderboard that awards starting berths. 1) JOURNALISM (c, Curlin--Mopotism, by Uncle Mo) O-Bridlewood Farm, Don Alberto Stable, Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners, Elayne Stables 5 LLC, LaPenta, Robert V., Magnier, Mrs. John, Smith, Derrick and Tabor, Michael B.; B-Don Alberto Corporation (KY); T-Michael W. McCarthy. Sales history: $825,000 Ylg '23 FTSAUG. Lifetime Record: GISW, 5-4-0-1, $638,880. Last start: WON...

Just a Touch (Justify), a fantastic second behind subsequent GI Breeders' Cup Classic winner Sierra Leone (Gun Runner) in last spring's GI Toyota Blue Grass Stakes at Keeneland, is nearing a return to action. Last seen coming up just a head short for Qatar Racing, Resolute Racing and Marc Detampel in the Iowa Derby July 6, the 4-year-old has posted seven workouts at Brad Cox's Payson Park base this year, most recently breezing five furlongs in 1:01.80 (3/13) Feb. 15. "He's doing great," said Hunter Valley Farm's Fergus Galvin, who...

Verifying (Justify), who stands at Florida's Pleasant Acres Stallions, was represented by his first foal when a filly was born Jan. 25. The filly is out of the Malibu Moon mare Selective Memory and owned by Belvedere Farm. "There is so much to say about Verifying and the potential for his progeny to take the racing industry by storm," said Director of Stallion Services Christine Jones. "A half-brother to 6x Grade I winner Midnight Bisou, Verifying is a dual hemisphere stallion who had a very successful breeding debut in Florida...

Fans will have the final pari-mutuel opportunity to bet on this year's GI Kentucky Derby in advance of the May 7 race beginning Thursday at noon ET through Saturday at 4:30 p.m. ET for Pool 5 of the Kentucky Derby Future Wager ("KDFW"). Pool 5 of the KDFW features 24 betting interests and the 5-1 early morning-line favorite is Winchell Thoroughbreds' GII TwinSpires.com Louisiana Derby winner Epicenter (Not This Time). Unlike the previous three-day Kentucky Derby Future Wager opportunities, Pool 5 will feature an early start Thursday and will close...

The American Graded Stakes Committee of the Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association Friday announced the results of its annual grading session conducted Jan. 26 and 27 to determine U.S. Graded and Listed stakes races for February 2022 through January 2023. The Committee reviewed 891 U.S. stakes races with a purse of at least $75,000, and assigned Graded status to 449 of them--four more than were graded in 2021, and Listed status to 204 races. Eight Graded races were upgraded and three new Grade I, five new Grade II races and...

John and Diane Fradkin's Rombauer (Twirling Candy), third in the GII Toyota Blue Grass S. in his most recent start, is headed to the May 15 GI Preakness S. at Pimlico Race Course. "That's the plan," trainer Michael McCarthy told the Pimlico notes team Monday. The homebred automatically qualified for a starting berth in the 146th Preakness with his victory in the El Camino Real Derby Feb. 13 at Golden Gate Fields. He was third, beaten 5 3/4 lengths in the Blue Grass behind champion Essential Quality (Tapit) and Highly...

When Rock Your World (Candy Ride {Arg}) won the Pasadena S. at Santa Anita Mar. 6, it appeared that he could develop into a quality turf horse, who, like many horses trained by John Sadler, would take a while to fully develop. But Sadler had other ideas. This was going to be his GI Kentucky Derby horse. "He had always trained well on the dirt," Sadler said. "Sometimes you run on turf when you don't think they are training well on dirt. He was training well on dirt, but we...

With one month to the running of the GI Kentucky Derby, NBC Sports presents live coverage of the GII Wood Memorial, GII Blue Grass S. and GI Santa Anita Derby Saturday at 5:30 p.m. ET. This weekend's "triplecast" continues NBC Sports' "Road to the Kentucky Derby" coverage on four consecutive Saturday afternoons, which also includes next weekend's GI Arkansas Derby. NBC Sports will present the 147th Kentucky Derby Saturday, May 1 at 2:30 p.m. ET on NBC. Saturday's live coverage begins from Aqueduct Racetrack with the Wood Memorial, which has...

What a difference a year makes. Last March, when the coronavirus pandemic first descended upon America, the cancellation of sporting events left and right drove home, like few other signs did, how serious the situation was. In the racing world, there was arguably no greater loss of normalcy at that time than was felt when Keeneland was forced to scrap its iconic spring meet. And while races eventually returned to the central Kentucky oval, fans didn't for the entirety of 2020. Friday, the familiar sights of April in Lexington--the colorful...

Keeneland will present 18 stakes, featuring the 97th running of the $800,000 GII Toyota Blue Grass S. and the 84th running of the $400,000 GI Central Bank Ashland S., worth a total of $4.1 million during its 2021 Spring Meet from Apr. 2-23. Post time for the first race during the 15-day season will be 1:05 p.m. ET. Keeneland will be closed Easter Sunday, Apr. 4. "Keeneland is excited to welcome racing back to the Bluegrass in April," Keeneland President and CEO Shannon Arvin said. "With the cancellation of last...

All eyes will be on Art Collector (Bernardini) as he looks to go four-for-four on the year and punch his ticket to Louisville in Sunday's $200,000 Runhappy Ellis Park Derby. After airing over subsequent GIII Indiana Derby hero Shared Sense (Street Sense) in an optional claimer at Churchill Downs June 13, the Bruce Lunsford homebred followed up with another impressive performance capturing Keeneland's GII Toyota Blue Grass S. July 11, his second straight victory with a triple digit Beyer Speed Figure. "I'm just hoping for a good clean trip more...