Arlington Stakes

Trainer Brian Knippenberg knew there was something wrong with Mercante (Gun Runner), but didn't know what it was. He also knew that the horse had a ton of talent and maybe he could patch him up and he'd be a useful horse. Not many would have done so. It would have been easy to give up on a horse that was sidelined for 15 months after he finished third in a July 22, 2023 allowance race at Saratoga for trainer Bill Mott. Fast forward to the present and Mercante looks...

Four weeks removed from the running of the GI Kentucky Oaks and GI Kentucky Derby, Churchill Downs stages its second stacked weekend of the spring/summer meeting, with five Grade IIIs and one listed contest on 'Stephen Foster Preview' Day. The program serves as a steppingstone to Foster Day itself in a month's time. A field of 10 has been entered for the GIII Blame Stakes, the course-and-distance prep for the $1-million GI Stephen Foster Stakes, a 'Win and You're In' qualifier for the GI Breeders' Cup Classic. Gary and Mary...