Churchill Downs

Trainer Brad Cox had a pair of horses work Friday ahead of a projected next start in the GI Kentucky Derby. Both Wathnan Racing's GI Florida Derby winner Commandment (Into Mischief) (:48.40 {14/44}) and St. Elias Stable and Starlight Racing's GIII Jeff Ruby Steaks winner Fulleffort (Liam's Map) (:48.40 {14/44}) recorded published four-furlong workouts Friday morning. Commandment was the first of the two Cox trainees to breeze and worked in company with George Messina's Louisiana-bred stakes winner He's Late Again (Aurelius Maximus). The duo completed an opening quarter-mile in :24.40...

A pair of very talented, unbeaten 3-year-olds could potentially face off in the GII Pat Day Mile S. on Kentucky Derby day at Churchill Downs. Crude Velocity (Beau Liam) will take his two-for-two record to Louisville for Bob Baffert following a powerful, 6 3/4-length victory over older horses in an optional claimer at Santa Anita Saturday. He earned a 100 Beyer Speed Figure for the effort. The $250,000 OBS June graduate previously overcame an impossible trip to win at first asking by a neck Mar. 7, good for 'TDN Rising...

Gary and Mary West's GII Gulfstream Park Oaks winner Prom Queen (Quality Road) began her serious preparation for the GI Longines Kentucky Oaks on Thursday when she breezed a half-mile in :49.40 (30/37) at Churchill Downs. The 'TDN Rising Star, presented by Hagyard' began her work from the three-furlong pole with trainer Brad Cox's exercise rider Edvin Vargas in the irons while completing an opening eighth-mile in :13.40. She continued through the wire clocking three furlongs in :37.20 while completing her move with a five-furlong gallop out in 1:02.40. "We...

First race post time at Santa Anita on Friday, May 1, will be 3:15 p.m. PT, it was announced Thursday. The move to push the first race came after Churchill Downs moved the featured Kentucky Oaks to 5:40 p.m. PT, running the race on NBC in primetime. This will enable Santa Anita to run several races after the Oaks. "Sunset in Arcadia on May 1st is 7:37 p.m., so we will have plenty of daylight," said Nate Newby, General Manager of Santa Anita Park. "The Kentucky Oaks is trying something...

There may not be a harder-working man in racing journalism that Nick Luck. In addition to his work on NBC's racing broadcasts, he hosts the podcasts Nick Luck Daily and Nick Luck on Sunday, and has covered major racing events for networks in the U.K. Australia, Hong Kong, and throughout the Middle East. In 2017, he became the BBC Equestrian commentator, and has since covered the Olympia Horse Show, Badminton Horse Trials, Burghley Horse Trials, and the Olympic Games for the BBC. Luck has been named Horserace Writers' & Photographers'...

Tomoya Ozasa's T O Elvis (Volatile), a five-time winner and never worse than third in his eight career appearances at home, will make his next start in the $1-million GI Churchill Downs Stakes on the Kentucky Derby undercard May 2, trainer Daisuke Takayanagi told the Japanese website Sanspo.com on Wednesday. Bred in Kentucky by Jeff and Melissa Prunzik, the 4-year-old son of the eight-time stakes winner Stopshoppingdebbie (Curlin) is currently on a four-race winning streak at home, most recently streaking clear to take out the G3 Capella Stakes (1200 meters)...

Churchill Downs Racetrack has announced a multi-year partnership with CAFE Appliances to help fans create the ultimate home-watch parties for the Kentucky Derby. CAFE and Churchill Downs have also partnered with Caroline Chambers, a New York Times bestselling cookbook author, to curate a 'Kentucky Derby At-home' menu. Also joining the team are content creators like recipe and drink creator Miguel Buencamino, and hospitality expert Xandy Sutherland Nickel. "We want viewers around the globe to be able to experience the spirit of the Kentucky Derby beyond the race itself, and food...

The final weekend of nine-furlong preps in New York, California and Kentucky didn't vault any unexpected new shooters to the top of the GI Kentucky Derby pecking order. Yet while the likely favorites look well established, none stands out as invincible, and there's an intriguing mix of mid-priced long shots deeper down the list. Next week we'll expand to rate the Top 20 contenders.   1) COMMANDMENT (c, Into Mischief--Sippican Harbor, by Orb) O-Wathnan Racing; B-Lee Pokoik (KY); T-Brad H. Cox. Sales history: $485,000 RNA Wlg '23 FTKNOV; $475,000 RNA...

Four weeks in advance of the 152nd running of the GI Kentucky Derby, bettors made GI Arkansas Derby winner Renegade (Into Mischief) the 4-1 favorite with GI Curlin Florida Derby winner Commandment (Into Mischief) the 7-1 second choice in the sixth and final pool of the Kentucky Derby Future Wager (KDFW). The three-day pool closed Saturday at 6 p.m. ET in advance of the three final Road to the Kentucky Derby Championship Series races: Saturday's GI Blue Grass S., GII Wood Memorial and GI Santa Anita Derby. Horses in order...

Hat Creek Racing's Percy's Bar (Upstart) has emerged from her comebacking victory in Friday's GI Central Bank Ashland Stakes in good order and will train up to the GI Longines Kentucky Oaks at Keeneland, trainer Ben Colebrook told the Keeneland media office on Saturday. "She will have all her works here," the conditioner said. "She's a Keeneland horse and she has already won at Churchill. We will wait until the last second to when we have to be there." Given that Percy's Bar bounced off the inside rail during her...

Mike Battaglia, who has served as Churchill Downs's morning line oddsmaker for more than five decades, will retire from the role ahead of the 44-day spring meet and be replaced by Nick Tammaro, according to a press release from the track on Friday. Battaglia was responsible for setting the odds at Churchill Downs since 1974. He also served as the track's announcer from 1977-97 and later as a simulcast host from 1997-2007. "I'm very appreciative of everyone at Churchill Downs for the opportunity over the years," Battaglia said. "It's been...

Purse levels for maiden special weight (MSW) races at Kentucky's two summer meets, Ellis Park and Kentucky Downs, are projected to remain level this year compared to 2025. At Ellis, that means $100,000 per MSW race over the course of a 25-date meet in July and August, and at Kentucky Downs, the MSW purses will be $170,000 over seven dates in August and September. The disclosures were made by representatives of each track at the Apr. 1 meeting of the Kentucky Thoroughbred Development Fund (KTDF) advisory committee. Although MSW purse...