Churchill Downs
The Week in Review, by T.D. Thornton Four-time Grade I-winning 4-year-old McKinzie (Street Sense) has always been saddled with high expectations, while 3-year-old Mr. Money (Goldencents) has now achieved millionaire status by grinding out four consecutive Grade III victories. Convincing wins on Saturday gave each horse a divisional foothold, with McKinzie establishing himself as the top two-turn older dirt horse who might finally be getting comfortable with kingpin status, and Mr. Money carving out a niche as the late-blooming sophomore who appears primed to punch above his weight thanks to...
Having secured a court order that paved the way for his return to the training ranks, Jerry Hollendorfer saddles a single horse on Saturday's Del Mar program. That runner just happens to be Vasilika (Skipshot), the queen of the hill among California's turf distaffers, who will jump a warm favorite in the GII Yellow Ribbon H. Claimed for $40,000 a year and a half ago, the chestnut has made 14 appearances for the barn and has had her picture taken a dozen times, her lone finish outside of the top...
An idea at last year's Keeneland September Yearling Sale among the Lightner family members and colleagues blossomed into a 20-owner racing syndicate that's about to have its first- ever stakes starter in Saturday's Dr. Fager S. at Gulfstream Park. The fledgling syndicate was formed by Mary Lightner, a trainer of over nine years and the daughter of bloodstock agent and trainer Mike Lightner. On June 1, 2019, Shooting Star sent its debut runner Chance It (Currency Swap), trained by Saffie Joseph, Jr., to the races and the colt finished a...
Dennis' Moment (Tiznow) went wire-to-wire in impressive fashion at Ellis Park Saturday afternoon to become a TDN Rising Star for trainer Dale Romans and the Albaugh Family Stables. The well-regarded Dennis' Moment was given ample support at 5-2 in his career debut going five furlongs at Churchill Downs June 23, but he clipped heels, unseating rider Robby Albarado and failing to finish the race. Coming into this off a pair of inspiring morning works, including a five-furlong bullet move in :59 flat at Churchill July 15, the $400,000 Fasig-Tipton Saratoga...
Churchill Downs has released the stakes schedule for its September meet, which will include the renamed $175,000 Lukas Classic--named in honor of Hall of Fame trainer D. Wayne Lukas. The 1 1/8-mile race for 3-year-olds and up, designed to be a prep for the GI Breeders' Cup Classic, was introduced in 2013 and was previously named the Homecoming Classic. "Along with the enormity of the numbers of his total victories, the stakes races he has won and earnings by his stable's horses throughout his Hall of Fame career, D. Wayne...
According to published reports, the U.S. Labor Department has filed a lawsuit against trainer Steve Asmussen alleging that, since 2012, the trainer's KDE Equine has not paid Churchill Downs stable workers overtime and has failed to keep proper employment records regarding wages paid and hours worked. The lawsuit was filed in U.S. District Court in Louisville, KY. "They just have a fundamental misunderstanding, honestly, of the hours that these folks work and how they're paid," Asmussen's attorney Clark Brewster told Louisville Courier-Journal. "And even if they were correct in their...