Churchill Downs

On Time Girl (f, 2, Not This Time) became the 12th 'TDN Rising Star' for her leading young Taylor Made sire--his eighth this year--at Churchill Downs Thursday evening. Off as the 2-1 second choice following a 2 1/2-length debut victory for Brad Cox at Ellis Park Aug. 3, the Albaugh Family homebred raced in between rivals in the early stages and made a flashy move into second heading into the far turn. She turned up the heat on the leader at the top of the stretch and leveled off with...

5th-CD, 120k, Msw, 2yo, 6f, 2:45 p.m. ET Our Forefathers (Constitution), a $1.2-million KEESEP yearling purchase by the Searing family's C R K Stable, makes his career debut for trainer Peter Eurton. The chestnut was produced by the Street Sense mare Via Veritas, who hails from the extended female family of GISWs Magnum Moon, Harmony Lodge, et al. Luis Saez rides. The deep field of 12 also includes: Tiz Authority (Tiz the Law), an $825,000 OBS April breezer debuting for Flatland Racing Stable and trainer Chris Hartman; and fellow firster...

4th-CD, 127k, Alw, N2L, 2yo, f, 6f, 6:30 p.m. ET    'TDN Rising Star' Tennessee Belle (Yaupon), a runaway winner at second asking for owner Boyd Racing and trainer John Ortiz at Saratoga Aug. 16, takes on winners for the first time on Churchill's opening day program. The daughter of MGISW Belle Gallantey (After Market) was previously a debut second behind subsequent GI Spinaway S. heroine and fellow 'Rising Star' Tommy Jo (Into Mischief) at the Spa July 26. The $75,000 Keeneland November weanling turned $160,000 Fasig-Tipton February yearling RNA'd...

Neil Pessin, who abruptly left the training business in mid-May, has landed a new position as an assistant to trainer Michelle Nihei on the Kentucky circuit, the conditioner confirmed Thursday. The conditioner of Grade I winner Bell's the One (Majesticperfection), Pessin saddled his final runner at Keeneland at the end of April and took some time to sell off some of his tack and other gear. But Pessin admits that sitting idly by isn't something he does especially well, and he ultimately accepted an offer from Nihei to oversee a...

Hall of Fame trainer Bill Mott says he is not all that interesting. We disagree. Mott, who got his first winner when he was still in high school, has never stopped. Through the years, he has had a barn full of high-caliber horses. He talks about some of them; he talks about Sovereignty, who is the best 3-year-old in the country. He talks about training for the late George Steinbrenner. And he remembers a dumb question from a reporter (me). Here is the Saratoga Q&A. TDN: First question. Why is...

Heavy favorite Comport (Collected) earned her first black type win Sunday in the Ellis Park Juvenile Stakes at Ellis Park. After a debut victory going five and one half furlongs under the Twin Spires, the juvenile colt returned to Churchill Downs for start number two, finishing second in the Bashford Manor Stakes June 29. As the 2-5 choice here, Comport was positioned just off the early speed up the backstretch, with her sights on pacesetting Spice Runner (Gun Runner). As they rounded the far turn, Comport confronted her rival, sticking...

A stakes schedule packed with $3.575 million in purses will headline this year's 14-day September Meet at Churchill Downs, which runs Thursday, Sept. 11 through Sunday, Sept. 28 and features 11 stakes contests over three weekends. Saturday, Sept. 13 sets the tone with five stakes races led by the $400,000 GII Fasig-Tipton Locust Grove and the first points events on the Road to the Kentucky Derby and Kentucky Oaks: the $300,000 GIII Iroquois and $300,000 GIII Pocahontas. The second Saturday of the meet on Sept. 20 includes four more stakes...

Ready to roll in his second career race, Blackout Time (Not This Time--Beauty Parlor, by Elusive Quality) did not disappoint his backers as he ran up the score at Ellis Park on Saturday afternoon and earned himself a shiny new 'TDN Rising Star' for his coat. In his debut at Churchill Downs June 29, the colt was a runner-up to Dazzle d'Oro (Bolt d'Oro) who garnered himself a 'Rising Star' for that effort. Sadly, Dazzle d'Oro had to be humanely euthanized after sustaining a catastrophic injury during training at Saratoga...

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. - There was no head scratching at the end of Friday's fourth race at Saratoga. At least not from the winners. The $100,000 maiden special weight for 2-year-old fillies went to the aptly named Scratch It (Tapit), who was virtually ignored at the windows. She was allowed to go off at 12-1 odds in the 1 1/8-mile race on the Inner Turf. She was the second longest price on the board in the field of eight. At the end, Scratch It had gone gate-to-wire and won by...

When I read the announcement from Churchill Downs that the post time for the Kentucky Oaks was being moved to allow the race to be televised in "prime time," my first thought was not of the importance of another race being run in "prime time" but of the disruption this would cause the local restaurant community. As a lover of the Thoroughbred industry, I applaud the track for the way it has grown interest, not just in the Oaks, but the Wednesday and Thursday cards that precede it. But, as...

NBC Sports will showcase the 2026 GI Longines Kentucky Oaks in prime time for the first time ever in 2026, Churchill Downs Incorporated announced Thursday. The 152nd Kentucky Oaks, featuring racing's best 3-year-old fillies, will be presented Friday, May 1, 2026, at 8 p.m. ET on NBC and Peacock. In addition to racing, Kentucky Oaks traditions centered around fashion and women's health advocacy will remain central pillars of the event pageantry--now culminating in a twilight finish. "We are excited to present the Kentucky Oaks in prime time for the first...

Trainer Mike Maker is a man of few words. Really, he is. Don't take it personally. The 56-year-old is just not naturally blabby. The TDN's Tim Wilkin sat down with him in his office on the backstretch at Saratoga Race Course, and found that Maker has some things to say. A former assistant to the late, great D. Wayne Lukas (you know there are stories there), Maker has a favorite horse he has trained, a favorite sports team, and a definitive answer on what actor would play him in a...