Churchill Downs

Getting a 3-year-old to peak precisely on the first Saturday of May is an over-arching goal in our sport. But even for the very upper crust of colts, a brush with GI Kentucky Derby aspirations ends up being nothing more than an early diversion on a much longer development arc. It's always intriguing to watch how one-time Derby hopefuls progress over months and even years, and two of them from Todd Pletcher's barn signaled Saturday that they might be A-level factors in the second half of this season. Within the...

Walkathon got the jump on odds-on McKulick and kept finding in the lane to make the grade and stay unbeaten on gras while becoming jockey Julien Leparoux's 1000th winner at Churchill Downs. Having finished second and fourth in her second and third starts, respectively, sprinting on the main track, Walkathon was runner-up in a rained-onto-Tapeta Gulfstream route Feb. 13. She resurfaced to graduate over the Keeneland turf Apr. 22, and was flattered when the next two finishers came back to earn their own diplomas. The Whitham homebred was coming off...

Sponsored by Alex Nichols Agency 5th-GP, $50,000, Msw, 3yo/up, 1mT, post time: 3:13 p.m. ET A day after her half-brothers Galileo (Ire) and Sea The Stars (Ire) accounted for the two Group 1 winners on Cazoo Oaks day at Epsom, Live Oak's Grade I winner My Typhoon (Ire) (Giant's Causeway) is represented by the debuting TYPHOON'S LEGACY (Kitten's Joy). Charlotte Weber's operation paid a sales-topping (more than three times the price of the next most expensive offering) 1.8 million gns ($2,942,730) for My Typhoon when offered by the Irish National...

Curly Jack gave his Eclipse-winning young sire Good Magic his first winner with a stylish debut victory at Churchill Downs Thursday afternoon. Given a 4-1 chance, the $180,000 KEESEP acquisition was away without issue from his rail draw and tugged his way up the fence to seize the early advantage, clocking a :22.33 opening quarter. Pressed by Boxster (West Coast) through a :45.62 half-mile, the bay dispatched that foe with ease in the lane, rolling clear to a four-length score. GISP Connie and Michael is also responsible for the SP...

The California Horse Racing Board (CHRB) has filed a complaint against trainer Peter Miller, alleging that he was involved in the daily training of horses after they had been turned over to and put under the name of his former assistant Ruben Alvarado. Alvarado has also been charged in a separate complaint involving the same allegations. In November, Miller announced that he was taking a "temporary hiatus" from training to spend "more time with my family, focus on overall health and wellness, and pursue other interests." The announcement created speculation...

Every week, the TDN publishes a roundup of key official rulings from the primary tracks within the four major racing jurisdictions of California, New York, Florida and Kentucky. Here's a primer on how each of these jurisdictions adjudicates different offenses, what they make public (or not) and where. CALIFORNIA Track: Santa Anita Date: 05/28/2022 Licensee: Abdul Alsagoor, jockey Penalty: Three-day suspension Violation: Careless riding Explainer: Apprentice Jockey Abdul Alsagoor, who rode Poseidon's Kid in the eighth race at Santa Anita Park on May 27, 2022, is suspended for 3 racing...

RED-TR Racing's GI Kentucky Derby winner Rich Strike (Keen Ice) dazzled fans Monday at Churchill Downs with a five-furlong move in :59 between Races 5-6 in his final major preparation toward the $1.5 million GI Belmont Stakes S. June 11. With rider Gabe Lagunes in the saddle, Rich Strike clipped off eighth-mile fractions of :11.80, :23.20 and :34.80, according to Churchill Downs clocker John Robertson. The 80-1 upset winner of the Derby galloped out six furlongs in 1:12 and completed seven furlongs in 1:26. Trainer Eric Reed watched the work from the...

3rd-Churchill Downs, $118,675, Msw, 5-28, 3yo/up, 6f, 1:09.04, ft, 2 3/4 lengths. TOP OF THE CHARTS (c, 3, Maclean's Music--Tiz Ro, by Hard Spun), bet down to 7.60-1 from a morning line of 12-1 found his way to the front in the early stages and widened through the final furlong to post an impressive 2 3/4-length debut success Saturday at Churchill Downs. The lone firster in a field of eight, the dark bay bounced well from the two hole and gradually--and with relative ease--worked his way to the front, covering...

When Dazzlingdominika (Ghostzapper) won a May 13 maiden special weight race at Churchill her connections were ready to pounce. The 2-year-old filly had become a hot commodity and they wanted to cash in. In year's past that would have meant selling her privately or waiting for the next horses of racing age sale on the calendar. Instead, she will be sold Thursday by Fasig-Tipton in a one-horse digital, "flash sale," a new means of selling horses that promises to make it easier for those looking to move horses fast. "This...

Jockeys and Jeans, a group founded by former jockeys to raise funds for the Permanently Disabled Jockeys Fund, will hold their eighth annual fundraising event at Churchill Downs July 2. The popular event will take place on the final day of Churchill Downs's Spring Meet and include a day of live racing featuring the GII Stephen Foster S. The event has been scheduled to take place at Churchill Downs since 2020, but was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic until 2022. In a show of support and recognition that the...

Alex Bregman was 0-for-4 last Thursday night as the Houston Astros fell, 5-1, to the Texas Rangers, but the two-time All-Star will remember the day as one of the best he's ever enjoyed in sports. A few hours before the Astros took the field at Minute Maid Park, Bregman won his first-ever race as an owner with the first horse he had ever run. The feat was accomplished by Cadillac Candy (Twirling Candy) in the first race at Churchill Downs, a five-furlong turf maiden for two-year-olds. "It felt like hitting...

Every week, the TDN publishes a roundup of key official rulings from the primary tracks within the four major racing jurisdictions of California, New York, Florida and Kentucky. Here's a primer on how each of these jurisdictions adjudicates different offenses, what they make public (or not) and where. California Track: Santa Anita Date: 05/13/2022 Licensee: Peter Eurton, trainer Penalty: $1,000 Violation: Late reporting Explainer: Trainer Peter Eurton is fined $1,000.00 pursuant to California Horse Racing Board rule #1629 (Penalty for Late Declaration) and for violation of California Horse Racing Board rule #1865...