Dallas Stewart
Ocelli (Connect), third in the GI Kentucky Derby as a maiden and the biggest longshot in the field of 18 at odds of 70-1, is now under consideration for the 151st GI Preakness Stakes May 16 at Laurel Park. Trainer Whit Beckman on Tuesday upgraded Ocelli's likelihood for the Middle Jewel of the Triple Crown from "extremely unlikely" on Sunday to "maybe" Tuesday. "If you look at it from a pace perspective, it could go as fast as the Derby," Beckman said. "He's doing great. That's the only reason I'm...
Every week, the TDN posts a roundup of the relevant Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act (HISA)-related rulings from around the country. The following rulings were reported on HISA's "rulings" portal and through the Horseracing Integrity and Welfare Unit (HIWU)'s "pending" and "resolved" cases portals. Among this week's rulings, the Horse Racing Integrity and Safety Authority has issued to Churchill Downs Incorporated four notices for non-payment of its 2025 fees related to federal regulatory oversight of its Churchill Downs, Turfway Park, Ellis Park and Presque Isle Downs racetracks. The matter will...
Smoken Wicked (Bobby's Wicked One), a two-time stakes winner versus fellow Louisiana-breds, broke through at the graded level with a dominant performance in Friday's GII Amsterdam S. at the Spa. The 5-2 chance pressed favored Macho Music (Maclean's Music) through an opening quarter in :22.09, took over approaching the quarter pole and blasted off for home to win impressively by 5 3/4 lengths. Sixth behind the aforementioned Macho Music in the GII Pat Day Mile S. May 3, Smoken Wicked entered off a second-place finish in the Maxfield S. June...
Hey Boss. I think you saw, but I saddled my 10th winner earlier this week. I know you told me you'd be long dead before I won the Kentucky Derby, but you did get to see me win at Churchill Downs. Every time I saddle a horse, I think about the first time I saddled for you. It was Cold as Hell at Oaklawn Park. I forgot the pommel pad, and you told me to get out of the way, that you'd finish saddling him yourself. I didn't talk back...
In the Hanshin Stakes at Churchill Downs on Sunday, Will Take It (Tapit) was up in the nick of time to take the race for owners Willis Horton and Mandy Pope. Since coming over from the care of trainer Eddie Milligan, Will Take It has become a mark of consistency. His 2025 campaign has included clearing an allowance condition at Fair Grounds Jan. 4 and a runner-up finish against optional claimers in New Orleans Feb. 1. The colt then won at that level next out at the track Mar. 8...
One of the most iconic personalities in horse racing and a man that helped transform the face of the industry over the past half a century, D. Wayne Lukas passed away at his home in Louisville Saturday night from complications from a severe infection. He was 89. Lukas is survived by wife Laurie, grandchildren Brady Wayne Lukas (Dani) and Kelly Roy (David) and great grandchildren Johnny Roy, Thomas Roy, Walker Wayne Lukas and Quinn Palmer Lukas. A statement from Lukas's family released Sunday, read, "It is with heavy hearts that...
Hall of Fame trainer D. Wayne Lukas has been hospitalized in Louisville, Kentucky and will not return to training, according to Lukas family members. In a release sent out by Churchill Downs, the family shared that Lukas had been battling a severe infection that had worsened his condition, and has reportedly declined an aggressive treatment plan in favor of returning home to spend his remaining time with his loved ones. In a succession plan put in place by Lukas Enterprises, Inc., horses previously under Lukas's care have been transferred to...
Bentley Combs, who has served as an assistant to trainer Chad Brown since last March, has resumed training on his own and his new solo operation will have its first starter when he saddles City of Clouds (City of Light) in the ninth race Friday at Churchill Downs. Combs ran his own barn from 2017 to early 2024 after working his way up to assistant trainer for Dallas Stewart with horses that included Forever Unbridled, Tom's Ready and Unbridled Forever. While training on his own, Combs won a record three...
SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. - Without hesitation Sunday morning, Hall of Fame trainer D. Wayne Lukas said he knows what he will be doing Monday, his 89th birthday. "Training horses," he said. "I got two in, and I'll see if I can make it a special day by trying to get those things at least closer or win one. I told Laurie, my wife, 'for a birthday present, I'd like see one of them jump up and win.'" A victory on closing day of the Saratoga Race Course season would enable...
It's well-known around the racetrack that a good horse can come from anywhere. Saturday's eighth race at Saratoga, a seven-furlong maiden special weight race run on the dirt, featured a field of nine. No surprise that eight of the starters were bred in Kentucky. The only one that wasn't was Dapper Moon (Malibu Moon), a Louisiana-bred. But he had no problem conquering his fashionably-bred rivals from the Blue Grass State, winning the race by five lengths for trainer Dallas Stewart and owner Murray Valene. "He doesn't know where he was...
SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. - Well-named Tough Catch (Complexity) could not be caught Saturday, leading every step of the way to capture the seventh race, a $100,000 5½-furlong maiden special weight contest for 2-year-olds at Saratoga Race Course. Tough Catch's victory added to Complexity's (Maclean's Music) remarkable start with his first crop of runners. According to the TDN's Sire List, Complexity, who stands at Airdrie Stud, entered the day with 11 winners from 15 starters, 73.3 percent. The Tough Catch score for trainer Dallas Stewart made it an even dozen and...
Dream Team One Racing Stable's well-related Anakarina (f, 2, Vekoma--Tacit Approval, by Tapit) catapulted her boom freshman sire (by Candy Ride {Arg}) back into the lead for first-crop winners (with nine) after blitzing her rivals from the front Wednesday at Churchill Downs to become a 'TDN Rising Star'. Vekoma leapfrogs Complexity, who was represented by his eighth winner earlier on the program in the form of Sweet Mo B. A homebred half-sister to the globetrotting Grade II Cigar Mile Handicap hero Hoist the Gold (Mineshaft), MGSW & MGISP, $1,411,297, Anakarina...