GI Kentucky Derby

Churchill Downs has officially rebranded the Wednesday of Kentucky Derby Week to be known as "Winsday: Greater Thrills for the Greater Good, presented by Resolute Racing" in honor of supporting local nonprofit organizations in the Kentuckiana community, the organization announced Friday. With a total of 50 area nonprofits who have emailed unique ticket links to their supporters, Churchill Downs will donate $5 to the respective organization for every "Winsday" box seat ticket sold. Individual seats on the 100 level are $32 and the 300 level box seats are $39 with...

That the figures recently released by the Jockey Club from its Equine Injury Database showed another significant drop in the number of fatalities was good news, but hardly surprising news. The numbers seem to get better every year. But dig deeper into the data presented by the Jockey Club and there is a number that is quite surprising and encouraging. In 2024, dirt tracks were almost as safe as synthetic tracks. There were 1.18 fatalities per 1,000 starts on the dirt, which came very close to the number in the...

Top 3-year-old Journalism (Curlin) returned to the work tab Sunday at Santa Anita following his victory in the GII San Felipe Stakes Mar. 2. Journalism and jockey Umberto Rispoli hit the track together under darkness at about 6:30 a.m. PT. The colt, trained by Michael McCarthy, was clocked working four furlongs in :48.20. He is targeting the GI Santa Anita Derby at 1 1/8 miles Apr. 5. "Very good," McCarthy said of the drill. Rispoli reacted with a wide grin and a thumbs up. In the San Felipe, Journalism ran...

'TDN Rising Star' Sand Devil (Violence) had his first work back since a runner-up effort in the GIII Gotham Stakes Mar. 1, covering a half-mile in 49 seconds flat in company on Saturday over the Belmont Park dirt training track. Trained by Linda Rice, Sand Devil is targeting the nine-furlong GII Wood Memorial Stakes at Aqueduct Racetrack Apr. 5--a 100-50-25-15-10 qualifier for the GI Kentucky Derby. "He went nice, went out five-eighths in 1:01 and 2, galloped out three-quarters in 13 and 3--we were very happy," Rice said of the...

Churchill Downs has scheduled 50 stakes races cumulatively worth a record $26,175,000--a $525,000 increase--for its 2025 Spring Meet, which covers 43 race dates between April 26-June 29, the track said in a Friday press release. The American Turf for 3-year-olds, annually staged on the Kentucky Derby undercard, had its purse raised to $1 million after the American Graded Stakes Committee elevated the 1 1/16-mile grass race to Grade I status. The American Turf is one of four Spring Meet stakes that received purse hikes for 2025 and one of seven...

Flood Zone (c, 3, Frosted--Curls for Girls, by Curlin) is heading straight into the deep end. Purchased privately by Wathnan Racing and transferred to Brad Cox following a flashy maiden win versus Florida-breds going 6 1/2 furlongs at second asking at Gulfstream Park Jan. 4, the bay will stretch to a one-turn mile for Saturday's GIII Gotham Stakes at the Big A. The Gotham, co-headlined by unbeaten New York-breds 'TDN Rising Star' Sand Devil (Violence) and Sacrosanct (Honest Mischief), offers 105 points (50-25-15-10-5) on the road to the GI Kentucky...

Watch out for the "Little Guy." Sold for just $70,000 at a yearling sale in Texas, owned by a grocery store owner from Alabama who has had just a few horses and trained by a veteran who had never won a graded stakes race before last weekend, Coal Battle (Coal Front) isn't exactly your typical GI Kentucky Derby horse. But the son Coal Front did it again last week, winning the GII Rebel Stakes at Oaklawn. Having also won the Smarty Jones Stakes, he is obviously for real. To talk...

Keeneland's 101st running of the $1.25 million GI Toyota Blue Grass on Saturday, Apr. 5 has attracted 133 nominees, including champion Citizen Bull (Into Mischief), according to a release on Thursday from the track. With a $250,000 purse increase this year, the Blue Grass joins the GI Coolmore Turf Mile as Keeneland's two $1.25 million races, which are the richest in track history. The Turf Mile reached that level during the 2024 Fall Meet. "Keeneland is proud of the enhanced stature of the Toyota Blue Grass, and we thank the...

We don't often see 43-1 shots winning graded stakes by 9 3/4 lengths, and when we do, those victories are often subsequently proven to be flukes. If you go by the numbers, an off-the-charts, outlier effort like the one orchestrated by Magnitude (Not This Time) in Saturday's GII Risen Star Stakes at Fair Grounds--in which his 108 Beyer Speed Figure equated to a walloping 34-point improvement off his last race--is more likely to be met with pari-mutuel skepticism than enthusiasm when this colt races next, most likely in the GII...

GI Arkansas Derby victor Super Stock (Dialed In) was represented by his first foal at Leadem Farm in Arkansas, the operation announced Saturday afternoon. Out of the Ohio-bred three-time winner Sprinkle Time (Shackleford), who raced for the colt's owner Keith Asmussen--and who also campaigned Super Stock in partnership with Erv Woolsey, the foal hit the ground early Feb. 7. His dam is a half-sister to MSW Justalittlesmoke (Smoke Glacken) as well as MSW Portales (Sharp Humor) and SP Hazy Command (Mastery). Super Stock placed third in the GI Claiborne Breeders'...

Tickets for Kentucky Derby Week and the entire 43-day Spring Meet, which spans nine weeks from Apr. 26-June 29 at Churchill Downs, go on sale Thursday at noon (all times Eastern), the track said in a release on Wednesday. Tickets for the 151st Kentucky Oaks and Kentucky Derby May 2-3 are available by clicking here or by calling (502) 636-4447. Churchill Downs also provides a secure, official resale marketplace to purchase Derby and Oaks tickets via the Churchill Downs Ticketmaster Ticket Exchange, which can be found here. Derby Week general...

After considering several options, trainer Kenny McPeek said Monday that newly minted Horse of the Year Thorpedo Anna (Fast Anna) will make her four-year-old debut in the GII Azeri S. on March 8 at Oaklawn Park. That would give her time to make the April 5 G1 Dubai World Cup, but McPeek said he has all but ruled out a trip to the Middle East in order to run in the April 12 GI Apple Blossom S., also at Oaklawn. "The Azeri will be a good first step back for...