GIII Jeff Ruby Steaks

Connections of Stark Contrast (c, 3, Caravaggio--Catch the Eye, by Quality Road), second in the GIII Jeff Ruby Steaks Mar. 21 behind scratched GI Kentucky Derby contender Fulleffort (Liam's Map), could have entertained a Derby bid with the 50 points he earned at Turfway, but opted instead for the 35th running of the GI American Turf Stakes Saturday on the Derby undercard at Churchill Downs. And boy, did it pay off for the Michael McCarthy-trained Amerman homebred, who took home his first Grade I score. Sent as the 6-5 favorite,...

Riley Mott, the son of Hall of Fame trainer Bill Mott, has come a long way in the 3 1/2 years he has been training on his own. He's already won more than 100 races and collected a pair of Grade I wins, including World Beater (Oscar Performance)'s score in last year's GI Saratoga Derby Invitational Stakes. And now it looks like he'll have a starter in this year's GI Kentucky Derby. In winning the Virginia Derby, the Mott-trained Incredibolt (Bolt d'Oro) earned enough points to guarantee himself a spot in...

Trainer Kelsey Danner has traditionally based her stable at Palm Meadows in Florida every winter, but this year she decided to shift her focus to Turfway Park and already, the decision is paying dividends. Following a career-best year in 2024 thanks in part to a lucrative Holiday meet at Turfway in December, Danner is now sitting at the top of the trainer ranks for Turfway's Winter/Spring meet. After going two-for-two on Thursday, Danner has 15 wins from 69 starts and just over $700,000 in earnings ahead of Friday's card, giving...

Florence, KY--"Okay, I'm coming!" said Kaitlin Free. Bursting into a small room sandwiched between the announcer's booth and Free's broadcast studio at Turfway Park in Florence, Kentucky, the Churchill Downs Inc. (CDI) analyst was only halfway through applying her mascara and eyeliner, but that wasn't going to stop her from watching Flood Zone (Frosted) take the GII Gotham Stakes. With half her face on and the other 'au naturel,' Free's eyes were glued to the screen as she watched intently, offered an assessment as the field blazed for the far...

Turfway Park Racing & Gaming has unveiled its 2024-25 stakes schedule, with $4.9 million in purses across 24 races and includes the debut of the Turfway Park Synthetic Championships, according to a release from the track on Wednesday afternoon. "We're really excited to unveil the stakes calendar for the winter season at Turfway Park, which not only features our marquee Jeff Ruby Steaks Day but also introduces the new Turfway Park Synthetic Championships," said Gary Palmisano Jr., vice president of racing for Churchill Downs Incorporated. "By adding the Turfway Park...

GI Florida Derby champ Fierceness (City of Light) breezed at Palm Beach Downs on Friday morning in preparation for the GI Kentucky Derby. The Eclipse Award winner covered five furlongs in 1:00.35 under Hall of Fame jockey John Velazquez, while working in company with fellow 'TDN Rising Star' Agate Road (Quality Road). "I thought he worked super--a solid five-eighths with a good gallop-out, exactly what we were targeting," Hall of Fame trainer Todd Pletcher said. "I think he is doing every bit as good, if not better, than he was...

A few days prior to Saturday's GIII Jeff Ruby Steaks at Turfway Park, Larry Rivelli, the trainer of Two Phil's (c, 3, Hard Spun--Mia Torri, by General Quarters), had said, "I've been trying to think of the easiest spot for the money and I think this will be the spot. If he absolutely hates the surface, that's on me. I'm sort of putting myself out there saying that I think he will run well over it." He didn't hate the surface. Patricia's Hope LLC and Phillip Sagan's Two Phil's powered...

While the first Saturday in May is still six weeks away, the trail to the GI Kentucky Derby reaches its boiling point in New Orleans Saturday with the conclusion of the Fair Grounds prep series--the GII Twinspires.com Louisiana Derby. One of a pair of Derby points races happening within 20 minutes of one another Saturday, the Louisiana Derby offers 100-40-30-20-10 points and all but guarantees the winner a slot in the gate at Churchill Downs May 6. Currently 10th on the leaderboard--the highest of the runners in the field--Instant Coffee...

There's nothing like giving up on a stallion, and offloading him overseas, to guarantee a sudden transformation in his fortunes. The latest exile to rebuke his vendors is Race Day, who was exported to Korea 18 months ago but last Saturday turned out to have left behind not only GI Florida Derby winner White Abarrio but also GI Arkansas Derby runner-up Barber Road. But if this industry is too unpredictable for even a team as alert as Spendthrift to win every time, their program will reliably even things out. And...

The Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance (TAA) will be featured on two big race days at Gulfstream Park and Turfway Park Saturday to promote aftercare awareness on the undercard of the GIII Jeff Ruby Steaks and the GI Curlin Florida Derby. A presentation of a TAA blanket and swag bag to the winning connections will be made following the running of each race. Gulfstream's Race 2 presented by the Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance will go off at 11:59 a.m. A limited number of patrons will be in attendance for the action-packed Florida Derby...

A field of 11, headed by Joseph Morey Jr.'s Hush of a Storm (Creative Cause), aim to take advantage of the Kentucky Derby points on the line in Saturday's GIII Jeff Ruby Steaks at Turfway Park. Drawing the 2 hole, the William Morey trainee kicked off his career finishing eighth against $150,000 maidens on the dirt at Churchill last November, but rebounded in fine style to win with ease while trying the Tapeta for the first time going a mile a Turfway in December. A narrow winner facing optional claiming...

A Triple Crown winner in his native Barbados, Saffie Joseph Jr. took his first shot at America's Classics in 2020 with GISP Ny Traffic (Cross Traffic), who failed to hit the board in both the GI Kentucky Derby and GI Preakness S. last fall before heading to the sidelines for the remainder of the season. Fast forward to 2021, Joseph returns to the Triple Crown trail with another exciting prospect in Three Chimneys Farm and eFive Racing's Collaborate (Into Mischief), who is slated to contest Saturday's GI Curlin Florida Derby...