Kentucky Derby
If the Kentucky Derby were going to be held the first Saturday in May, you'd have to say right now the favorite would be Tiz The Law (Constitution). But the first Saturday in September? We talk to Tiz The Law's owner Jack Knowlton.
The fact that he has only just broken into the six-figure club, at the age of 21, tells you how strong a curve Candy Ride (Arg) is taking into the evening of his career. His current sophomores, representing his 12th crop, were the first to be conceived at $60,000, up from $40,000 the previous year; while his yearlings were the first bred at $80,000, immediately following Gun Runner's Horse of the Year campaign. With his status as a sire of sires ever strengthening, moreover, Candy Ride must be counted one...
He was 12 when he finally convinced his father that he was ready to work with the horses. Previously he had been baling, mowing, weed-hooking, stripping bluegrass. His father agreed, albeit at a cost to his pay from $7 a day to $5. But the company of horses has always been beyond price to Alfred H. Nuckols Jr. Nor, to be fair, was that literal grounding--in the soil and pasture of the historic Hurstland Farm--lost on the youngster. To this day, in his stewardship of the portion that devolved to...
The late Triple Crown nomination deadline, which was scheduled for Monday, will be extended to an as-yet undetermined later date under an extension agreed upon by racing officials at Churchill Downs Racetrack, the Maryland Jockey Club and the New York Racing Association. While the date of the GI Kentucky Derby has already been pushed back to Sept. 5, officials are still considering possible alternate dates for the GI Preakness S. and GI Belmont S. When all three Triple Crown dates appear to be firm, a late Triple Crown nomination closing...
Sackatoga Stable's Tiz the Law (Constitution) dominated a full and talented field in Saturday's GI Curlin Florida Derby to cement his status as one of the top contenders for the GI Kentucky Derby, which was recently moved to the First Saturday in September. With many of what was supposed to be the final round of Derby preps canceled or postponed due to COVID-19 track closures, Gulfstream's marquee race attracted 13 colts, but only nine remained by post time. Favored at 7-5 off his success in the GIII Holy Bull S....
9th-Gulfstream, $44,000, Alw (NW1$X)/Opt. Clm ($75,000), 3-27, 3yo, 1m, 1:35.30, ft. MONEY MOVES (c, 3, Candy Ride {Arg}--Citizen Advocate {MSW & GSP, $327,450}, by Proud Citizen), a debut winner sprinting in the slop here Feb. 15, handled the stretch out to a mile successfully Friday while besting a salty bunch in the process. Attending the pace along the fence through splits of :23.04 and :45.66, he opened a narrow advantage at the top of the lane as 'TDN Rising Star' and fellow second timer Edge of Fire (Curlin) revved up...
How innocent we all were, in hindsight. Maybe you, like me, were in town from colder climes; feeling your whole soul opening, flower-like, to the unaccustomed warmth of the Miami springtime. From the upper arcade I gazed superciliously at Maximum Security (New Year's Day) as he strolled round the parade ring. The hometown upstart had won three sprints by an aggregate 35 lengths, but you could have claimed him for $16,000 on his debut. Yes, everyone cautioned that Jason Servis, at a 45% clip through the meet, could do unexpected...
Since its inaugural running in 1952, the GI Curlin Florida Derby has always been a stop along the journey for GI Kentucky Derby hopefuls--a chance for fine-tuning and finishing touches before horses take their best shots to Louisville. But this year, due to the postponement of the Run for the Roses and general uncertainty about what the rest of the racing calendar will look like as the world grapples with the coronavirus crisis, the Florida Derby is now a point of disembarkation for 3-year-olds, and it fittingly drew a stacked...
No matter what he does, Lookin At Lucky (Smart Strike) seems condemned always to be the short guy in the back row of the team photo. In the private duel that defines his stud career, moreover, he has to endure Munnings (Speightstown) moving ever closer, year by year, to front and center. These two splendid sires, who started out together at Ashford in 2011, experienced rather typical fortunes last Saturday when dividing the big sophomore tests in New Orleans between them (along with those skilled gentlemen, Brad Cox and Florent...
While Dan makes some good points regarding the many differences between running a race for 3-year-olds on the first Saturday in May compared to the first Saturday in September Derby ("A Year Without a Derby Makes the Most Sense"), I disagree with him about removing the name of the race. Perhaps history books will place an asterisk behind the 2020 winner, but there are too many players involved in this game, owners, breeders, trainers, jockeys, grooms, etc. who work tirelessly each year to produce a Kentucky Derby winner. For most...
The Kentucky Derby Museum is now offering virtual tours that are designed to let fans experience "Derby Day Everday." Through the tour, guests can view collections, exhibits and go on personal virtual tours of iconic Churchill Downs with a museum tour guide. The online museum is updated daily and each day curatorial experts bring visitors featured artifacts, fun facts, oral history videos, educational lessons, and activities they can do at home. "Traditions provide an anchor for us in a constantly moving world," says Chris Goodlett, Director of Curatorial Education for...
Some years back, when I was writing extensively about Dosage and the Kentucky Derby, a quote I included in an American Turf Monthly article (November 1990) from Dosage guru Dr. Steven Roman would certainly support Dan Liebman's proposal to simply cancel this year's Kentucky Derby ("A Year Without a Derby Makes the Most Sense"). Delaying it four months simply makes it another stakes race, not the challenge for young horses, some of which may not even have reached their actual 3-year-old birthday. "It is critical to understand," Dr. Roman stated,...