Kentucky Derby

When I read the announcement from Churchill Downs that the post time for the Kentucky Oaks was being moved to allow the race to be televised in "prime time," my first thought was not of the importance of another race being run in "prime time" but of the disruption this would cause the local restaurant community. As a lover of the Thoroughbred industry, I applaud the track for the way it has grown interest, not just in the Oaks, but the Wednesday and Thursday cards that precede it. But, as...

Veteran horseman Al Pike, who had been battling cancer, passed away Saturday at the age of 70, according to a release from the Texas Thoroughbred Association. Pike, along with his wife of nearly 45 years, Salley, and their son, Colt, operated Pike Racing. Pike is also survived by daughter Chelsey Pike Hooton. Pike got his start in the horse industry in the 1970s as a Quarter Horse trainer in Texas before he and his wife transitioned to Thoroughbreds, eventually focusing on pinhooking. Pike Racing sold the $1.1-million sale-topper at the...

Ninety-five years ago, a horse named Jim Dandy upset Triple Crown winner Gallant Fox at odds of 100-1 in the GI Travers Stakes at Saratoga. Saturday, with the traditional Travers prep race now named in honor of that monumental beating, the team behind GI Kentucky Derby and GI Belmont Stakes winner Sovereignty (Into Mischief) reminded everyone why their colt is the top of the class, avoiding any drama to take the GII Jim Dandy Stakes. Not that there was ever any doubt. With GI Preakness Stakes winner Journalism (Curlin) 3,000...

Despite the fact that Journalism (Curlin) became the first of his generation to earn as many as three elite-level victories with his thrilling success in the GI NYRABets Haskell Stakes last weekend, Godolphin's Sovereignty (Into Mischief) remains at the head of this year's sophomore class by virtue of convincing head-to-head tallies in the GI Kentucky Derby on May 3 and when last seen in the GI Belmont Stakes right here at Saratoga on June 7. But the argument can be made that Saturday's GII Jim Dandy Stakes at the Spa...

NBC Sports will showcase the 2026 GI Longines Kentucky Oaks in prime time for the first time ever in 2026, Churchill Downs Incorporated announced Thursday. The 152nd Kentucky Oaks, featuring racing's best 3-year-old fillies, will be presented Friday, May 1, 2026, at 8 p.m. ET on NBC and Peacock. In addition to racing, Kentucky Oaks traditions centered around fashion and women's health advocacy will remain central pillars of the event pageantry--now culminating in a twilight finish. "We are excited to present the Kentucky Oaks in prime time for the first...

The GII Fantasy Stakes will be worth $1 million when it is run next year at Oaklawn Park, while the purse for the Arkansas track's GIII Honeybee Stakes will be increased for the second consecutive time, from $500,000 to $750,000 in 2026. "The increase to our Fantasy Stakes by itself makes a very strong statement," Oaklawn's President Louis A. Cella said. "This will be the first time in the history of North American racing that 3-year-old fillies will have an opportunity to run for a seven-figure purse prior to the...

The TDN always strives to remain scrupulously non-partisan and confines its occasional attention to the world of politics to such opportunities and concerns that directly affect the Thoroughbred industry. Recently, for instance, we spent time with Florida Governor Ron DeSantis as he stepped in to support the campaign against decoupling in that state. A few days ago, Chris McGrath was given the opportunity to sit down with the Governor of the Bluegrass State itself, Andy Beshear, a figure increasingly on the national radar as a potential White House contender in...

Aron Wellman, who heads the Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners syndicate which is a co-owner of GI Preakness Stakes winner Journalism (Curlin), said his colt will run next in the July 19 GI Haskell Stakes at Monmouth Park. "If all goes well this coming weekend and he works to (trainer) Michael McCarthy's satisfaction and comes out of his work with good energy, the Haskell is Option A," Wellman said. "What are options B and C? I haven't thought beyond that. The Haskell is our target. If we find any reason for him...

I knew it was coming, but that doesn't dull the sadness. I posted online last week that I was sad about the news D. Wayne Lukas had been put in hospice care and retired from training, but it's complicated to explain why I feel so profoundly sad about the passing of a man that I'd only spoken with a few times briefly in my life. A lot of it has to do with a connection I had with my dad that he unknowingly helped fuel many times over more than...

It will be a hugely important weekend for trainer Kenny McPeek as Thorpedo Anna (Fast Anna) and Mystik Dan (Goldencents) will be in action Saturday at Churchill Downs. Horse of the Year Thorpedo Anna will be heavy favorite in the GII Fleur De Lis Stakes, while 2024 GI Kentucky Derby winner Mystik Dan faces a tough assignment in a loaded GI Stephen Foster Stakes. To talk about the two biggest stars in his barn, his hiring of Jimmy Jerkens and even his new tattoo, McPeek was the Gainesway Guest of...

GI Kentucky Derby winner Mystik Dan (Goldencents) returned to the Churchill Downs work tab Sunday with a five-furlong breeze in 1:00 under jockey Brian Hernandez Jr., preparing for a likely start in the $1-million GI Stephen Foster Stakes June 28. Mystik Dan, who won the GII Blame Stakes on May 31, breezed at 7:15 a.m. EST. He began his move with a three-furlong split of :36.80 before galloping out six furlongs in 1:12, according to Churchill Downs clocker John Nichols. Owned by 4 G Racing, Lance Gasaway, Daniel Hamby and...

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. - After a post-race visit for a beer and some hors d'oeuvres at the downtown Whitman Brewing Company, Hall of Fame trainer Bill Mott was home, conked out on the recliner. "I must have slept in the chair for an hour," Mott said. "I turned the TV on and, at the count of three, I was gone. I woke up at midnight and went to bed." And that is how Mott spent his night after his talented 3-year-old colt Sovereignty (Into Mischief) turned the 157th running of...