Kentucky Derby

The newly released book "Equine Regulatory Law" is not exactly light reading or something you want to take to the beach this summer. But for the racing professional, particularly those who are interested in equine law, attorney and author Robert L. Heleringer has put together an important resource. In his introduction, Heleringer explains what is contained in the 746-page book. "Through detailed case studies, this book explains regulatory processes such as licensing, disciplinary actions, and rule enforcement, including the landmark case Gary and Mary West v. The Kentucky Horse Racing...

Repole Stable and Robert and Lawana Low's Renegade (Into Mischief) returned to the worktab at Saratoga Thursday morning for the first time since being outfinished by 'TDN Rising Star' Golden Tempo (Curlin) in the May 2 GI Kentucky Derby, going a half-mile in :49.80 (8/22) in the company of Repole's Powershift (Constitution). Both are possibilities for the $2-million GI Belmont Stakes at Saratoga on June 6. Renegade, a flashy winner of the GI Arkansas Derby ahead of his effort at odds of 11-2 beneath the Twin Spires, worked to the...

The Kentucky Derby Betting Challenge (KDBC) will return in 2027 with a record $400,000 guaranteed prize pool as TwinSpires also unveiled the second season of the TwinSpires Tour, which will award $50,000 in prizes throughout the year. The KDBC, scheduled for Kentucky Derby Day on Saturday, May 1, 2027, will feature a guaranteed $400,000 prize pool following the addition of $50,000 in seeded cash from TwinSpires. Kentucky Oaks Day on Friday, Apr. 30, 2027, will offer a $1,000 First Chance/Last Chance KDBC Qualifier with $25,000 in added cash from TwinSpires....

Wathnan Racing's Commandment (Into Mischief), seventh with a less-than-ideal trip in the GI Kentucky Derby, has begun to gear up for the GI Belmont Stakes at Saratoga June 6. The GI Curlin Florida Derby winner breezed four furlongs for trainer Brad Cox in company in :48.80 (29/83) at Churchill Downs Friday, his first move since the Kentucky Derby. "The breeze went well today and he's come out of the Derby in good order," said Case Clay, Wathnan's Racing Manager, USA. "We'll shoot for the Belmont now." Clay continued, "He did...

TDN's Chief Correspondent Bill Finley is joined by Senior Contributing Editor Alan Carasso and Senior Racing Editor Steve Sherack to handicap Saturday's GI Preakness Stakes at Laurel Park. FINLEY: Honestly, it's hard to like anyone in a race that looks like it will be a mad scramble and is made up of so many horses who really aren't Triple Crown caliber. The right move is probably to go for a longshot and just hope to get lucky. The pick here will be Pretty Boy Miah (Beau Liam), who is 15-1...

A story in the Thursday edition of USA Today alleges that the ties to cockfighting for Jose and Irad Ortiz go beyond the social media video which surfaced in January showing them taking bets at an undated cockfight, documenting photos and social media posts which suggest a deeper participation in the sport. In January, the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) sent a letter to the NTRA asking that the brothers be banned from further Eclipse consideration due to the social media video. The USA Today article cites...

Edited Press Release America's Best Racing (ABR), the national content and marketing platform of The Jockey Club, today announced record-breaking results from its 2026 Kentucky Derby campaign. Launched on Mar. 1 and running through Derby Day on May 2, 2026, ABR's campaign generated more than 150 million video views across Facebook, Instagram, X (Twitter), TikTok and YouTube, nearly double the 76 million views from its already record-setting 2025 campaign. Total engagements surpassed 10.7 million, a 191% year-over-year increase, while overall impressions topped 104 million, up 98% from the prior year....

Danon Bourbon (Maxfield), who finished fifth in this year's GI Kentucky Derby behind Golden Tempo (Curlin), has been found to have a fractured knee upon his return to Japan, trainer Manabu Ikezoe announced Wednesday. "The fracture in his knee was discovered after the Kentucky Derby," Ikezoe said. "After returning to Japan, he had X-rays taken for confirmation and has completed quarantine at the Japan Racing School, so he will now undergo surgery to remove the bone fragments at the Shadai Clinic in Hokkaido in preparation for his return. The timing...

Chip Honcho (Connect) had his final major tune-up for the May 16 GI Preakness Stakes when he worked four furlongs in :50.20 (39/47) at Churchill Downs Sunday. Exercise rider Luiyi Ortiz was aboard for the work, which was one of trainer Steve Asmussen's typical easy half-mile moves the week of a race. Chip Honcho's big work came May 2, when he worked five furlongs in 1:00.00 (1/14). "I think we're in a very good place with him right now," said Asmussen, who won the Preakness in 2007 with Curlin and...

Stablemates Iron Honor (Nyquist) and Ottinho (Quality Road) worked four furlongs in :48.00 (10/184) in company over the Belmont Park dirt training track Saturday. The former is expected to line up in the May 16 GI Preakness Stakes at Laurel Park and the latter remains possible for the June 6 GI Belmont Stakes at Saratoga Race Course. Iron Honor, owned by St. Elias Stable, William Lawrence, and Glassman Racing, won the Feb. 28 GIII Gotham Stakes and was most recently a troubled seventh in the Apr. 4 GII Wood Memorial....

With a healthy GI Kentucky Derby winner bypassing the GI Preakness Stakes for the second straight year and only two starters out of the 18-horse Derby likely to be entered on Monday, the long-debated realignment of the Triple Crown race spacing is edging more toward "when" than "if." It could happen as soon as 2027, which would be appropriate in the sense that the Triple Crown is already set for a major reset by reverting to established venues and distances after being in flux since 2024 because of the overlapping...

That must have been a good sandwich. It was certainly a memorable one. Walker Hancock of Claiborne Farm distinctly remembers eating subs from Jersey Mike's one fall afternoon in 2021 with Daisy Phipps Pulito and Claiborne's farm manager Bradley Purcell in Claiborne's conference room. The three of them sat down over those sandwiches to hash out mating plans for the Phipps mares for 2022. "It all goes back to some Jersey Mike's subs," said Hancock with a laugh. "We did the matings for her mares for that following year that...