Kentucky Derby

On a busy Friday morning at Churchill Downs, 138 horses recorded a published workout with GI Preakness Stakes possible Silent Tactic (Tacitus) headlining a group which also included the G1 Dubai World Cup hero Hit Show (Candy Ride {Arg}). The former, scratched from the Kentucky Derby due to an ongoing battle with a foot bruise, breezed four furlongs in :48.80 (48/111) for trainer Mark Casse. "He worked at 5:29 [a.m.], and I saw the video at 5:30," Casse said by phone from his main base in Ocala, Fla. "I thought...

With the announcement that Golden Tempo (Curlin) will be skipping the GI Preakness Stakes, the GI Kentucky Derby winner's jockey Jose Ortiz has picked up the mount on Chip Honcho (Connect) in the May 16 Classic. Ortiz rode the Steve Asmussen-trained colt to his maiden win at Churchill Downs last November. Paco Lopez rode the colt to victory in the Dec. 20 Gun Runner Stakes and Luis Saez was aboard for his runner-up effort in the Feb. 14 GII Risen Star Stakes and fifth-place finish in the Mar. 21 GII...

The stewards at Belterra Park have imposed a $1,000 fine on that track's clerk of scales, Jose Sanchez, Jr., for failing to check the weight of apprentice jockey Summer Pauly before she rode the 3-2 favorite in the second race May 2. A ruling issued Thursday, described what happened: "During the post parade of race #2, the Board of Stewards radioed Outriders to bring #1 Bobby's Gift back to the Paddock to re-check jockey Summer Pauly's weight, due to Steward's concerns it was incorrect. The scale showed Ms. Pauly was...

Fasig-Tipton has catalogued 94 entries for its May Digital Sale, which opened for bidding Thursday. Amongst the full catalogue, which may be viewed online here, is the five-strong consignment of Tessa Walden's Evergreen Equine, including an exciting 2-year-old maiden special weight winner from Keeneland in Blessed Flyer (Dialed In) (hip 1). "It's hard to get them to races this early and he did it very effortlessly," Walden said. "There were some bullet works in there and some other flashy moves but the best move he made was when he won....

At this point in time, there is no reasonable argument to be made that the Preakness should remain two weeks after the Kentucky Derby. Four winners in just the last seven years (2019-2026) have bypassed the second leg of the Triple Crown. These include Golden Tempo (2026), Sovereignty (2025), Rich Strike (2022), and Country House (2019). How stupid do you want to get? Would you like the American Triple Crown to be a practical non-entity as with the English Triple Crown, where you are extremely lucky to have a participant...

The TDN Writers' Room team had so much to say and so many people to talk to when it came to this year's GI Kentucky Derby, that we decided that one podcast was not enough. Our traditional podcast features winning trainer Cherie DeVaux (watch that here), but how could we overlook jockey Jose Ortiz or co-owner Daisy Phipps Pulito? We couldn't, so we gave each of them a podcast of their own. It was a memorable couple of days for Ortiz, who won both the Derby on Golden Tempo (Curlin)...

Jose Ortiz is one of the nation's best jockeys, but he had never won the Kentucky Derby until he steered Golden Tempo to victory on May 2, 2026 at Churchill Downs. Jose talks to the Writers' Room team about the experience on this Overtime episode.

Daisy Phipps Pulito, the Racing Manager for Phipps Stables, co-owner of the 2026 Kentucky Derby winner Golden Tempo, appears on the first edition of the TDN Writers' Room Overtime.  

There was little question as to who would be the primary Gainesway Guest of the Week on this week's edition of the TDN Writers' Room Podcast presented by Keeneland. Trainer Cherie DeVaux not only won the GI Kentucky Derby with Golden Tempo (Curlin), she also became the first female trainer to win the race. But there were so many good storylines out of this year's Derby, that the podcast split off into three parts. In what we are calling the "TDN Writers' Room Podcast Overtime" we also featured in-depth interviews...

In a statement posted Tuesday afternoon on X, trainer Cherie DeVaux announced that the GI Kentucky Derby winner Golden Tempo (Curlin) will not be running in the GI Preakness Stakes. It's another blow to the race that has clearly become the weak link in the Triple Crown. The only horse who ran in the Kentucky Derby to commit to the Preakness at this point is the maiden, Ocelli (Connect), who was a surprising third. "After much thoughtful discussion as a team, we have decided that Golden Tempo will bypass the...

The TDN Writers' Room was ecstatic to be joined by Cherie DeVaux, who made history as the first woman to win the Kentucky Derby. The trainer discussed her thoughts on Golden Tempo's performance, what the ride has been like post-Derby and what the win meant to her.

There were plenty of people who liked the chances of Japanese shipper T O Elvis (Volatile) in Saturday's GI Churchill Downs Stakes. He had won four straight races, was on the improve, and the word out of Japan was that this horse might be as good as any sprinter in the world. That he was 30-1 on the morning line made the idea of placing a large wager on the 4-year-old even more enticing. He was never going to be 30-1. The linemaker whiffed badly on that one. But as...