Kentucky Derby

A new HISA computer model to identify at-risk horses is being used by Churchill Downs officials to complement existing track safety nets, representatives from the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority (HISA) and Horseracing Integrity and Welfare Unit (HIWU) announced during Tuesday's press conference on equine safety protocols in place for this year's GI Kentucky Derby and GI Kentucky Oaks. "It's essentially a model that looks at 44 potential risk factors that might cause a horse to be at risk for injury," said HISA CEO Lisa Lazarus, who added that the...

Frankie Dettori, who hasn't ridden in the GI Kentucky Derby since an off-the-board finish in 2000 aboard Godolphin's UAE Derby winner China Visit (Red Ransom), has picked up a mount in this year's Derby in West Paces Racing LLC, Danny Gargan, and GMP Stables LLC's Society Man (Good Magic). The news was first reported by Daily Racing Form Tuesday. Trained by Danny Gargan, who also has MGSW Dornoch (Good Magic) pointing to the big race, Society Man was last seen finishing second Apr. 6 in the GII Wood Memorial S....

Repole Stable's Fierceness (City of Light) made his first appearance over the Churchill Downs main track on a sun-splashed Tuesday morning. Under regular exercise rider Danny Wright, Fierceness galloped a mile during the 7:30-7:45 training window for Kentucky Derby and Oaks runners. Wright has been the regular morning partner for the defending juvenile champion since last summer at Saratoga. "He looked smooth and handled it well," trainer Todd Pletcher said of the morning's activity. Winner of the GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile and GI Curlin Florida Derby, Fierceness is scheduled to...

Granpollo Stable's Grand Mo the First (Uncle Mo), aiming for the May 4 GI Kentucky Derby, breezed six furlongs at Gulfstream Tuesday while GI Kentucky Oaks aspirant, Stonehedge LLC's Fiona's Magic (St. Patrick's Day), also continued preparations in south Florida. The Victor Barboza Jr.-trained colt, who finished a distant third behind early Derby favorite Fierceness (City of Light) in the Mar. 30 GI Curlin Florida Derby at Gulfstream, was timed in 1:16.48 under jockey Emisael Jaramillo before galloping out a mile. "The six-furlong workout this morning, I really liked it,"...

Beginning Thursday and continuing through May 1, fans can visit Churchill Downs free of charge from 7-10 a.m. to watch horses preparing for the GI Kentucky Derby and GI Kentucky Oaks. Horses train on Churchill Downs' main track daily from 5:15-10 a.m. There will be an exclusive training window only for Derby and Oaks participants from 7:30-7:45 a.m. following the 7-7:30 a.m. renovation break. Those horses will be identified by special saddle towels which include their names: yellow saddle towels for Derby horses and pink saddle towels for Oaks contenders....

Churchill Downs Inc., (CDI) invoked a horse-health argument on Monday in an attempt to get the Kentucky Court of Appeals not to overturn the banishment of trainer Bob Baffert that Thoroughbred owner Amr Zedan is trying to reverse so his 'TDN Rising Star' Muth (Good Magic) can gain entry into the GI Kentucky Derby. "This case has already drawn intense media attention," CDI stated in one of two court filings Apr. 22 that seek to halt Zedan's incorporated racing stable from moving forward with its appeal for emergency relief and...

St. Elias Stable, Ken Langone, C. Steven Duncker and Vicarage Stable's Deterministic (Liam's Map) turned in his first work since finishing a well-beaten eighth in the Apr. 6 GII Wood Memorial S. with a five-furlong move in 1:02.63 (11/19) over the dirt training track at Belmont Park Sunday. Deterministic is 16th on the eligibility list for the GI Kentucky Derby thanks to his victory in the GIII Gotham S., but trainer Christophe Clement confirmed the dark bay colt will skip the Run for the Roses. "I spoke to the owners...

A casino is supposed to be on the way, but in the meantime these are tough times for racing in Chicago and its only remaining racetrack, Hawthorne. They still don't have any outside revenue from a casino, their purses are meager and their simulcast signal gets lost on days like Saturday, when they went up against the likes of Aqueduct, Gulfstream, Keeneland, Oaklawn and Santa Anita. The handle Saturday was $1,019,178. It should have been three times that. We've seen a lot of tracks experiment with lower takeouts. The latest...

Track Phantom (Quality Road) continued his preparation for the GI Kentucky Derby with a five-furlong work in 1:00.80 (6/32) at Churchill Downs Sunday morning. With jockey Tyler Gaffalione in the saddle, Track Phantom worked outside 'TDN Rising Star' and GII Pat Day Mile contender Carbone (Mitole) as the duo cruised an opening quarter-mile in a modest :26.20, but galloped out six furlongs in a solid 1:13.60, according to Churchill Downs clocker John Nichols. Track Phantom's final three furlongs was a sharp :34.60. Track Phantom worked in blinkers Sunday and he...

Dear Sir/Ma'am, I have a couple of questions, the answers to which have eluded me. It is my understanding that restricted stakes cannot be awarded graded status, no matter the purse. So, if several of the most talented three-year-olds in the country are prevented from running in the Kentucky Derby and the Kentucky Oaks, does this make them restricted stakes? If so, should they retain their Grade I status, be downgraded, or have their graded status removed altogether? Respectfully, Nick de Meric.

One day after a lower court in Kentucky denied a motion to make Amr Zedan's 'TDN Rising Star' Muth eligible for the GI Kentucky Derby by overturning Churchill Downs Inc., (CDI)'s ban again trainer Bob Baffert, Zedan's incorporated racing stable on Friday asked the Kentucky Court of Appeals to "vacate the Jefferson Circuit Court's order and issue a temporary injunction" to let his Good Magic colt at least begin the entry process to race in the first leg of the Triple Crown. Zedan's Apr. 19 motion proposed that "At a...

Amr Zedan's incorporated racing stable is planning an immediate appeal to a Thursday decision by a Kentucky judge who denied an injunction request that would have overturned Churchill Downs, Inc. (CDI)'s ongoing ban against Bob Baffert. Zedan had initiated an Apr. 3 lawsuit in an effort to get his Baffert-trained 'TDN Rising Star' Muth (Good Magic) eligible for the GI Kentucky Derby. But Judge Mitchell Perry of Jefferson Circuit Court also denied CDI's request to dismiss the case in his Apr. 18 order. This means that barring a successful appeal...