Kentucky Derby
When Perry Ouzts wired the field aboard an 8-1 maiden filly named Caberneigh (Munnings) at Turfway Park last Wednesday night, the 69-year-old jockey established a milestone that garnered little notice in the racing world. The victory extended Ouzts's remarkable streak of having ridden at least one winner in a calendar year to 52 consecutive seasons. Think about the scope of that accomplishment for a moment. On Apr. 2, 1973, Ouzts, then 18, rode his first lifetime winner on just his second day as a licensed apprentice, guiding home an Ohio-bred...
A day after Track Phantom (Quality Road)'s win in the GIII Lecomte S. at Fair Grounds Saturday, trainer Steve Asmussen was already looking forward to starting the 3-year-old colt in the Feb. 17 GII Risen Star S. The sophomore, who ended 2023 with a win in the Gun Runner S., will be following the same New Orleans path to the GI Kentucky Derby that Asmussen used for Epicenter (Not This Time) two years ago. Epicenter won the Gun Runner in 2021 and finished second in the Lecomte to begin his...
Mullion (Into Mischief--Brooch, by Empire Maker), a full-brother to GI Kentucky Derby winner Mandaloun, will stand at Sequel New York in partnership with Juddmonte in 2024. The 4-year-old, nosed out of a debut win at Ellis Park in August of 2022, returned from 14 months on the sidelines to graduate by 10 lengths going one mile at Churchill Downs Nov. 5. The victory earned the well-bred colt the 'TDN Rising Star' designation and an impression 4-Ragozin Number. "Mullion is a beast to look at. He showed freakish brilliance, so much...
Juddmonte's Mandaloun (Into Mischief--Brooch, by Empire Maker) was represented by his first foal over the weekend, according to a representative for the farm Thursday afternoon. The foal, a filly, was born at Jay Goodwin's Kentucky-based Goodwin Farm out of a mare not named in the release. The dam of the new filly is reported to be "out of a stakes-producing Gone West mare whose dam is a full-sister to [Canadian] Horse of the Year Dance Smartly and half-sister to the breed-shaping stallion Smart Strike." The bay filly is "big and...
To get his new business off the ground--or at least out of the basement of his house in Iowa--Dennis Albaugh took out an SBA loan of $10,000. "Against the house," he says. "Had to talk my wife into that. Then I bought an old tanker and, my first trip out, I loaded up with chemicals headed for South Dakota. And all the way up there I'm thinking, 'Hey, this is really a good truck.' It just runs a little better all the way up. I get there, I get out,...
The third pool of the Kentucky Derby Future Wager will open Friday with 40 betting options led by individual favorite Fierceness (City of Light), who is 8-1 on the morning line, and "All Other 3-Year-Olds" from the 2021 foal crop not listed in the field as the 7-5 overall betting choice. The three-day pool closes Sunday at 6 p.m. There are six Future Wager pools scheduled in advance of the 2024 Kentucky Derby: Oct. 31-Nov.2 (Pool 1); Nov. 23-26 (Pool 2); Jan. 19-21 (Pool 3); Feb. 16-18 (Pool 4); Mar....
Bred in New Jersey, Book 'em Danno (Bucchero) is a 3-year-old, has been beaten only once in five starts, has won three stakes and is coming off a career-best effort when beating up on five inferior rivals in the Jan. 13 Pasco S. at Tampa Bay Downs. With most owners and trainers, to have a horse like that would mean they'd be hyper-focused on getting to the GI Kentucky Derby. But not trainer Derek Ryan or the partnership that races under the name of Atlantic Six Racing LLC. They're headed...
The year 2023 was a pretty rough one for the sport of horse racing, and there was little to suggest that this year would be any different. The sport seems to be caught in a downward spiral as we move from one crisis to another and are left to wonder "what next?" So far this year, the answer to that question is that maybe things will be better in 2024 than we might have thought. There have been several recent positive developments for the sport, many of them having to...
We're inside the 120-day mark for the 150th GI Kentucky Derby, and the pecking order is hazily taking shape. There's a speculative, forward-thinking element (read: lots of guesswork) built into the equation, with the goal of projecting how these still-developing horses will blossom over the next four months. Get tied on and enjoy the ride. 1) NYSOS (c, Nyquist--Zetta Z, by Bernardini) 'TDN Rising Star' O-Baoma Corp; B-Susie Atkins (KY); T-Bob Baffert. Sales history: $130,000 Wlg '21 KEENOV; $150,000 Ylg '22 FTKOCT; $550,000 2yo '23 OBSAPR. Lifetime Record: GSW, 2-2-0-0,...
A multi-year partnership between Churchill Downs Racetrack and Sports Illustrated for exclusive naming rights of a new luxury dining experience, Club SI, ahead of the 150th running of the May 4 Kentucky Derby, Churchill Downs Incorporated announced Tuesday. Originally planned as the 1895 Club, Club SI will be unveiled opening night of Derby Week. Club SI is part of the $200 million renovated Paddock Project at Churchill Downs, offering a new luxury equine-focused dining experience with a view of the all-new paddock and paddock runway giving guests behind-the-scenes experiences. The...
Gold Square's Drum Roll Please (c, 3, Hard Spun--Imply, by E Dubai), a very solid third going against the grain of the track in the GII Remsen S. at Aqueduct Dec. 2, took care of business as the 3-5 favorite while turning back in distance for Saturday's Jerome S. at the Big A. He trailed the field of five in the early going after exiting from the fence. Given his cue by Javier Castellano on the far turn, he made a three-wide bid approaching the quarter pole and came rolling...
Albaugh Family Stables' Catching Freedom, the 8-5 favorite, kicked off his sophomore campaign in style with a late-running victory in the Smarty Jones S. at Oaklawn Park Monday. Favored for his third-straight start, the bay colt was unhurried early Monday and settled well off the pace behind fractions of :23.02 and :47.01. He inched closer along the rail on the far turn, tipped out for running room approaching the stretch and rolled up four wide into the lane. Just to his inside off the turn was Just Steel (Justify), who...