Rich Strike

Well, I guess it's precisely because the protagonists aren't used to the limelight that everybody has so enjoyed their arrival at center stage. But they have quickly learned that once there, with everyone hanging on your every word, you had better know your script. In the excitement of his success, under one of the most remarkable rides in GI Kentucky Derby history, connections of Rich Strike (Keen Ice) told everyone that they had the previous morning been reconciled to instead contesting the GIII Peter Pan S. at Belmont this weekend....

I suppose it wasn't a complete surprise that the connections of Rich Strike (Keen Ice) announced Thursday that their GI Kentucky Derby winner will not run in the GI Preakness S. and will instead point for the GI Belmont S., forgoing any chance he might have had to win the Triple Crown. Owners and trainers have grown so frightened by the idea of running their horses back on two-weeks' rest that something like this was inevitable. So this year's Preakness, missing the feel-good 80-1 winner of the Derby will not...

Rich Strike (Keen Ice), who sensationally upended last Saturday's GI Kentucky Derby as the 80-1 longest shot in the field of 20, will bypass the GI Preakness S. at Pimlico May 21, owner Rick Dawson said Thursday afternoon. "Our original plan for Rich Strike was contingent on the Kentucky Derby--should we not run in the Derby, we would point toward the Preakness, should we run in the Derby, subject to the race outcome and the condition of our horse, we would give him more recovery time and rest and run...

After winning the G1 QIPCO 2000 Guineas at the end of April, Coroebus (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}) moved up to a ranking of 121 in the Longines World's Best Racehorse Rankings. The new mark puts him even with fellow improvers Jackie's Warrior (Maclean's Music), who won the GI Churchill Downs S. on Kentucky Derby Day and G1 Tenno Sho (Spring) scorer Titleholder (Jpn) (Duramente {Jpn}). They join Golden Pal (Uncle Mo) and Country Grammer (Tonalist) at that rating, which is a five-way tie for fifth in the standings. Leading the list...

Larry Collmus has been calling races at the highest level for a long time, but even his vast experience and expertise could hardly prepare him for what happened in Saturday's stunning GI Kentucky Derby, as 80-1 bomb Rich Strike (Keen Ice) came seemingly from nowhere to surge past the short-priced pair of Epicenter (Not This Time) and Zandon (Upstart) and score the second-largest upset in the 148-year history of the Run for the Roses. Tuesday, Collmus joined the TDN Writers' Room presented by Keeneland as the Green Group Guest of...

Trainer D. Wayne Lukas confirmed Wednesday that GI Longines Kentucky Oaks heroine Secret Oath (Arrogate) will become the latest filly to take on males in the GI Preakness S., to be held May 21 at Pimlico. The race will also feature a rematch of the top two finishers from the GI Kentucky Derby, as the connections of beaten Derby favorite Epicenter (Not This Time), who appeared home free until passed on the inside in the final strides by 80-1 longshot Rich Strike (Keen Ice), will head to Baltimore for the...

Scott Miller has only been involved in breeding for a few years, but he's more than happy to stick around for a while longer now that he owns a half-sister to a Kentucky Derby winner. Miller's mare Lode Lady (Posse) is the first foal out of the Smart Strike mare Gold Strike, the dam of newly-acclaimed Derby hero Rich Strike (Keen Ice). Foaled in 2008, Lode Lady made three trips to the winner's circle at Woodbine and earned over $150,000 during her racing career before ending up with Miller eight...

Rich Strike (Keen Ice), upset winner of the Gl Kentucky Derby at 80-1, and Secret Oath (Arrogate), the powerful Gl Kentucky Oaks winner, are members of the first crops of their respective sires, both of whom were late-developing Classic-distance horses. Keen Ice and Arrogate each won his first stakes race at Saratoga in late August at three, in the Gl Travers S. at 10 furlongs. Keen Ice won the "Midsummer Classic" in 2015 at 16-1, defeating Triple Crown winner American Pharoah in a shocker. Arrogate won the race the next...

NBC Sports' presentation of the 148th GI Kentucky Derby averaged a Total Audience Delivery (TAD) of 16.0 million viewers--marking the eighth consecutive year that the event topped the 15-million mark, excluding pandemic-impacted events. It was the most watched Derby since 2019, with viewership peaking at 19 million from 7-7:15 p.m. ET, shortly after Rich Strike (Keen Ice) crossed the wire first at 80-1, marking the largest Kentucky Derby peak audience since 2017, ahead of the 18.5 million for the controversial 2019 disqualification of Maximum Security. The TV-only average audience of...

Well, if it was hard enough to make sense of his performance, then don't expect things to appear any more conventional when you look at the pedigree of Rich Strike. His grandsire and dam share the same paternity. His mother was discarded a couple of years ago for $1,700; his half-sister was claimed only last month for $5,000; and his sire's only previous stakes winner had emerged in Puerto Rico. But if communal incredulity over the GI Kentucky Derby must have been flavored with extra piquancy for the breeders of...

It was a hectic week in the Thoroughbred business with all eyes firmly focussed on Louisville, Kentucky. Here are some facts and figures that you might have missed in the rush. Record Numbers... Wagering from all-sources on the Kentucky Derby (single race) totaled $179 million, up 15% over 2021 and up 8% from the previous record of $166.5-million set in 2019. This year's wagering record includes $8.3 million of handle put through the window in Japan. The Smart Strike Factor... As a broodmare sire, Smart Strike has the distinction of...