Whit Beckman

The annual Thanksgiving weekend "Stars of Tomorrow" card at Churchill Downs is designed to highlight aspiring 2-year-olds right before they launch into their sophomore seasons. An intriguing subplot to this year's edition, however, put the spotlight on several human rather than equine participants who could be on the cusp of bigger and better things. Eighteen-year-old jockey Axel Concepcion just might be on his way to winning an Eclipse Award as the nation's top apprentice for 2023 despite not starting racing at American mainland tracks until Feb. 19 and also having...

8th-Keeneland, $100,000, Msw, 10-22, 2yo, 6 1/2f, 1:18.24, ft, 1 1/4 lengths. AGOO (c, 2, Munnings--Grandacious {SW & GSP, $206,304}, by Grand Slam) was a strong second after leading late on his six-furlong Churchill debut Sept. 17 behind Stretch Ride (Street Sense), who validated that peformance with a 5 3/4-length allowance victory going two turns here Oct. 14, good for an 86 Beyer. One of the first to break the line from a double-digit gate, the $72,000 KEENOV weanling and $190,000 KEESEP yearling was forwardly placed, but was no better...

Whit Beckman would be the first to admit that his stable did not get off to the remarkably-fast start he had dreamed of when he first set out on his own last fall. Going into this summer, he had just two wins on his training record. But, the pieces have fallen into place in the past two months as Beckman has sent five horses to the winner's circle, including three in just the past two weeks. Sabalenka (Good Samaritan) leads the charge of recent winners for Beckman and now looks...