Whitworth Beckman

In the Fasig-Tipton Silverbulletday Stakes at Fair Grounds it was Simply Joking (Practical Joke) who took home the prize with a gate to wire display and the 20 points which can be applied to her 'Road to the Kentucky Oaks' account. The 3-year-old came into the race having only one other start under her belt when the Pennsylvania-bred captured the Letellier Memorial Stakes in New Orleans Dec. 21. Backed as the 8-5 choice here, Simply Joking was handed a rather easy lead and proceeded to make every pole a winning...

Alan Ribble's Honor Marie (Honor Code) became the first graded stakes winner for trainer Whit Beckman after pulling off an 8-1 upset in Saturday evening's GII Kentucky Jockey Club S. at Churchill Downs. Honor Marie earned 10 points as part of the "Road to the Kentucky Derby" series, which offered points on a scale of 10-5-3-2-1 to the top five finishers. "He's a very nice horse and we were confident with his pedigree, and the way he trained, he'd enjoy longer distances," said Beckman, a former assistant to trainers Todd...