Damon’s Mound, the latest 2-year-old worth keeping several eyes on, announced his presence at Churchill Downs Saturday with a flourish. A 12 ½-length authoritative flourish in a maiden special weight race on the Stephen Foster undercard. Damon’s Mound took apart the six-furlong maiden special weight in 1:09.84. He debuted with […]
Tag: Churchill Downs
Mandaloun, Life Is Good, Speaker’s Corner Head Cross Country Pick 5
Last year’s Kentucky Derby champion, two of the most dynamic sprinters in the country, and a multiple Grade 1 winner looking for redemption headline this week’s New York Racing Association’s Cross Country Pick 5. This week’s Cross Country Pick 5 is an all-stakes sequence. The week’s races come from Belmont […]
Churchill Downs All-Stakes Pick 5 Features Eclectic, Familiar Names
A veritable all-star roster of eclectic talent that includes a Kentucky Derby winner, a Kentucky Oaks winner, a Breeders’ Cup Sprint victor, and a true horse for course highlight Churchill Downs’ Saturday All-Stakes Pick 5. The All-Stakes Pick 5 wager encompasses all five of the Twin Spires’ stakes races on […]
Churchill Downs Cancels Turf Racing for Duration of Spring Meet
Citing more problems from its new turf course, Churchill Downs officials suspended racing on the Matt Winn Turf Course for the track’s closing weekend. The decision cancels the Grade 2 Wise Dan Stakes and sends three other stakes originally carded for the turf course to the main dirt track. Those […]
Bell’s the One, Sconsin Renew Rivalry in Relocated Chicago Stakes
By renewing their established rivalry, Bell’s the One and Sconsin double-handedly turned Saturday’s Grade 3 Chicago Stakes at Churchill Downs into one of the weekend’s most intriguing races. The seven-furlong Chicago also offers up Grade 1 winner Kalypso, who finds herself relegated to the chorus against her elders. The Grade […]
Seeking a Horse for a Course? Take Bango at Churchill Downs
Lost in the shuffle of Bango defending his Aristides Stakes title at Churchill Downs on Saturday was the not-insignificant fact that he is truly a horse for the Twin Spires course. Bango’s 2 ½-length victory over Necker Island marked his seventh victory at Churchill Downs. That ties him with 26 […]
Here’s Another 3-Year-Old to Watch: Sprinter Conagher
In April, Conagher announced his presence with a 6 ¾-length blitzkrieg of a Keeneland allowance field. And just to remind everyone this is a 3-year-old to watch, Conagher nearly broke the Churchill Downs seven-furlong track record Friday. En route to his second allowance victory in as many starts, Conagher covered […]
This Cross Country Pick 5 Features Grade 1 Winner, Four Stakes Races
The return of a Grade 1 winner and an intriguing Grade 2 stakes race provide the highlight of this week’s New York Racing Association Cross Country Pick 5. This week’s races come to horseplayers from Belmont Park and Churchill Downs. The aforementioned Grade 1 winner is Americanrevolution, who returns six […]
Memorial Day Cross Country Pick 5 Offers Millionaire Duel, Sconsin Return
Four stakes races, including a festival of New York-bred races on the Belmont Park card, highlight a special Memorial Day Cross Country Pick 5. This special Cross Country Pick 5 features those Big Apple Showcase Day races at Belmont and two races from Churchill Downs. The Twin Spires plays host […]
Sprinter Sconsin Returns to Paint Her Defense in Winning Colors
While Santa Anita Park and its three Grade 1s is the center of Monday’s racing universe, the return of multiple graded stakes winner Sconsin to the track opens another window into a possible presence on the older female front. The 5-year-old mare returns to the track for the first time […]
Cross Country Pick 5 Offers Several Deep Fields, Two Stakes
Two stakes races, one featuring a Breeders’ Cup board hitter, highlight Saturday’s New York Racing Association Cross Country Pick 5, which come to you from Belmont Park and Churchill Downs. This is the first of two Cross Country Pick 5s this weekend. The multi-race, multi-track wager resets Monday with stakes […]
Trainer Peter Miller Returns After Six Months On Hiatus
Peter Miller, who hasn’t raced a horse since Nov. 28, returns to the barn for the first time in six months when he sends out 3-year-old gelding Respect the Code for Sunday’s eighth race at Churchill Downs. The California-based trainer, who won nine training titles at Del Mar, took what […]
Derby Winner Rich Strike Returns to the Track — For a Workout
As he watched his biggest meal ticket work out Saturday, Rich Strike trainer Eric Reed cast a figurative eye East toward Pimlico Race Course. Then, he answered the question of many fans wondering why he wasn’t there, running the second jewel of the Triple Crown — the Preakness Stakes. “Skipping […]
Louisville Stakes Anchors this Week’s Cross Country Pick 5
If you need to take a break from handicapping the Preakness Stakes, this week’s New York Racing Association’s Cross Country Pick 5 offers an all-turf series from Belmont Park and Churchill Downs. The lone stakes race in the weekly wager is the Grade 3 Louisville Stakes from Churchill Downs. The 11th […]
Kentucky Derby Taught Tim Yakteen Plenty About Messier, Taiba
With both Messier and Taiba back at his Santa Anita Park barn, trainer Tim Yakteen took a look back at last Saturday’s Kentucky Derby shocker by 80/1 Rich Strike and came up with one inescapable conclusion many people overlooked. “Horses that show a fondness for Churchill Downs have a tendency […]
Even with Comeback Win, Brown Thinks ‘What If?’ with Jack Christopher
There was Chad Brown with Jack Christopher, standing in the Churchill Downs winner’s circle on the first Saturday in May. Just the way the four-time Eclipse Award-winning trainer drew it up with the standout colt. Well, not quite. Brown and Jack Christopher were in the winner’s circle, not for the […]
Rich Strike trainer Eric Reed Hasn’t Woken Up From Derby Dream
Everything kept going back through Eric Reed’s mind like a never-ending dream, which the trainer of Rich Strike still wasn’t sure about. “I couldn’t sleep last night,†said Reed, still in shock over Rich Strike’s 80/1 shocking victory in the 148th Kentucky Derby. “At 4 this morning, I was wondering […]
Rich Strike Bowls Over Rivals in Stunning 80/1 Kentucky Derby Upset
Rich Strike’s trainer, Eric Reed, nearly lost his entire stable in a barn fire. He got Rich Strike – a $30,000 claimer with one career win in seven starts — into the 148th Kentucky Derby with five minutes to spare Friday. When he left Post 21 at Churchill Downs, Rich […]
Secret Oath Comes Out of Kentucky Oaks Win Looking at Preakness
The options before Secret Oath – newly minted Kentucky Oaks winner Secret Oath – are plentiful and profitable. And Hall of Fame trainer D. Wayne Lukas said the Preakness Stakes remains one of those options. “I’m going to let a few days go by and then I’ll get with (owner) […]
Racing Veteran White Sees Plenty of Gray in this Kentucky Derby
Jon White wants you to know this Kentucky Derby prognostication stuff can get rather tricky. He once picked Point Given to win the 2001 Derby because he simply was the best horse in the field. Point Given picked the first Saturday in May that year to run the worst race […]