One trainer has four horses – a quarter of the field – in this year’s Kentucky Derby. Surprisingly, his name is Todd Pletcher, and not Bob Baffert. It’s one of those counterintuitive Derby facts that most casual horse racing fans stumble over. And it’s not their fault. Nor is it […]
As expected, Essential Quality checked in as the 2/1 morning-line favorite for the 147th Kentucky Derby. And Tuesday’s post-position Derby draw sends the undefeated colt and his favorite status into post 14 for Saturday’s 2021 Triple Crown opener. As he watched the posts fill up on Tuesday morning, this put […]
Malathaat and her undefeated record earned 5/2 morning-line favorite status for Friday’s 147th Kentucky Oaks at Monday morning’s post-position draw and morning-line announcement. The 1 1/8-mile Oaks anchors Churchill Downs’ 13-race, six-stakes Friday card. The 14-filly field of 3-year-olds runs for a $767,250 first-prize check out of the $1.25 million […]
It had to be a typo that Todd Pletcher’s Bourbonic entered the Wood Memorial starting gate at 72/1. Surely, the trainer with the most Kentucky Derby starters in history couldn’t have a moon shot like this in a race he’s won five times. It was no typo. Bourbonic left the […]
The Grade 2 Tampa Bay Derby is one of those Kentucky Derby preps that often gets lost in the shuffle. Part of that is the giant shadow Tampa Bay Downs fights from its southern Florida neighbor, Gulfstream Park. Part of that is the fact only two horses emerged from the […]
Once you get past the obvious, that Greatest Honour is clearly the favorite to add the Fountain of Youth to his Gulfstream Park Kentucky Derby prep resume, this race opens up a wealth of other storylines. Can Fire At Will handle dirt as well as he handled turf? Is Prime […]
Three years ago, a horse named Flameaway captured the Grade 3 Sam F. Davis Stakes at Tampa Bay Downs. The Mark Casse-trained colt set a stakes record for the 1 1/16 miles – 1:42.44. Flameaway would finish second in the Tampa Bay Derby. He would win a minor stakes as […]
The Withers predates the Kentucky Derby by one year, a testament to its one-time status as one of the country’s prestigious spring races. This race once held court just below the Triple Crown races in terms of status and prestige. Man o’ War? Won the 1920 Withers. Native Dancer? Your […]
Getting your horse a Triple Crown nomination used to be so simple that connections to this year’s 3-year-old hopefuls nominated 326 horses to compete in the three American Classic races this spring. Those 326 nominations represent a slight, 6.1% dip from last year’s 347 early nominees. Those connections paid $600 […]
We’ll see several Kentucky Derby hopefuls return this weekend when two East Coast Grade 3 Derby preps headline the stakes races. And, we’ll meet some Kentucky Oaks contenders in two Oaks preps – one on each coast. At the same time, we’ll see a Grade 2 for 3-year-olds that isn’t […]
The Holy Bull is the race that vaulted Tiz the Law onto the front row of Kentucky Derby contenders. Never mind the fact he didn’t win the rescheduled Derby. It vaulted him to the Belmont Stakes title. Tiz the Law didn’t come out of the Holy Bull to a garland […]
Mere days before he was set to run in the Grade 3 Holy Bull at Gulfstream Park, Mutasaabeq suffered a shin injury that will take the Kentucky Derby prospect off the Triple Crown trail. Trainer Todd Pletcher told reporters the injury – while frustrating for an upper-level Derby contender – […]
Two Kentucky Derby preps – one on each coast – grab this weekend’s stakes spotlight. Those are the Grade 3 Holy Bull from Gulfstream Park and the Grade 3 Robert B. Lewis from Santa Anita Park. Not to be forgotten are two Kentucky Oaks preps, the Grade 3 Forward Gal […]
If American Thoroughbred racing has a quality gap, it’s in the area that Colonel Liam addressed on Saturday – the older male turf division. That division needs a standout, a go-to, must-watch horse who can grab eyes every time he enters a gate. And with his neck victory over stablemate […]
As strange as it is to understand, turf maestro Chad Brown doesn’t have a horse in the $1 million Pegasus World Cup Turf. Meanwhile, his East Coast training rival, Todd Pletcher, is bringing three charges to what is typically the best winter turf route race of the year. Before we […]
With three straight victories in as many 2020 starts, Knicks Go is exactly the type of horse who wins the Pegasus World Cup Invitational. Now, add a prime starting spot from Post 4 to the mix, and it’s easy to understand how Knicks Go became the 5/2 favorite when Pegasus […]
Two weeks ago, we saw Kentucky Derby futures prospect Mutasaabeq impressively move from the turf to the dirt. The question this week is, can Rock Your World do the same thing? The Circa Sports Derby futures book seems to think so. It put 33/1 odds on the Candy Ride colt, […]
Todd Pletcher’s considerable depth at Gulfstream Park manifested itself again when the Hall of Fame trainer snagged three of the 16 invites to the $1 million Pegasus World Cup Turf Invitational, the companion race to the Pegasus World Cup Invitational. The Grade 1, 1-3/16-mile Pegasus Turf runs Jan. 23 as […]
You’ve seen Mutasaabeq on the front page of Kentucky Derby futures prospects. Now, you’ll see him back on dirt in Saturday’s Mucho Macho Man Stakes at Gulfstream Park. When you do, you’ll see the Todd Pletcher-trained, son of Into Mischief take marquee status in Gulfstream Park’s first Derby prep of […]
Life Is Good returns this weekend as the leading player among several Kentucky Derby contenders and would-be contenders among three Derby preps on both coasts. And those Derby contenders and would-be Derby contenders? They lose their juvenile status and become official 3-year-olds on Friday. Aqueduct, Santa Anita Park, and Gulfstream […]
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