Welcome to the 2021 Kentucky Derby. And welcome back to what a normal Kentucky Derby looks like. Almost. The crowds? Well, they’re back – about 40,000. That’s a quarter of what normally turns Churchill Downs into a sporting bacchanalia. But there’s people in the stands. We’ll take it. The horses? […]
The Kentucky Oaks is the perfect stage for the equine soap opera like the one we have here. It’s the perfect setting for the interlocking set of filly rivalries and storylines that help horse racing out where it needs it most. Storylines merging into identities that, along with a plethora […]
Doug O’Neill already has two of these Kentucky Derbies on the mantle, both with colts he planned on taking to Churchill Downs – I’ll Have Another and Nyquist. But when Hot Rod Charlie came to his Santa Anita Park barn as a $110,000 yearling purchase, the trainer looked at his […]
Before April 3, Rock Your World occupied a very small world in Southern California horse racing. He was a good 3-year-old turf colt with a couple of nice grass wins under his hooves, including a solid, 2 ¼-length victory in the Listed Pasadena Stakes. But trainer John Sadler had a […]
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 […]
Here’s what finding the right Kentucky Derby long shot means to your exotic tickets. Last year’s Kentucky Derby $1 trifecta paid $1,311.80, for which you can thank 46/1 Mr. Big News and his unobtrusive third-place finish. Let’s look at 2019, asterisk and all. The $1 trifecta, starring 65/1 Country House, […]
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 […]
In his latest sports-bet-meets-furniture-promotion escapade, Jim “Mattress Mack†McIngvale is sticking his neck out with presumptive Kentucky Derby favorite Essential Quality. The Houston furniture magnate plans to wager at least $2 million on Essential Quality to win Saturday’s Kentucky Derby. That wager is believed to be the largest bet ever […]
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 […]
That Jon White would come up with something like the Derby Strike System (DSS) makes sense when you consider its creator spent hours surreptitiously handicapping races during his high school classes. “I’d hide it from my teachers. But I’d hide it from my fellow students as well,†said White, Santa […]
The Kentucky Oaks and Kentucky Derby undercards offer turf stars Colonel Liam and Smooth Like Strait. They offer filly stars Gamine, Shedaresthedevil, Sanenus, Aunt Pearl, and Envoutante. They also offer Maxfield, Roadster, and Max Player. And they offer one-time Derby hopefuls Jackie’s Warrior, Prevalence, and Gretzky the Great. It’s easy […]
Caddo River, one of three Brad Cox Kentucky Derby entries and the one pace horse in this year’s field, won’t be that pace horse. Cox scratched him from the Derby Sunday morning because of a fever. This opens the gate for Brooklyn Strong, who gets into the field with his […]
Despite selling limited tickets for its 15-day Spring Meet, Keeneland’s just-concluded meet brought a 7.55% handle increase from its 2019 numbers. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic scrubbing Keeneland’s 2020 Spring Meet, 2019 represents the last comparable year. Headlined by Essential Quality’s Blue Grass Stakes victory, Wesley Ward’s seventh training title […]
Two weeks ago, King Fury needed a miracle of falling Kentucky Derby dominoes to get him into the 2021 Kentucky Derby field. On Friday, the Lexington Stakes champion got that miracle. After the defections of Dream Shake and Hozier Friday and Get Her Number’s Saturday defection, King Fury sits comfortably […]
As if breaking down an intriguing Kentucky Derby didn’t require enough handicapping firepower, Churchill Downs unveiled its wagering menu for Derby weekend. Headlining Derby weekend is a mandatory payout in the Derby City 6. That jackpot-style Pick 6 requires a bettor to hold the only winning combination of the six […]
Let’s be clear about O Besos and his Kentucky Derby victory prospects upfront. This is not a victory endorsement for a closer in a race where closers’ victory hopes routinely die painfully short on the Churchill Downs stretch. O Besos has minimal tactical speed, one run in him, and an […]
A jockeys’ mutiny for Monmouth Park’s upcoming racing season is brewing after the Superior Court of New Jersey declined a request to stay the New Jersey Racing Commission’s riding crop ban. Three jockeys, including 13-time Monmouth riding champion Joe Bravo, told Thoroughbred Daily News they will not ride at Monmouth […]
While you were paying attention to the Kentucky Derby trail, Silver State was winning races. While you were paying attention to the adventures of Charlatan, Maxfield, Knicks Go, Monomoy Girl, and Swiss Skydiver, Silver State was joining them in the millionaire’s club. The 4-year-old punched his membership ticket to that […]
The Breeders’ Cup World Championships announced its 2021 Challenge Series race schedule, which features a record nine Challenge Series “Win and You’re In†races to the event’s flagship Breeders’ Cup Classic. The $6 million Classic is an All-Star race, capping the two-day, 14-race, $31 million Breeders’ Cup. This year’s Breeders’ […]
In horse racing’s version of splitting the foal in half, the Arkansas Racing Commission upheld three stewards’ rulings from the 2020 Arkansas Derby card, but rescinded drug-related disqualifications for two Bob Baffert horses — Charlatan and Gamine — running on that card. The six-vote, unanimous decision reinstates Charlatan’s first division […]
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