Tag: Art Collector

Fillies, colts, it really doesn't matter who Swiss Skydiver runs against. Trainer Kenny McPeek is considering entering the filly in the Preakness Stakes. (Image: Coady Photography)

Swiss Skydiver’s Next Plunge Could be at Preakness Stakes

- 3 min read

A second crack at Art Collector and a first crack at a Triple Crown race. That’s what Swiss Skydiver’s connections ponder as they explore running the filly in the Preakness Stakes. Kenny McPeek, Swiss Skydiver’s trainer, said the Oct. 3 Preakness at Pimlico is in the mix for the standout […]

Considered the Kentucky Derby's second favorite, Art Collector will miss the Run for the Roses after suffering a minor injury during a Monday gallop. (Image: Eric Crawford)

Hoof Injury Knocks Art Collector Out of Kentucky Derby

- 3 min read

Expected to be a single-digit second favorite and the chief challenger to favorite Tiz the Law, Art Collector withdrew from Saturday’s Kentucky Derby due to a slight injury to his left front hoof. Trainer Tommy Drury, who was making his first career Kentucky Derby appearance with Art Collector, said that […]

Art Collector, seen her romping to an easy victory in the Ellis Park Derby, is one of six Kentucky Derby horses with a triple-digit Beyer Speed Figure. (Image: Coady Photography)

Speed Rules: How Fast is Your Favorite Kentucky Derby Hopeful?

- 4 min read

When it comes to handicapping the Kentucky Derby, the speedy rule of thumb used to be simple. Bring your thumb down to the horses who ran at least a 95 Beyer Speed Figure, and begin your handicapping from there. That’s an easy place to start, considering 25 of the last […]

Venetian Harbor and Flavien Prat won February's Las Virgenes Stakes by 9 1/4 lengths. She has three runner-up finishes since and the one-time Kentucky Oaks favorite is skipping that race. (Image: Benoit Photo)

One-Time Favorite Venetian Harbor Won’t Dock at Kentucky Oaks

- 3 min read

Earlier this spring, Venetian Harbor was the 9/2 futures book favorite to win the Kentucky Oaks. But in an example of how a September Oaks/Derby can negatively affect a horse, the 3-year-old filly will sit out next week’s Oaks. Instead, Venetian Harbor’s trainer, Richard Baltas, is setting his sights on […]

Pneumatic and jockey Joe Bravo easily captured the final Kentucky Derby points race -- the Pegasus Stakes. But they announced Monday they'll skip the Derby for the Preakness Stakes a month later. (Image: Eclipse Sportswire)

Waiting Game Starts as Road to Kentucky Derby Ends

- 3 min read

The Road to the Kentucky Derby is finally complete. Now, it’s just a matter of certain connections deciding if their horses will enter the Kentucky Derby starting gate. Thanks to the coronavirus pandemic, the long and winding Derby trail claimed some standout horses, most notably Nadal, Charlatan, and Maxfield. The […]

Spice is Nice, seen her breaking her maiden at Aqueduct last year, has the pedigree to run 1 1/4 miles. But does she have the class to run with standouts such as Swiss Skydiver? (Image: Ryan Thompson/Coglianese Photo)

Alabama Stakes Takes Fillies on a Long Distance Runaround

- 3 min read

Saturday’s Grade 1 Alabama Stakes at Saratoga gives you another glimpse of standout filly Swiss Skydiver, who figures to take most of the money and figures to go off at odds-on. It also gives you a rare glimpse of fillies doing something few American fillies and mares do – run […]

Tiz the Law made the Travers Stakes look as easy as his other three 2020 victories. Oddsmakers dropped his Kentucky Derby odds under 2/1 as a result. (Image: Stacey Heatherington/NYRA via AP)

Derby Odds Fall as Tiz the Law’s Stock Rises

- 3 min read

It is a testament to Tiz the Law’s dominance over the rest of his 3-year-old contemporaries that his odds to win the Triple Crown (+250 at Circa Sports) are lower than any of his counterparts’ future odds on them winning the Kentucky Derby. That’s one takeaway from Tiz the Law’s […]

Jockey Brian Hernandez and Art Collector plan using the Ellis Park Derby as a tune-up for the Kentucky Derby. They are the 4/5 morning line favorite for the penultimate Kentucky Derby prep. (Image: Keeneland/Coady Photography)

Art Collector Unveiled as Easy Ellis Park Derby Favorite

- 3 min read

Being a Kentucky Derby prep is uncharted waters for Ellis Park. And training a Kentucky Derby hopeful is definitely uncharted waters for Tom Drury. Those two storylines will collide Sunday at the Ellis Park Derby with all eyes on Drury’s odds-on favorite, Art Collector. In a normal year, the ungraded […]

Art Collector follows his Blue Grass Stakes victory with the Ellis Park Derby Aug. 9. (Image: Coady Photography)

July’s Kentucky Derby Preps Introduce New Contenders, Old Favorites

- 4 min read

If we get a Kentucky Derby finish like the Haskell Stakes finish, they’ll be talking about that Derby for years to come. And after that Haskell, and the rest of July’s Derby preps, it’s a good time to see where the Derby contenders are at mid-summer – weird as that […]

Art Collector's 3 1/2-length victor in the Blue Grass Stakes at Keeneland vaulted him to the front row of Kentucky Derby contenders. His odds to win the Sept. 5 Derby plummeted on every futures board. (Image: Coady Photography)

Art Collector Becomes Hottest Object on Kentucky Derby Futures Board

- 3 min read

Winning the Blue Grass Stakes made Art Collector the latest shiny object for Kentucky Derby bettors to focus on as his odds to win the Sept. 5 Run for Roses plunged across the board. On Circa Sports’ Kentucky Derby Futures Board, Art Collector sits at 7/1. He’s now the fourth […]

Swiss Skydiver exercised proper social distancing turning back Venetian Harbor in May's Fantasy Stakes. She is the 3/1 morning line favorite to beat the boys in the Blue Grass Stakes. (Image: Coady Photography)

Swiss Skydiver Takes on the Boys, History in Blue Grass Stakes

- 4 min read

Last month, Kenny McPeek was a coronavirus odyssey away from sending Swiss Skydiver to England for the 1000 Guineas. So why wouldn’t he turn the standout filly loose against the boys in Saturday’s Grade 2 Blue Grass Stakes at Keeneland? “This has already been one of the weirdest years ever. […]

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