Experts in Sports and Gambling
In their latest response to the coronavirus pandemic, Churchill Downs officials issued a mandate on Monday to jockeys at both the Saratoga and Del Mar colonies. They need to be in Kentucky no later than Aug. 24 if they want to ride in the Kentucky Derby or Kentucky Oaks. That’s […]
As marquee races go, this isn’t the Kentucky Derby. But you could do a lot worse than the Stephen Foster as the headline race of your meet, abbreviated and all. The Grade 2 Stephen Foster not only headlines Saturday’s strong 11-race, four-stakes card at Churchill Downs, it provides an enviable […]
You can’t call what Tom’s d’Etat did in the Oaklawn Mile a coup d’etat, not when he was the 4/5 favorite. Nor can you call his previous two races revolutionary. All of which explains why Tom’s d’Etat is the even-money favorite for Saturday’s Stephen Foster at Churchill Downs. The Grade […]
Churchill Downs officials announced Thursday that the 146th Kentucky Derby and Kentucky Oaks will run with a limited and yet unspecified number of spectators, a decision made in consultation with Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear and state public health officials. In so doing, Churchill Downs is trying to make a concerted […]
You could make a credible case that Midnight Bisou isn’t just the best filly or mare in the world, but that she’s the best horse in the world. And Midnight Bisou will further that case at Churchill Downs in Saturday’s Grade 2 Fleur de Lis. Waiting for her in a […]
It’s the fourth Saturday in May, which brings us Churchill Downs’ headline race for 3-year-olds this spring. You can hear the dulcet tones of “My Old Kentucky Home” as the 10 horses enter the gate for the Matt Winn Stakes. No, that’s not a typo or the result of a […]
The expectations surrounding Maxfield on his 3-year-old debut at Saturday’s Grade 3 Matt Winn Stakes at Churchill Downs can be viewed through the prism of two other horses who recently returned from extended time off. The first: Bob Baffert’s Tale of the Union, who returned to the starting gate at […]
Adding more prestige to Churchill Downs’ long-awaited Spring Meet opening on Saturday, champion 3-year-old Monomoy Girl returns to action for the first time in 18 months. In terms of class and competition, Monomoy Girl won’t be running against the elite fields she’s used to competing against. She’s entered as the […]
The Kentucky Derby Trail now has a visible path forward after Churchill Downs released a preliminary list of races offering Derby qualifying points, pending host track approval. One of the most interesting elements of the preliminary Derby Trail concerns the other two legs of the Triple Crown – the Preakness […]
After not hosting the Kentucky Derby on the first Saturday in May for the first time in 75 years, Churchill Downs officials released its first condition book of races and its entire stakes schedule for its spring meet. The proposed slate features 16 stakes races and offers $2.25 million in […]
Government officials in two of the country’s biggest horse racing states, Kentucky and New York, opened the doors for live, spectator-free racing to begin amid the COVID-19 pandemic. The announcements came separately and, in both cases, contained few details on exactly when live racing would begin again. But in the […]
The mint juleps are your responsibility, as are the party decorations and hats. But Churchill Downs promised a big event in 2020 on the first Saturday in May — and Kentucky Derby fans will get one, virtually. No, the Kentucky Derby hasn’t been un-postponed. It’s still scheduled to run on […]
Both the New York Racing Association (NYRA) and Churchill Downs on Wednesday announced delays in opening or re-opening training facilities after coronavirus-related track closures. But the two influential racing organizations diverged as to when facilities should be ready to return for spring/summer meets in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. […]
For the first time since World War II, the Kentucky Derby will not run the first Saturday in May. Instead, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, it will run the first Saturday in September. Churchill Downs officials made the announcement Tuesday morning in response to a directive from the Centers for […]
World wars, great depressions and countless global calamities have never stopped the Kentucky Derby, going all the way back to 1875. Only once, in 1945, was the Derby delayed, from May until June. Now, with only seven weeks until the 2020 Run for the Roses and the coronavirus pandemic shutting […]
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