Tag: Ethereal Road

UAE Oaks and 1,000 Guineas winner Shahama seeks to return to the winner's circle after a sixth in the Kentucky Oaks. She is one of the fillies to watch in the Grade 2 Mother Goose Stakes at Belmont Park. (Image: Coady Photography)

Cross Country Pick 5 Takes an All-Stakes Trip to Four Tracks

This week’s Cross Country Pick 5 truly makes the East Coast and Midwest rounds, hitting four tracks with an all-stakes sequence culminating in a wide-open Ohio Derby. Along with that second of two races from JACK Thistledown, this week’s Cross Country Pick 5 encompasses races from Belmont Park, Monmouth Park […]

Tawny Port, seen here working out two days before he finished seventh in the Kentucky Derby is the 3/1 morning line favorite for Saturday's Grade 3 Ohio Derby at JACK Thistledown. (Image: Coady Photography)

Ohio Derby Provides Derby Disappointments Redemption Opportunity

The Grade 3 Ohio Derby takes its turn in the racing spotlight at an ideal time, fitting in after the Triple Crown and before the lucrative Del Mar and Saratoga meets begin in mid-July. And it does so carrying three Kentucky Derby veterans making their first starts since that May […]

Ethereal Road spent part of his Preakness Saturday winning the Sir Barton Stakes in his last start. A hoof injury will keep him out of Saturday's Belmont Stakes. (Image: Chad B. Harmon)

Ethereal Road, Howling Time Bypassing the Belmont Stakes

One day before post positions draw for the 154th Belmont Stakes, connections for both Ethereal Road and Howling Time said their charges won’t run the final jewel of the Triple Crown. That leaves the field for Saturday’s Belmont Stakes at eight probables. D. Wayne Lukas, Ethereal Road’s Hall of Fame […]

Ethereal Road was a late Kentucky Derby scratch who won't run the Preakness Stakes either. He is entered in the undercard Sir Barton with an eye toward the Belmont Stakes. (Image: Coady Photography)

Ethereal Road Remains Off the Triple Crown Path — For Now

The last time we heard the name Ethereal Road mentioned was on May 6, the day before the 148th Kentucky Derby. We heard it mentioned in passing when trainer D. Wayne Lukas scratched the colt five minutes before the entry deadline. This became the Scratch Heard ‘Round the World 30 […]

Epicenter did everything right except win Steve Asmussen his first Kentucky Derby. The 4.10/1 favorite adn Derby runner up is questionable for the Preakness Stakes. (Image: Churchill Downs/Coady Photography)

Derby Aftermath: Stunned Asmussen, Preakness Probables

Still trying to process how his Kentucky Derby futility streak hit 24 races, trainer Steve Asmussen was non-committal on whether Derby runner up Epicenter would run the May 21 Preakness Stakes. The two-time Preakness winner was very committal on his level of disbelief at what transpired 50 yards from his […]

In Due Time, the 3/1 second choice for Saturday's Grade 3 Lexington Stakes, needs a win to put himself in the mix for a Kentucky Derby berth. The Lexington is the final stage for the 2022 Kentucky Derby trail. (Image: Coglianese Photos/Lauren King

It’s Time: Kentucky Derby Trail Ends Here at the Lexington Stakes

Considering what’s on the line in Saturday’s Grade 3 Lexington Stakes at Keeneland, those of you who like betting horses based on their names have the perfect choice sitting there. In Due Time. This would be a fine time for In Due Time, the 3/1 second choice in the 11-colt Lexington, to win […]

Campanelle works out before her 4-year-old debut awaits in Saturday's Giant's Causeway Stakes at Keeneland. That is the opening leg to this week's Cross Country Pick 5. (Image: Coady Photography)

Salty Kentucky Derby Prep, Ascot Winner Head Cross Country Pick 5

The last stop on the 2022 Kentucky Derby trail and a Royal Ascot winner making her season debut headline this week’s New York Racing Association Cross Country Pick 5 wager. This week’s Cross Country Pick 5 features races from Keeneland and Aqueduct. Two of the five races are stakes events. That […]

Zandon captured the Grade 1 Blue Grass Stakes shortly after he closed at 18/1 in the final Kentucky Derby Future Wager pool. (Image: Keeneland/Coady Photography)

Epicenter Finishes as Final Favorite in Last KDFW Pool

With four weeks remaining until the May 7 Kentucky Derby, horseplayers stuck by Louisiana Derby winner Epicenter, making him the 9/2 favorite in the fifth and final Kentucky Derby Future Wager (KDFW) pool. That pool closed Saturday at 4:30 p.m. ET, prior to the running of the final 170-point Kentucky […]

Smile Happy is the 9/5 favorite in a 12-horse Blue Grass Stakes field. He has two wins and a second in three races. (Image: Coady Photography)

Smile Happy, Zandon Set Themselves Apart in Blue Grass Stakes

Keeneland’s stop on the Kentucky Derby trail, the Blue Grass Stakes, headlines opening weekend at the Lexington, KY. track. But this edition of Saturday’s 1 1/8-mile Derby prep does so with a renewed prestige boost. Grade 1 status. The Blue Grass regained that status this year, putting it with the Santa Anita Derby, […]

Louisiana Derby winner Epicenter took 5/1 favored status going into the final Kentucky Derby Future Wager pool. That pool ends Saturday before the final major Derby preps begin. (Image: Hodges Photography/Amanda Hodges Weir)

Epicenter Your KDFW Favorite, Newcomer Messier Looms Large

The fifth and final Kentucky Derby Future Wager (KDFW) pool opens on Thursday with Louisiana Derby winner Epicenter the 5/1 favorite among the 23 individual and “All Other 3-Year-Olds” (aka The Field) choices. But, a newcomer to the pool should take plenty of money. That would be Messier, who makes […]

Secret Oath won her three Oaklawn Park starts by a combined 23 lengths. That includes this 7 1/2-length romp in the Grade 3 Honeybee Stakes. (Image: Coady Photography)

Lukas’ Secret is Officially Out, Meet Star Sophomore Filly Secret Oath

There is a certain dangerous element to giving a Hall of Famer like D. Wayne Lukas a filly like Secret Oath, a dangerous element that went on display Saturday in the Grade 3 Honeybee Stakes. The 86-year-old Lukas isn’t quite ready to retire. Not when he nearly swept Oaklawn’s two […]

Un Ojo was the longest shot on the Rebel Stakes board Saturday. But the one-eyed, 75/1 shot came home with a half-length victory in the Kentucky Derby prep. (Image: Coady Photography)

At 75/1, Un Ojo Puts His One Eye on the Rebel Stakes Prize

Un Ojo lost his left eye in a pasture accident as a yearling, which partially explains how he got lost in the shuffle of Saturday’s Grade 2 Rebel Stakes at Oaklawn Park. One-eyed geldings aren’t usually the bettor’s favorites, which explains how the son of the late Laoban went off […]