Tag: Kentucky Derby

Controversial Kentucky Derby champion Medina Spirit may return to the gate for the first time since May 15 at Saturday's Grade 3 Shared Belief Stakes at Del Mar. (Image: Churchill Downs/Coady Photography)

Derby Champion Medina Spirit May Return Saturday for Shared Belief

- 3 min read

Kentucky Derby winner Medina Spirit, who hasn’t run since finishing third in the May 15 Preakness Stakes, could be back this Saturday for the Grade 3 Shared Belief Stakes at Del Mar. According to the Daily Racing Form, the Bob Baffert-trainee’s return is contingent on a Monday workout for the […]

We won't see Greatest Honour close like he did in the Holy Bull for the next two months. The Tapit colt and one-time, front-row Kentucky Derby prospect suffered an apparent ankle injury and is shelved for the next 60 days. (Image: Gulfstream Park)

Ankle Injury Makes Greatest Honour Latest Derby Trail Casualty

- 3 min read

Greatest Honour, one of the front-line Kentucky Derby favorites and a rare Shug McGaughey Derby prospect, departed the Derby trail Wednesday with apparent ankle issues. McGaughey told Horse Racing Nation that Greatest Honour came out of his third-place finish in the Florida Derby “a little banged up.” The Hall of […]

Churchill Downs plays host to more than the Kentucky Derby this spring. It's offering 40 stakes races worth a record $13.44 million in purses. (Image: Kentuckyderby.com/Churchill Downs)

Record Churchill Downs Spring Meet Purses Come Up Roses

- 3 min read

Churchill Downs released its Spring Meet stakes schedule on Monday, led of course, by the May 1 Kentucky Derby. But, along with America’s most famous horse race, come 39 other stakes races worth a track-record $13.44 million. Churchill Downs opens its nine-week spring season on April 24. The 38-day meet […]

While many of the country's biggest tracks fell short of their 2019 handles, Remington Park in Oklahoma watched its handle hit nine figures for the first time in the track's 32-year history. (Image: Remington Park)

Despite Topsy-Turvy Year, Horseracing’s 2020 Handle Falls Only 1.3%

- 3 min read

Tracks closed, spectators were absent, and schedules were changed beyond recognition. Yet, amid a year unlike any other in Thoroughbred racing, the total 2020 US handle dipped only 1.3% from its 2019 totals. What was remarkable about that modest dip — from $10.871 billion in 2019 to $10.727 billion in […]

This image of Tiz the Law pulling away from his foes in the stretch played out for the sixth and final time in August's Travers Stakes. The four-time Grade 1 winner and Belmont Stakes champion suddenly retired Wednesday after suffering bone bruses in his leg. (Image: Spencer Tulis/The Saratogian)

Tiz the Law Prematurely Retired After Injury During Workout

- 4 min read

Reigning Belmont Stakes and Travers Stakes winner Tiz the Law was retired to stud Wednesday, ending one of 2020’s most storied campaigns due to a veterinarian’s diagnosis. That diagnosis revealed bone bruises to his front leg bone. Those bruises were discovered when assistant trainer Robin Smullen noticed Tiz the Law […]

Bodexpress became a YouTube sensation for dumping jockey John Velazquez at the start of the 2019 Preakness Stakes. But the horse matured into a Grade 1 winner before his sudden retirement. (Image: John McDonnell/Washington Post via AP)

Preakness Punchline Turned Clark Stakes Winner Bodexpress Retired

- 3 min read

Bodexpress, who went from comedic punchline to Grade 1 winner, was retired late Sunday night, nine days after the biggest win of his career. Trainer and part-owner Gustavo Delgado tweeted out a message late Sunday night that the colt suffered “a career-ending injury.” That injury was described as a swollen […]

Furosimide, sold under the name Salix or Lasix, prevents pulmonary bleeding in horses. It is now banned in all Kentucky Derby points races, along with the Derby itself. (Image: Anne M. Eberhardt/The Horse)

You’ll See a Lasix-Free Kentucky Derby and Kentucky Oaks in 2021

- 3 min read

The 2021 Kentucky Derby and Kentucky Oaks will mark the first time in the history of those prestigious races that horses may run without furosemide, better known by its brand name Lasix. The ban on the powerful anti-bleeding medication, widely employed at tracks all over the country, extends to the […]

Maximum Security won 10 of his 14 races, including six in a row at one point. He retires with more than $12.4 million in career earnings and a wild career of ups and downs. (Image: Matthew Stockman/Getty)

Maximum Security Retires: Closes Book On Wild, Accomplished Career

- 3 min read

Three days after finishing off the board for only the second time in his career, Maximum Security retired from racing. The Eclipse Award 3-year-old Champion of 2019 heads to Coolmore America’s Ashford Stud, where he’ll begin his stud career in 2021 standing for $20,000. The move comes after Maximum Security […]

After Authentic and John Velazquez captured the Breeders' Cup Classic, the 3-year-old Kentucky Derby champion rides into retirement. He'll open the 2021 breeding season at Spendthrift Farm. (Image: Darron Cummings/AP)

After Breeders’ Cup Classic Win, Authentic Rides Off to Retirement

- 2 min read

After watching his gate-to-wire victory in Saturday’s Breeders’ Cup Classic, it took Authentic’s owners barely 24 hours to retire the three-time Grade 1 winner at the end of his 3-year-old season. The Kentucky Derby champion heads to Spendthrift Farm, the large Kentucky breeding farm and majority owner of Authentic. He […]

Authentic and John Velazquez's Kentucky Derby stretch duel with Tiz the Law came in front of an empty Churchill Downs. Yet, a September Derby boosted the month's and quarter's racing handle. (Image: Horsephotos/Getty)

September Derby Brings Bettors, Handle Boost to Racing Economic Totals

- 3 min read

A September Kentucky Derby produced stronger third-quarter numbers in 2020 vs. 2019, according to the Equibase Economic Indicators in Thoroughbred Racing. Horseplayers wagered more than $3.2 billion in the third quarter. That represents a 12.7% bump from 2019’s figures of $2.92 billion. At the same time, America’s most wagered upon […]

Honor A.P. retired as the only horse to beat Kentucky Derby winner Authentic. He begins his stud career next year. (Image: Lane's End)

Honor A.P. Retires After Derby Injury, Heads to Stud

- 3 min read

Santa Anita Derby winner Honor A.P. suffered an apparent injury in the Kentucky Derby, immediately sending him to Lane’s End Farm in Kentucky where his stud career awaits. The tendon injury apparently happened during the Derby, according to trainer John Shirreffs. “Honor A.P. is a horse with an immense talent. […]

Clayton, seen her prevailing by a head in the Plate Trial Stakes, is the 2/1 morning line favorite to win Canada's Queen's Plate. (Image: Michael Burns Photography)

Will Clayton Pick Up Queen’s Plate? Or Will One of the Girls Steal It?

- 4 min read

Think of the Queen’s Plate as Canada’s Kentucky Derby. It’s got the century-and-a-half pedigree, the same 1 ¼-mile distance, and the same historical entrée and bragging rights for the 3-year-old who wins the $1 million race at Woodbine. For Canadian-breds, this is the race everyone wants on their resume. Even […]

After his 1 1/4-length Kentucky Derby loss to Authentic, Tiz the Law stares at a future that may not include the Preakness Stakes. (Image: Darron Cummings/AP Photo)

After Kentucky Derby Loss, Tiz the Law May Skip Preakness

- 3 min read

Tiz the Law came out of the Kentucky Derby perfectly fine, save for his aura of invincibility and his Triple Crown hopes. And, according to trainer Barclay Tagg, that aura may not renew at the Preakness Stakes. Tagg is non-committal about his prize trainee’s future plans, but intimated he may […]

Authentic and John Velazquez led the Kentucky Derby at every post en route to upsetting heavy favorite Tiz the Law. (Image: Churchill Downs/Coady Photography)

Authentic Drama Takes Over Wild 2020 Kentucky Derby

- 4 min read

There was a thin sense of normalcy to the 2020 Kentucky Derby. Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert won his record-tying sixth Derby, this time with Authentic. And unheralded Mr Big News played this year’s designated long shot, blowing up many tickets – in good ways and bad – by […]

Tiz the Law brings that placid demeanor everywhere but the starting gate. It's one reason he's the favorite to win Saturday's 146th Kentucky Derby. (Image: Churchill Downs)

No Asterisks Needed: Breaking Down the 2020 Kentucky Derby

- 10 min read

Historians 100 years from now will note the 2020 Kentucky Derby took place the first Saturday in September, instead of the first Saturday in May. They’ll note that, due to the coronavirus pandemic, America’s annual racing bacchanalia was shy of bacchanalia because Churchill Downs was shy of spectators. Barring any […]

King Guillermo will miss the Kentucky Derby due to a fever. Trainer Juan Carlos Avila tweeted, "He is happy and we are very sad but proud to take care of him." (Image: Churchill Downs)

Fever Scratches King Guillermo from Kentucky Derby

- 2 min read

In a different twist on “Derby Fever,” Tampa Bay Derby winner King Guillermo became the latest Kentucky Derby casualty, scratching from Saturday’s race due to a fever. King Guillermo’s connections, owner Victor Martinez and trainer Juan Carlos Avila, discovered he had a fever Wednesday afternoon. They turned matters over to […]

A spectator-free Churchill Downs for Saturday's Kentucky Derby might thn the in-person betting herd. But plenty of wagers will go down across the risk-reward spectrum. (Image: Getty)

Kentucky Derby Betting Options Go Deeper than Just the Derby

- 3 min read

This weekend’s Kentucky Derby/Oaks cards provide bettors with a veritable wagering smorgasbord, one giving you betting options covering the entire risk/reward spectrum. There are, of course, your regular standbys: the win-place-show, exactas, trifectas, and superfectas. But because of the spectator-free nature of this year’s Derby and Oaks weekend, Churchill Downs […]

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 […]

Jockey Manny Franco and Tiz the Law, seen here winning the first leg of the Triple Crown in June, go for the second as the 3/5 Kentucky Derby favorite Saturday. (Image: Seth Winig)

Tiz the Law Opens as Lowest-Priced Kentucky Derby Favorite in 31 Years

- 4 min read

The fact nobody has ever won the Kentucky Derby from post 17 didn’t dissuade Churchill Downs morning line oddsmaker, Mike Battaglia, from making Tiz the Law a 3/5 favorite for Saturday’s 146th Kentucky Derby. The Belmont Stakes and Travers Stakes champion drew post 17 in the 18-horse field, the smallest […]

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 […]