Tag: Kentucky Oaks

Secret Oath turned in a dominant performance in the Grade 1 Kentucky Oaks May 6. She has never lost to another filly in five races, a streak she puts on the line in Saturday's Grade 1 CCA Oaks at Saratoga. (Image: Coady Photography)

CCA Oaks Provides Another Glimpse of Secret Oath vs. Nest

There are actually five horses in Saturday’s featured Grade 1 CCA Oaks at Saratoga. But do not let yourself get bogged down by numbers. Let yourself get bogged down by details. Because this year’s CCA Oaks marks only the third time in the last 25 years the top-two finishers from […]

Secret Oath was the first Oaklawn Park-based horse to win the Kentucky Oaks since Rachel Alexandra in 2009. Now, the filly will attempt to duplicate that remarkable filly's Preakness Stakes win that year. (Image: Coady Photography)

Lukas Rolls the Filly Dice Again, Sends Secret Oath to the Preakness

Secret Oath will attempt to join Swiss Skydiver, Rachel Alexandra, and four other fillies as a Preakness Stakes champion after trainer D. Wayne Lukas confirmed the filly will run in the 147th Preakness Stakes on May 21 at Pimlico Race Course. Lukas went all-in Wednesday afternoon after opening the day […]

Secret Oath captured the 148th Kentucky Oaks in impressive, workmanlike fashion. She may run two weeks from now in the Preakness Stakes. (Image: Churchill Downs/Coady Photography)

Secret Oath Comes Out of Kentucky Oaks Win Looking at Preakness

The options before Secret Oath – newly minted Kentucky Oaks winner Secret Oath – are plentiful and profitable. And Hall of Fame trainer D. Wayne Lukas said the Preakness Stakes remains one of those options. “I’m going to let a few days go by and then I’ll get with (owner) […]

In an incredibly deep and talented field, Nest is the 5/2 morning-line favorite for Saturday's Grade 1 Kentucky Oaks. (Image: Churchill Downs/Coady Photography)

From this Kentucky Oaks Grows a Mighty Deep Field

To illustrate the depth of this year’s Kentucky Oaks, we re-introduce Echo Zulu, your reigning 2-Year-Old Champion Filly. She’s undefeated in five races, three of those Grade 1s and one of those, the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies. At the beginning of 2022, Echo Zulu was being discussed as a superhorse. […]

Secret Oath works out before next week's Kentucky Oaks. But could she run against the boys again in the Preakness Stakes two weeks after that? (Image: Churchill Downs/Coady Photography)

Secret Oath May See the Boys Again in the Preakness Stakes

Earlier this month, trainer D. Wayne Lukas ran standout filly Secret Oath against the boys in the Arkansas Derby. And he said he may do it again in three weeks in the Preakness Stakes. Savvy fans and horseplayers may have wondered why the Hall of Fame trainer nominated Secret Oath […]

Kentucky Derby hopeful Crown Pride should offer juicy odds on numerous wagers you can find on the Kentucky Derby/Oaks wagering menu. Churchill Downs unveiled several bets unique to Derby/Oaks weekend. (Image: Churchill Downs/Coady Photography)

Churchill Downs Unveils Exotics Betting Menu for Derby/Oaks Weekend

An All-3-Year-Old Pick 3 and an All-Dirt, All-Stakes Pick 5 join a crowded wagering menu of bets Churchill Downs is offering for Kentucky Derby/Oaks Weekend on May 6-7. The All-3-Year-Old Pick 3 comes with an uncommon $3 minimum wager. The bet, which also comes with a 22% takeout, requires you […]

Nevada horseplayers can once again partake in the full wagering menu of Churchill Downs races like the Kentucky Oaks. An agreement between Churchill Downs and Nevada racebooks opened the betting windows for that state's bettors after a three-year impasse. (Image: Churchill Downs/Coady Photography)

Nevada Racebooks, Churchill Downs Inc. Reach Agreement

The three-year conflict between Churchill Downs Inc. and Nevada racebooks finally ended Tuesday when the two formerly bickering entities signed a contract that will allow Nevada horseplayers access to the entire Kentucky Derby wagering menu this year. The Las Vegas Review-Journal reported that the deal between the Nevada Pari-Mutuel Association […]

Adare Manor was 13 lengths better than her overwhelmed competition in February's Grade 3 Las Virgenes at Santa Anita. The Kentucky Oaks prospect moved from suspended Bob Baffert's barn to his former assistant: Tim Yakteen's. (Image: Coolmore)

Oaks Prospect Adare Manor Continues Baffert Exodus to Tim Yakteen

The exodus of sophomore horses from suspended trainer Bob Baffert continued Monday with standout filly Adare Manor moving from Baffert’s barn to former assistant Tim Yakteen. The Daily Racing Form first reported that Adare Manor will join Baffert ex-pats Messier, Doppelganger, and McLaren Vale in Yakteen’s Santa Anita barn. Those […]

Churchill Downs presents a record 53 stakes races in 2022. That includes the Grade 1 Arlington Million, which it brought over from the shuttered Arlington Park. (Image: Coady Photography)

Churchill Downs’ 2022 Stakes Schedule Includes Arlington Million

Churchill Downs announced a 2022 stakes schedule for its spring/summer meet featuring a record 53 stakes worth a record $20.37 million. But, it’s a special stakes race Aug. 13 that drew the attention of horse racing fans. The Arlington Million. Yes, that Arlington Million, the marquee race at the now-late Arlington […]

This daylight victory in last Saturday's San Felipe Stakes is one big reason why Forbidden Kingdom is the 5/1 favorite in Pool 4 of the Kentucky Derby Future Wager. (Image: Benoit Photo)

Forbidden Kingdom Runs Into Favored Status in KDFW Pool 4

Fresh off the heels of his dominant San Felipe Stakes win, Forbidden Kingdom opened as the 5/1 favorite in the Kentucky Derby Future Wager (KDFW) Pool 4. That pool opens Friday and runs through Sunday. It runs concurrently with the lone Kentucky Oaks Future Wager (KOFW) pool. There, Churchill Downs oddsmaker […]

Maracuja (left) outkicked previous unbeaten Malathaat to win last Saturday's CCA Oaks. The two are on a path to tangle again in the Aug. 21 Grade 1 Alabama Stakes at Saratoga. (Image: Elsa Lorieul/NYRA)

After CCA Oaks Upset, We’re Ready for Maracuja vs. Malathaat 3.0

Maracuja and Malathaat put on such a show in last Saturday’s Grade 1 Coaching Club American Oaks at Saratoga, that you can’t wait to see the rematch between the two 3-year-old fillies. And, it’s looking like we will at the Aug. 21 Grade 1 Alabama Stakes at Saratoga. Trainers for […]

Champion Female Sprinter of 2020 Gamine returns to her Santa Anita Park roots Sunday in the Grade 3 Las Flores Stakes. (Image: Benoit Photo)

Champion Sprinter Gamine Makes 2021 Debut in a Grade 3

The monstrous shadow of Gamine will emerge from her five-month vacation on Sunday when the Champion Female Sprinter of 2020 makes her 4-year-old debut in the Grade 3 Las Flores Stakes at Santa Anita Park. She will likely make it as the odds-on favorite for the six-furlong Las Flores. The […]

Clairiere (1) and Joe Talamo ran down Travel Column and Florent Geroux to win last month's Rachel Alexandra Stakes. The two top 3-year-olds tangle for the third consecutive race Saturday in the Grade 2 Fair Grounds Oaks. (Image: Lou Hodges Jr./Hodges Photography)

It’s Clairiere and Travel Column 3.0 in Fair Grounds Oaks

Clairiere and Travel Column. Travel Column and Clairiere. The two 3-year-old fillies are becoming linked in many ways as they prepare for Saturday’s Grade 2 Fair Grounds Oaks. The two staked their grounds as the top 3-year-olds this spring, seizing attention from last year’s Champion 2-Year-Old, Vequist, along with contenders […]

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

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 […]

Yes, Essential Quality is No. 1 in the Kentucky Derby Future Pool 4. The Tapit colt opens at 7/2 when the KDFW's Pool 4 begins Friday. (Image: Coady Photography)

No Surprise: Essential Quality Opens as 7/2 Favorite in KDFW Pool 4

Essential Quality turned his Southwest Stakes victory on Saturday into 7/2 favored status for the Kentucky Derby Future Wager (KDFW) Pool 4. The KDFW’s Pool 4 runs concurrently with the Kentucky Oaks Future Wager’s sole pool. Clariere opens as the 5/1 favorite for that pool. The KDFW opens Friday at […]

Gamine, seen here winning the Test Stakes last summer, forfeited her third-place finish in the Kentucky Oaks after her second positive drug test. (Image: Coglianese Photo/HYRA)

Champion Sprinter Gamine Disqualified from Kentucky Oaks

The Kentucky Horse Racing Commission formally disqualified Gamine from the 2020 Kentucky Oaks after the Bob Baffert charge tested positive for betamethasone. Along with that, the commission fined Baffert $1,500. As a result of the Jan. 30 ruling, posted on the KHRC website, Gamine forfeits the $120,000 she earned for […]

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

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 […]

Trainer Bob Baffert's Merneith tested positive for an excessive amount of a cough syrup ingredient. (Image: Coady Photography)

Merneith, Another Baffert Charge, Tests Positive for Banned Substance

The California Horse Racing Board revealed that another one of Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert’s charges, Merneith, tested positive for a banned substance. Merneith tested positive for dextromethorphan, a common ingredient found in human cough syrups. The test came after Merneith finished second in the fourth race at Del […]

Standout filly Gamine is in trouble again after testing positive for excessive amounts of an anti-inflammatory after last month's Kentucky Oaks. (Image: Skip Dickstein/For the Times Union)

Baffert Team Disputes Gamine’s Failed Kentucky Oaks Drug Test

After news broke late Thursday that a Kentucky Oaks horse tested positive for a Class C medical violation, Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert confirmed in a statement that his star filly, Gamine, was the culprit. The New York Times, citing two sources, reported Thursday evening that Gamine tested positive […]