Tag: Road to the Kentucky Derby

In winning the tougher second division of the Arkansas Derby, Nadal remained unbeaten. The Bob Baffert-trained cold also took over the Kentucky Derby points lead. (Image: Coady Photography)

What Did We Learn About Major Kentucky Derby Hopefuls?

The Arkansas Derby is behind us and a work-in-progress Kentucky Derby Trail lies in front of us. With tracks around the country beginning to open again in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, and Churchill Downs officials still mapping out prep races, it’s a good time to see where the […]

Fans won't see the gates wheeled into place at Churchill Downs, but horses and jockeys will starting May 16. (Image: Christopher Fryer)

Churchill Downs Announces New Race Schedule, Key Spring Stakes

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 […]

Bob Baffert's unbeaten Nadal is the 5/2 favorite in the tougher of the two Arkansas Derby divisions. (Image: AP)

Deep End of Arkansas Derby Pool is Smack Dab in Second Division

With the Arkansas Derby’s split divisions, here runs the talent. The Arkansas Derby’s second division features your graded-stakes winners, your low-odds Kentucky Derby futures picks and the horses owning Derby prep victories. Here is the Arkansas Derby’s varsity division – the second division. This is where you find your Louisiana […]

Rarely has Charlatan had to stare down his opponents. He faces his first true test in the first division of Saturday's Arkansas Derby. (Image: Mark Terrill/AP

Arkansas Derby’s First Division Features Charlatan — and Not Much Else

If you picture Saturday’s Arkansas Derby’s two divisions as a high school sport, the first division would be the junior varsity. And not just because it goes to post an hour and 44 minutes before the second division. With few exceptions, the first division is the JV. There’s no other […]

Charlatan, seen here winning a March allowance by 10 1/4 lengths at Santa Anita, enters his first stakes race Saturday. He's in the Arkansas Derby's first division. (Image: Benoit Photo)

Split Decisions: Arkansas Derby Breaks Into Two Divisions

Given the intense interest in the Grade 1 Arkansas Derby amid the coronavirus pandemic, the move was as expected as it was unprecedented. And Oaklawn Park made it official Sunday, splitting Saturday’s final scheduled Kentucky Derby prep into two divisions. Both 11-horse divisions will race for a $500,000 purse, and […]

Bob Baffert's Thousand Words ships in from California as a vulnerable 5/2 favorite for the Oaklawn Stakes. (Image: OG News)

Oaklawn Stakes Vaults Into Prominence as Biggest Game in Any Town

Ignore for the moment that there are no Kentucky Derby qualifying points up for grabs at Saturday’s $200,000 Oaklawn Stakes. Instead, follow the lead of Hall of Fame trainers Bob Baffert and Steve Asmussen and pay attention to the opportunity. In Baffert’s case, it’s an opportunity to see how Thousand […]

Independence Hall, seen dismantling the Nashua Stakes field by 12 1/2 lengths last fall, will focus on one-turn races. He won't compete in any more Kentucky Derby preps. (Image: Coglianese Photos/Chelsea Durand)

One-Time Favorite Independence Hall Pulled From Derby Trail

On New Year’s Day, after he romped to a 4 ¼-length victory in the Jerome Stakes at Aqueduct, bookmakers and fans alike considered Independence Hall one of the 2020 Kentucky Derby favorites. On April 6, his connections took him off the Derby trail. Aron Wellman, the managing partner for Eclipse […]

Tiz the Law is clearly the best 3-year-old thoroughbred in the country right now. Will he be the best in a September Kentucky Derby? (Image: Lauren King)

Tiz the Law Reigns Now, Will Form Hold For A September Derby?

In a normal year, what Tiz the Law did last Saturday – dismantle the strongest field of 3-year-olds assembled to date – would put the horse racing world in the center of his hoof. His effortless, 4 ½-length victory in the Grade 1 Florida Derby stamped him as the prohibitive […]

New York racing fans have an undetermined wait to see the Wood Memorial. New York's premier Derby prep was the latest coronavirus casualty.

Wood Memorial Becomes Latest Derby Prep Shelved Due To COVID-19

With the New York Racing Association’s decision to suspend live racing at Aqueduct Racetrack through at least April 5 because of the coronavirus, another Kentucky Derby prep race went on the shelf. The latest postponed marquee race is the Grade 2 $750,000 Wood Memorial. Previously set for April 4, the […]

With his gate-to-wire victory in the Louisiana Derby, Wells Bayou currently leads the Kentucky Derby points standings. (Image: Hodges Photography/Lou Hodges Jr.)

Kentucky Derby Qualifying Trail Becomes Longer, More Unpredictable

With the postponement of the Kentucky Derby from May to September due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Kentucky Derby Trail just got a lot longer. That means the Derby’s qualifying points system figures to get a lot steeper in terms of how many points are required to earn a spot […]

Even by moving the Arkansas Derby from April to May, Oaklawn Park's role as one of the last Kentucky Derby preps won't come into play in 2020. (Image: Oaklawn Park)

Oaklawn Park Moves Arkansas Derby From April To May

Oaklawn Park in Arkansas became the latest facility to adjust its calendar in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, moving its flagship race – the Grade 1 Arkansas Derby – from Saturday, April 11 to Saturday, May 2. That is Oaklawn Park’s closing date. It was also the original date for […]

Enforceable is the 7/2 favorite in a packed Louisiana Derby field. But can he beat the traffic with his closer style? (Image: Coglianese Photos)

Full Field, Equal Talent Means Betting Opportunities in Louisiana Derby

When it comes to A-list 3-year-old talent, this year’s Louisiana Derby is an example of a race that is an inch deep and a mile – actually 1 3/16 miles – wide. It’s a Kentucky Derby prep featuring 14 solid, but heretofore unspectacular, horses all in search of a breakout […]

The entrance to one of American racing's cathedrals: Churchill Downs, will be silent the first Saturday in May for the first time since 1945. (Image: KY Bluegrass/Wikimedia Commons

Kentucky Derby Moved to First Saturday in September, Fans Included

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 […]

Maryland Governor Orders Racetracks Closed In Wake of COVID-19

Maryland Governor Orders Racetracks Closed In Wake of COVID-19

In the latest move to slow the spread of the COVID-19 virus, Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan became the first governor to shut down racetracks Sunday when he issued an executive order closing all Maryland casinos, racetracks and simulcast betting facilities to the public. The executive order closing Laurel Park, Pimlico […]

The gate for the Grade 3 Sunland Derby at New Mexico's Sunland Park will be empty. The Derby prep race was canceled Sunday in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. (Image: Sunland Park Racetrack & Casino)

Sunland Derby Becomes First Derby Prep Race Canceled Due to COVID-19

The $700,000 Sunland Derby, New Mexico’s contribution to the Kentucky Derby Trail, became the first Derby prep casualty of the COVID-19 virus Sunday when track officials called off all races. Set for March 22, Sunland would’ve awarded 50-20-15-5 Kentucky Derby qualifying points to the top four finishers — enough to […]

Seen here winning the San Vicente in January, Bob Baffert's Nadal checks all the boxes for a Rebel Stakes winner. (Image: Eclipse Sportswire)

Which Speedster Can Lock Up Kentucky at the Rebel Stakes in Arkansas?

Like its Santa Anita counterpart, last weekend’s San Felipe, the Rebel Stakes at Oaklawn Park in Arkansas is a Grade 2 Kentucky Derby prep race that boasts predictability, a blueblood pedigree of winners, and the ever-present Bob Baffert. The Rebel, a 1 1/16-mile, two-turn test, is Saturday’s lone Derby prep […]

Until further notice, fans won't be able to enjoy this spectacular view of the San Gabriel Mountains behind the Santa Anita finish line. The track is closed to spectators. (Image: Santa Anita Park)

Last Sport Standing? Horse Racing and Betting Continues, Just Not In Person

From a betting standpoint, the coronavirus outbreak that has canceled or suspended events across the sporting spectrum means America’s horse racing tracks are some of the few venues with action available to punters. Provided you have a remote betting account or betting app. Due to the threat of coronavirus and […]

Chance It, seen here at Gulfstream Park beating As Seen On Tv by a nose in the Mucho Macho Man Stakes, has won four of his last six races. (Image: Lauren King)

Chance It Riding Wave of Momentum into Tampa Bay Chasing Derby Points

The chance for a better post draw brought Chance It to town for Saturday’s Tampa Bay Derby. And the chance of a lifetime brought trainer Saffie Joseph, Jr. to the cusp of qualifying for the Kentucky Derby — something he’s angled for since arriving in the US from Barbados in […]