Prep races are in full swing, owners, trainers and fans are getting caught caught up in Derby Fever- and rightfully so. It was over thirty years ago when a Kentucky Derby hopeful had his Derby dreams dashed on the morning of the first Saturday in May. And even after all these years, when old rail-birds talk about him, his name is usually prefaced with but … Continue reading A.P. Indy…What If?
The road to the 2025 Kentucky Derby goes autobahn come March 1st. Saturday Gulfstream Park will be one focal point on a nation-wide day of prep races as it hosts the 79th edition of the Fountain Of Youth Stakes. The $415,000 dollar, Grade 2 Stakes run at 1 1/16 miles on dirt is the third of four preps at Gulfstream that offer qualifying points to the … Continue reading Who Wins The Fountain Of Youth?
The Road to the Kentucky Derby makes the first of three stops at Gulfstream Park Saturday with the Grade 3 Holy Bull Stakes. The race will offer 20 qualifying points to the Winner as top 3-year-olds compete to accumulate points and earn a place in the gate for the first Saturday in May. Inaugurated in 1990 as the Preview Stakes, the race was re-named in honor of … Continue reading Holy Bull !
Saturday is the Grade 3, $250,000 dollar Lecomte Stakes at Fair Grounds. The race is the second of four stops at the New Orleans venue on the Road to the Kentucky Derby. For a race that carried a mere $40,000 purse as recently as 1996, it’s impressive how quickly this contest has developed into an important stop on the Derby Trail. The race is named in honor of … Continue reading The Lecomte Stakes
Prior to 2013 the traditional qualifying factor for horses wanting to participate in the Kentucky Derby was total Graded Stakes purse earnings- the more money an eligible horse Won, the increased chance of entering the starting gate. But beginning in 2013 Churchill Downs refined the classic earnings method in favor of a points based system which revamped the traditional prep races. These prep races were officially … Continue reading Ease On Down The Road (To The Kentucky Derby)
Over four decades (can that be right?) removed from his sensational jockey career, Steve Cauthen lives the life of a typical Thoroughbred insider in his hometown of Verona in Northern Kentucky. Best known for capturing the 1978 Triple Crown aboard AFFIRMED, Cauthen had established himself as a potential superstar in his first full year as a jockey in 1977. He was honored for that season with three Eclipse Awards—outstanding apprentice and journeyman … Continue reading He’ll Always Be ‘The Kid’
At 4 feet 11 inches tall and 98 pounds, it didn’t look like Bill Shoemaker could ride a ten-speed Schwinn, let alone control a head-strong, 1200 pound Thoroughbred Race Horse. Still, Shoemaker personified that mysterious bond between horse and rider. He communicated with an innate light touch on the reins, coaxing the horse into the action, gentling it with his hands. Horses would always run for Shoemaker, … Continue reading ‘The Shoe’ Was Tough As Leather
There is at least one racing term that immediately inspires respect, and admiration from people in the racing industry and from those with little knowledge of the sport – the Triple Crown. The difficulty of capturing the Kentucky Derby, Preakness Stakes and Belmont Stakes, at three distances, on three tracks, all in the span of five weeks is not hyperbole. The task is such a tall … Continue reading The Triple Crown 70’s
BARNES an unraced 2-year-old colt has been entered by trainer Bob Baffert in a 5 ½-furlong Maiden Special Weight sprint at Churchill Downs next Wednesday (11/27). The start will be Baffert’s first at the Louisville track since Churchill Downs announced in July of this year that it was lifting their imposed three-year suspension. This was the moratorium that kept the trainer from racing in the … Continue reading Baffert Back At Churchill
The Road to the Kentucky Derby is under going a bit of construction in 2025, but there will be no delays. The $500,000 dollar Virginia Derby held at 1 1/8 miles will be run on March 15th during a special four-day spring meet at Colonial Downs. The contest has been added to the Road to the Kentucky Derby Championship Series. The series consists of select … Continue reading Road Work Ahead
