The road to the 2023 Kentucky Derby begins its Florida swing on Saturday with the $250,000 dollar, Grade 3 Holy Bull Stakes at Gulfstream Park. Inaugurated in 1990 as the Preview Stakes, the race was renamed in 1996 to honor the recently-retired 1994 Horse of the Year HOLY BULL, who captured the Florida Derby (G1) for one of his major stakes Wins at Gulfstream. The Holy Bull … Continue reading The Holy Bull Stakes
The New York State road to the 2023 Kentucky Derby moves on this Saturday, with the 143rd edition of the $250,000 Grade 3 Withers Stakes. Named after prominent 19th-century owner David Withers, the race was held for the first time in 1874 at Jerome Park. It has been held at several different tracks, but has been run at Aqueduct Park since 1997. Historically held in the spring, the Withers was … Continue reading The Withers Stakes
Apart from the goings on at Gulfstream Park Saturday there is also a Kentucky Derby points race. The Southwest Stakes (G3) at Oaklawn Park will offer more KD qualifying points Saturday than it has in years past. There is a total of 40 points up for grabs with the top five finishers (if eligible) receiving 20-8-6-4-2 points in descending order. A field of nine was … Continue reading The Southwest Stakes
Horses under the care of trainer Bob Baffert are currently unable to earn qualifying points on the Road To The Kentucky Derby, and it seems there is a new regulation is in place for the 2023 edition. Last year, several promising Baffert-trained sophomores were transferred to other trainers (including Tim Yakteen) in early April, aiming for the final 100-point prep races that would gain entry … Continue reading Baffert Derby Saga
The 2023 Road To The Kentucky Derby heads back to the Louisiana portion of the path this Saturday, with the running of the Grade 3 Lecomte Stakes. The Lecomte will be run at its customary 1 1/16-mile distance and will have a purse of $200,000 dollars. The race will award 20 points to the Winner on the Road To The Kentucky Derby points schedule. The race is … Continue reading The Lecomte Stakes
Churchill Downs Incorporated announced on Monday that Churchill Downs Racetrack has renewed its relationship Woodford Reserve Kentucky Bourbon. The agreement ensures that Woodford Reserve will be the presenting sponsor of the Kentucky Derby through 2027. Woodford Reserve has been the Official Bourbon of the Kentucky Derby since 1999 and the presenting sponsor for the past four years. “We are thrilled to welcome back Woodford Reserve … Continue reading Kentucky Derby & Bourbon
As we previously wrote, it was in 2013 that the Kentucky Derby prep races were officially bundled under the banner of The Road To The Kentucky Derby. Otherwise referred to (fondly) as the Derby Trail. The introduction of the prep series has led to a much easier guideline for both horsemen and horse racing fans. The Derby Trail also allows for more focused promotion of hopefuls targeting … Continue reading Prep Season Schedule
In our previous column we wrote about Kentucky Derby Prep races and the point system used to gain entry in order to run on the first Saturday in May. Well, we forgot to mention the minor adjustments that were made to said system last September. Churchill Downs Racetrack officials made slight modifications to the Road to the Kentucky Derby. Points will now be awarded to … Continue reading Prep Amendments
As the two-year-old racing season concludes, the road to the 2023 Kentucky Derby is open and traffic will get a bit heavier as the Prep Races begin in earnest. If you’re new to horse racing you might have questions about how all of this works. Well wonder no more, the Daily Racing Blog is here to help. Here is a basic overview about qualifying for the Run for the Roses. … Continue reading 2023 Kentucky Derby (Never Too Early)
The 2022 horse racing season is coming to a close. There is certainly much to look back on, but for the sake of brevity and attention span, we’ll limit our trip down memory lane to a four race sprint. THE KENTUCKY DERBY: A horse acquired for a claiming tag is not supposed to go on to Win the Kentucky Derby. In fact, no one had done … Continue reading 2022 Racing In Review
