Here are the next five qualifiers based on the points they earned during The Kentucky Derby Prep Races. BOLT d’ORO  (104 points)  Part of the west coast contingent.  This horse has won four out of his career five starts, including two Grade 1 Stakes Races.  His morning line odds will certainly reflect this.  The KD jockey merry-go-round continues here as JJ Castellano gets off of … Continue reading More Horse Profiles

Just a week away from ‘The Most Exciting Two Minutes In Sports’.  So while I won’t make any daring picks until after post positions are drawn on Wednesday I will offer up a brief profile of each expected entrant.  These will be in order of the points the horses accumulated during the prep-race season- AKA The Road To The Derby. MAGNUM MOON.  (150 points)  This … Continue reading Horse Profiles

Here is the prospective field for this years Run For The Roses.  Things are apt to change in the next 10 days.  Already the waste of a gate GRONKOWSKI has dropped out due to an infection of some kind, and another qualifier QUIP is passing on The Derby and will focus on The Preakness Stakes.  The field should be solidified by weeks end and post … Continue reading Kentucky Derby Field

There will be some big frequent flyers at Churchill Downs come Kentucky Derby weekend.  BIG as in over seven feet tall and weigh around 1000 pounds.  But the vast size of the horses does not keep them from logging millions of air miles annually, as the horses and their connections pursue the fame and fortune that looms in big races such as The Kentucky Derby. … Continue reading Air Horse One

Over the last six years there has been a tiered point system in place to determine which three year-olds qualify to run in America’s greatest race.  In select races at designated tracks across the country and around the world, horses race to earn a spot in the starting gate on the first Saturday in May.  The top four finishers in each race earn points.  For … Continue reading The Road To The Kentucky Derby

It’s been 45 years since Secretariat, the massive chestnut colt that seemed to have been chiseled by God himself, came thundering around the final turn at Churchill Downs.  He didn’t start out well that day, as was his wont.  After the half mile he was 11th in a field of thirteen. (small by today’s standard fields of twenty)  His legendary jockey Ron Turcotte said after … Continue reading A Run For The Ages

Thousands of people sashay into Churchill Downs on the first Saturday in May, and the horses garner most of attention.  But between races many folks will be checking out the headgear, and I speak not of the jockeys helmets.  No, it is the flamboyant hats, worn by the female attendees that catches the eye. But why hats ?  According to The Derby website it dates … Continue reading Kentucky Derby Hats

The Kentucky Derby is just three weeks away.  Owners and trainers are still trying to figure out if their best three-year olds are going to make ‘The Run For The Roses’ on May 5th.  So this week the Trail To The Grail leads us back to Oaklawn Park in Hot Springs, Arkansas for the annual running of The Arkansas Derby.   Oaklawn Park last played host … Continue reading Race Of The Week

On Saturday May 5th, Churchill Downs Racetrack will host the 144th running of The Kentucky Derby.  Located at 700 Central Avenue in Louisville, Kentucky, it is one of the oldest, and well known thoroughbred tracks in the country.  It is easily identified by its signature trademark the twin spires (steeples) that sit atop the grandstand.  The spires have no practical purpose, and were actually an … Continue reading Churchill Downs

The Kentucky Derby may be officially sponsored by Woodford Reserve Bourbon, but as I write this I am sipping on an Old Forester (Ready To Drink) Mint Julep- on ice.  “The Offical Drink Of The Kentucky Derby”.  At least that’s what is says on the bottle.  Okay, that was a shameless plug, moving on. It’s four weeks until the Kentucky  Derby so the pressure to garner … Continue reading Race Of The Week