Derby Culture
Race Of The Week: Wood Memorial
April 6, 2018 | Derek SimonBy Derek Simon This Saturday is “Super Saturday,” as three Grade I races offering 170 Road-to-the-Kentucky-Derby points take place. Aqueduct features the Wood Memorial, where Enticed, winner of the Gotham (G3) has been made the 6-5 morning line favorite; Keeneland, which opens on Friday, is the site of the Blue Grass Stakes (weather permitting), where […]
Santa Anita Derby A West Coast Showdown Between Veteran, Neophyte
April 6, 2018 | Margaret RansomBy Margaret Ransom A field of seven sophomores, including a well-regarded seasoned veteran in Bolt D’Oro and a highly touted new shooter in Justify — both considered to be legitimate Kentucky Derby (GI) contenders — will head postward in the 82nd running of the Santa Anita Derby (GI) on Saturday, the final Kentucky Derby prep […]
Blue Grass Draws Full Field Searching For Kentucky Derby Points
April 5, 2018 | Margaret RansomBy Margaret Ransom A field of 15 was entered for Saturday’s $1 million Blue Grass Stakes (GII) at Keeneland, the last main prep in the state for the Kentucky Derby (GI) down the highway at Churchill Downs in four weeks. The Blue Grass, for the most part, has been a bit quiet recently as far […]
Kentucky Derby Road: Audible Makes Noise but Mendelssohn Is A Monster
April 4, 2018 | Derek SimonBy Derek Simon On the Kentucky Derby road, some contenders have switched gears and moved into the fast lane, while others have hit speed bumps or made pit stops that have allowed rivals to pass them by. There are plenty of highs and lows and peaks and valleys in the months leading up to the […]
Audible Sounds Final Kentucky Derby Notice In Florida Derby
April 2, 2018 | Margaret RansomBy Margaret Ransom China Horse Club, Head of Plains Partners and WinStar Farm’s Audible on Saturday silenced any doubters as to whether he was Florida’s leading candidate for the Kentucky Derby (GI) with his three-length victory in the $1 million Xpressbet.com Florida Derby (G1). In doing so, he provided trainer Todd Pletcher and jockey John Velazquez […]
Race Of The Week: Florida Derby
March 30, 2018 | Margaret RansomBy Derek Simon Since 1997, five of the 38 Kentucky Derby entrants that competed in the Florida Derby won the Run for the Roses, making it the single most productive prep over the past 21 years. (The Santa Anita Derby has also produced five Kentucky Derby winners, but from 56 starters.) This year, a field […]
Kentucky Derby Road: Todd Pletcher’s Stock Quickly Rising
March 30, 2018 | Noel MichaelsBy Noel Michaels Trainer Todd Pletcher, who won the Kentucky Derby last year with Always Dreaming, is loaded again this year, as he goes for a third win in the Run for the Roses. Pletcher’s 3-year-olds have surged into the spotlight the last two weeks with victories in both the Rebel Stakes at Oaklawn Park and the Louisiana Derby at Fair […]
Simon Says: Does Anybody Want To Win This Year’s Derby?
March 29, 2018 | Derek SimonBy Derek Simon Does anybody want to win this year’s Kentucky Derby? I mean, seriously? After watching the Louisiana Derby on Saturday, which came on the heels of a subpar Rebel Stakes, a terrible Tampa Bay Derby and a God-awful Gotham, I have doubts. I mean, the figures weren’t bad. Noble Indy earned the highest Equibase […]
Noble Indy Guarantees Kentucky Derby Slot With Louisiana Derby Win
March 26, 2018 | Margaret RansomBy Margaret Ransom WinStar Farm and Repole Stable’s Noble Indy punched his ticket into the starting gate for the Kentucky Derby with a neck victory in the $1 million Louisiana Derby (GII) at Fair Grounds Race Course. The 3-year-old Todd Pletcher-trained son of Take Charge Indy earned 100 points for his initial stakes victory and added to […]
Race Of The Week: Louisiana Derby
March 23, 2018 | Derek SimonBy Derek Simon No horse that used the Louisiana Derby (G2) as its final Kentucky Derby prep has ever gone on to wear the roses on the first Saturday in May and this edition of the race demonstrates why. It’s not exactly a who’s who of racing royalty. Yeah, trainer Todd Pletcher has a couple of entries […]
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