LOUISVILLE, Ky. – It should have been obvious. It should’ve been obvious that when Chad Brown chose the Grade 1 Pegasus World Cup Turf for I’m Very Busy’s 4-year-old debut that something, behind the curtain, had changed with this horse. That a colt with a grand total of two wins his first two years racing, no stakes success, a distant second finishing his 3-year-old campaign in a modest Grade 2, would show up in a $1 million race.
Skip to main content
Create Your DRF Account
New to DRF?
Everything you could possibly
need in one place
need in one place
Register
Don't have an account?
Register Here
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – The defections of Knightsbridge and Glengarry from the field certainly appear to have made Saturday’s Grade 2, $600,000 Pat Day Mile a wide-open affair.
Knightsbridge, off two impressive wins, has an injury that will keep him out through the summer, trainer Bill Mott said. Glengarry, winner of the Lafayette Stakes at Keeneland last month, had a few minor issues that prevented trainer Doug Anderson from entering him.
Thus, the Pat Day field ballooned to a competitive field of 12 with many ways to go.
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Godolphin’s raiding party from Charlie Appleby’s Newmarket yard had a stellar Keeneland meet in April. The outfit looks to continue that magic at Churchill Downs, with stakes runners on Saturday starting off with Mischief Magic in the Grade 2, $600,000 Twin Spires Turf Sprint.
ETOBICOKE, Ontario – Trainer Saffie Joseph Jr. sends out Tapeta experts Accomplished Girl and Blind Spot in Saturday’s Grade 3, $135,000 Whimsical at Woodbine.
Accomplished Girl was unbeaten in two synthetic-track starts last year. She won a first-level allowance/optional claimer at Gulfstream in July and led throughout the Grade 2 Presque Isle Downs Masters in September.
PHOENIX – The Hasta La Vista Stakes has traditionally brought down the curtain on Turf Paradise meets over the years. On Saturday, the $60,000 turf marathon fills that role again, going as the final race on the 11-race closing-day card. The question is, will this running merely be a cymbal crash on another meet or on the Phoenix track for good?
The track mustered a meet this year, after all indications were that it had died on the vine. And while the meet commenced nicely, there’s no guarantee there will be racing again at Turf Paradise after Saturday.
The $100,000 Honey Ryder for 3-year old fillies and $100,000 English Channel for sophomore colts and geldings share top billing on Saturday at Gulfstream Park. Both races will be contested at one mile over turf.
The 11-race card begins at 1:10 p.m. Eastern and concludes with the English Channel at 6:05 p.m.
Emerald Downs will begin its 55-day spring-summer meeting on Saturday with a new weekend post time of 1:30 p.m. Pacific. Opening day coincides with the 150th running of the Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs. Post time for the Kentucky Derby is set for 3:57 p.m.
A Fabulous Hat and Best Dressed Contest will augment the Derby Day festivities at Emerald Downs with $1,000 in prizes to be divided among several different categories and age groups. The deadline to enter the contest is 2:30 p.m.
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – When nominations were released for Saturday’s $1 million Churchill Downs Stakes, one horse one horse in particular was not on the list – trainer Brad Cox’s Zozos. But when entries were drawn for the race, not only was Zozos’s name called out, he was ultimately made the 3-1 morning-line favorite for the prestigious, seven-furlong Grade 1 dash for older horses.
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – A half-length has separated Vahva and Alva Starr both times they’ve met. Vahva finished on top in last October’s Raven Run. Alva Starr flipped the script in last month’s Grade 1 Madison.
Round 3 in this budding rivalry comes Saturday in the Grade 1, $1 million Derby City Distaff at Churchill Downs going seven furlongs.
Alva Starr hadn’t won at seven furlongs until she beat Vahva in the Madison. A front-running sort most of her career, Alva Starr sat slightly off the pace under Tyler Gaffalione in the Madison.
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – The Grade 2, $600,000 American Turf on Saturday at Churchill Downs became much more wide open when the connections of multiple graded stakes winner Endlessly, who likely would have been favored, opted to take their chances in the Kentucky Derby.
The 1 1/16-mile race for 3-year-olds drew an overflow group of 17, with 14 in the main body of the field, plus three also-eligibles. The starting group includes four graded stakes winners, in addition to six others who have won stakes.