Thursday looks like a washout, according to the weather prognosticators, who say heavy rain and wind is a sure thing. It would appear then, that five races scheduled for turf are in jeopardy of being switched to a sloppy main track, including all four legs of the late pick four.
After four of six winners in Sunday’s pick six sequence paid anywhere from $11 to $16, there is a carryover of $29,459 into Wednesday.
Trip Notes for Saturday, September 20: Cotillion, Pennsylvania Derby and Gallant Bloom by Irwin Cohen.
The fourth race on the card kicks off the pick four, which has a guaranteed pool of $100,000. The Chiefswood Stable entry (2-1) of Niigon Express and Niigon’s Glory should give those looking for a single a powerful one-two punch.
Claiming or maiden-claiming races comprise eight of the 10 races Sunday at Churchill Downs, with the two exceptions being a straight maiden race for 2-year-olds in race 6 and a second-level allowance that goes as the day’s feature in the ninth.
If Prince of Wales Stakes winner Coltimus Prime is to have any chance of garnering this year’s Sovereign Award for Canadian male champion 3-year-old, he must beat Ami’s Holiday on the square in Sunday’s Grade 3 Ontario Derby.
Sunday's card features a pair of $150,000 stakes for statebred juvenile sprinters. The Bertram F. Bongard for males goes as the second race, and I'm really looking forward to betting Tizquick.
Today's pick four is a curious sequence, thanks to the presence of two maiden special weights to close out the card. They are filled with first-time starters, and multiple-race bettors must play these races blind without benefit of paddock observations and clues from the tote board.
Unlike the past two Saturdays, when Churchill Downs shared the Kentucky racing stage with Kentucky Downs, Churchill is the only horse racing game in the state Saturday.
