Rousing Sermon finished eighth in the Kentucky Derby on May 5, but could be back in the Triple Crown for the Belmont Stakes by the end of this weekend, trainer Jerry Hollendorfer said.
Trainer Todd Pletcher said Monday that El Padrino, 13th in the Kentucky Derby, was sent over the weekend to Win Star Farm, where he will get a little vacation and be pointed for a fall campaign.
Mark Valeski, winner of Saturday’s Grade 2 Peter Pan Stakes at Belmont, arrived back at Churchill Downs early Monday morning and will train there while his connections decide whether or not to return for the $1 million Belmont Stakes on June 9.
Owner Brereton Jones and trainer Larry Jones were rewarded for their decision to skip last week’s Kentucky Derby when Mark Valeski rallied to win Saturday’s Grade 2 Peter Pan at Belmont Park
On March 7, after Romancing the Gold won a first-level allowance race at Aqueduct, Adam Wachtel and his business partner Nils Brous purchased half-interest in the horse.
Animal Kingdom, the Kentucky Derby winner and Preakness runner-up, sustained an injury to his left hind leg that will keep him out of training for a couple of weeks, but should not prevent him from running again this year, his connections announced Thursday. Animal Kingdom has what veterinarians describe as a fissure, or small crack, on the tip of the cannon bone where it joins the lower part of the hock. It is believed that the injury occurred when Animal Kingdom stumbled in the early stages of the Belmont Stakes.
It was a perfectly honest question, and John Velazquez was happy to oblige with a reply. When he won the Kentucky Derby aboard Animal Kingdom, wondered fellow rider Jose Valdivia, how did it feel?
Preakness winner Shackleford has been sent to WinStar Farm in Versailles, Ky., for a two-week break before gearing back up for a run in the $1 million Haskell Invitational on July 31 at Monmouth Park, said trainer Dale Romans.
The race portion of the 2011 Belmont Stakes broadcast on NBC Sports on Saturday had a 4.3 rating and 10 share, well over the numbers for the anemic 2010 broadcast on ABC but slightly off the 2009 rating and share.
The Triple Crown is as popular as ever, but the 2011 edition suggested the need for some changes, and I would suggest that Pimlico and Churchill Downs consider making them in 2012.
