Churchill Downs: Despite breakout meet, Lanerie to ride at Ellis Park

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Corey Lanerie is having such a breakthrough meet at Churchill this spring that you would have to believe he has entertained thoughts of trying the Saratoga meet this summer.

He has, and he won’t.

Lanerie will follow the same plan he has in recent summers, which is to ride mostly at the Ellis Park meet that starts July 4 while also accepting out-of-town stakes and spot-riding assignments with some frequency. Lanerie lives in Louisville with his wife and young daughter and will have plenty of spare time to engage in his second-favorite sport, golf.

“We thought about Saratoga, but Corey just wants to do what we’ve done the last few years,” said Lanerie’s agent, Terry “Jaws” Miller.

Lanerie has been as hot as any jockey in North America in recent weeks, having surged to a big lead atop the meet standings. Through Friday, he had 51 winners, with Shaun Bridgmohan second with 34. A Churchill riding title would be the first for Lanerie.

Happy times for Kenneally and family

Trainer Eddie Kenneally figures to head to Saratoga on quite an upbeat note. Not only has Kenneally been winning with regularity at Belmont Park and Churchill, but his wife, Catherine, is expecting to have the couple’s first child any day now.

The “baby needs new shoes” angle worked well this week for Kenneally, as he sent out a winner both Thursday and Friday at Belmont (Paper Plane and Ullapool, respectively) while also capturing the Friday co-feature at Churchill, a $56,113 allowance sprint with Hot Roots, a 3-year-old filly by Indian Charlie.

“I’m really happy with how things are going,” said Kenneally.

Kenneally has been shuttling recently between Louisville, New York, and Lexington, where the couple makes their home.