Following amazing week, Gaffalione set to complete Kentucky sweep

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Tyler Gaffalione broke open what had been a tight Churchill jockeys’ race with an uncanny run last week.

Gaffalione won with 15 of 30 mounts during the five-day stretch, including a 13-for-19 patch in which his other six mounts finished second or third. He enters the final week of the fall meet with a 32-25 lead over Ricardo Santana Jr. atop the standings.

Gaffalione, 26, is seeking a rare sweep of the major meets in Kentucky this year, having already earned the riding titles at Churchill spring, Keeneland July, Kentucky Downs, Churchill September, and Keeneland fall. His next stop is the Gulfstream Park championship meet that starts Dec. 2.

Meanwhile, one of Gaffalione’s main supporters, trainer Mike Maker, compiled quite a streak of his own by sending out six straight winners during a three-day span last week – a feat made more impressive when considering Maker tends to do his best work with grass horses. Maker has an 18-15 lead over Steve Asmussen atop the trainer standings coming into this final week.

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◗ Reylu Gutierrez will have his first two Churchill rides Wednesday when gearing up for the winter at Turfway Park. Gutierrez, 24, has been riding in New York in recent months.

◗ The first of five pools in the 2021 Kentucky Derby Future Wager opens Thursday for a four-day run. The pool coincides with the annual Derby Sires futures.