Foyt's Burninhunkoflove gets checkered flag at Churchill on Indy 500 Day
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – The legendary racecar driver A.J. Foyt Jr. won four runnings of the Indianapolis 500, but never by this tight a margin. A 3-year-old colt named Burninhunkoflove won the eighth race Sunday at Churchill Downs by a nose when carrying Foyt’s silks with a checkered-flag design, quite a serendipitous occurrence given the 106th Indianapolis 500 was run the same afternoon with Foyt still heavily involved as a car owner at age 87.
“He was a little busy,” said Al Stall Jr., trainer of Burninhunkoflove. “He had four drivers in the race. I talked to some of his people afterward – he was aware we’d won – but I didn’t want to bother him.”
Foyt, a Texas native and resident, has maintained a stake in Thoroughbred racing for many years, dating to the 1970s, even before his son, A.J. “Tony” Foyt III, took out a trainer’s license in 1978 and began competing regularly at Churchill. The younger Foyt’s training career ended in 2000 with 510 wins.
Burninhunkoflove ($12.40), ridden by Colby Hernandez, hooked up with Smokin Willie in a riveting stretch-long duel in the $124,340 first-level allowance before finally edging ahead at the wire, finishing six furlongs in 1:09.80. The chestnut son of Munnings was purchased at auction last year by Clay Scherer on Foyt’s behalf for $40,000.
The victory snapped an 0-for-30 streak for Stall, dating to an April 20 win at Keeneland. The 60-year-old trainer shrugged off the rare slump.
“With the size of our stable, something like that can happen at any time,” said Stall, a career winner of 1,733 races through Sunday. “That’s just the way it is sometimes. This one, though, was a nice one.”
Foster Preview on tap
Seven stakes, including a trio of Grade 3 turf races, will be run this coming weekend at Churchill, all but one of them on a Saturday card billed as Stephen Foster Preview Day. The Grade 3 Mint Julep is set for Sunday.
The six Saturday stakes are the Grade 3 Arlington and Grade 3 Regret, along with the Blame, Shawnee, Aristides, and Audubon. Most are designed as stepping-stones to races on the program for July 2, when the Grade 1 Stephen Foster will anchor the final Saturday of the 44-day spring meet.