Helium remained unbeaten in three career starts with a 15-1 upset of the annual marquee event at Tampa Bay Downs on Saturday by battling back to win the Grade 2, $350,000 Tampa Bay Derby and clinch a berth in the 147th Kentucky Derby.
Brooklyn Strong, unraced since winning the Grade 2 Remsen at Aqueduct on Dec. 5, is attempting to train up to the Grade 2, $750,000 Wood Memorial, trainer Danny Velazquez said this week.
Put aside the fact the winner of Saturday's Grade 3, $300,000 Gotham Stakes at Aqueduct essentially earns a spot in the starting gate for the Kentucky Derby. The one-mile race is simply a logical spot for the development of probable race favorites Freedom Fighter and Highly Motivated, whose futures may include high-profile, albeit shorter, races in the 3-year-old division.
Life Is Good will face his biggest test yet Saturday, as he tries to stretch out to 1 1/16 miles while starting from the rail for the first time against a field that includes Medina Spirit, the improving Roman Centurian, fast debut winner Dream Shake, and The Great One in the Grade 2 San Felipe,
Rain and unseasonable chill are in the Saturday forecast at Tampa Bay Downs, but somebody's day will get much brighter as the sun is lowering itself onto a dreary Gulf Coast horizon. A berth in the Kentucky Derby is on the line with the 41st running of the Grade 2, $350,000 Tampa Bay Derby, the track's annual marquee event, and that'll be reason enough to forget about the nasty conditions,
An equipment change helped Wipe the Slate achieve his first career victory. Trainer Doug O'Neill hopes another change will help the 3-year-old get his second one.O'Neill will remove the blinkers from Wipe the Slate's equipment when he runs in Saturday's Grade 3, $300,000 Gotham Stakes at Aqueduct.
There is no trainer more focused on winning the Kentucky Derby, or with clientele who share the same goal, as Bob Baffert.In the years since he first won the Derby back in 1997 with Silver Charm, his stable size has grown, and Derby stock has become the biggest part of the portfolio.
A busy weekend of Kentucky Derby prep races is liable to uncover a surprise or two. Vicki Oliver hereby volunteers to provide the surprise with Big Blue Nation.
Kentucky Derby pedigree profile: Life Is Good
Kentucky Derby: Who's hot, who's not for March 3, 2021
