Kentucky Derby: Who's hot, who's not for July 8, 2020
Kentucky Derby: Who's hot, who's not for July 8, 2020
Jay PrivmanJul 08, 2020
Kentucky Derby: Who's hot, who's not for July 8, 2020
Kentucky Derby pedigree profile: Swiss Skydiver
Rulings by stewards at Oaklawn Park into medication violations by two horses trained by Bob Baffert who won races on May 2 at Oaklawn are expected to be issued next week, a spokesman for the Arkansas Department of Finance and Administration, which oversees the state’s racing commission, said Tuesday.
Two horses trained by Bob Baffert had split samples confirmed for a medication violation after races at Oaklawn Park on May 2, which his attorney on Monday said was “innocent exposure” from cross-contamination owing to an employee using a pain patch for human use.
Trainer Kenny McPeek was promising a last-minute decision Wednesday morning on whether Swiss Skydiver will be entered in the Blue Grass or Ashland, both to be run Saturday.
Cafe Pharoah, an unbeaten Kentucky-bred colt, will have what is expected to be his final prep race for the Kentucky Derby in Wednesday’s $711,694 Japan Dirt Derby at Oi Racecourse in Tokyo.
It takes a pretty special horse to win going two turns in his debut with a Beyer Speed Figure of 95, then follow that up with a second-start victory in a graded stakes race going 1 1/8 miles with a Beyer Figure of similar value. Uncle Chuck is special.
The cancellation of the San Diego County Fair, which traditionally precedes the Del Mar race season and whose dates make for a frenetic turnaround before the meet begins, has afforded both the track and trainers a chance to settle in here far earlier than usual. One of the first to arrive and take advantage of the schedule was Michael McCarthy, who not only is preparing for the meet that begins Friday, but also was able to give some of his stakes runners a pair of works before important out-of-town engagements this week.
Uncle Chuck, making only the second start of his career after beating maidens last month at Santa Anita, turned back his more experienced stablemate Thousand Words in upper stretch and then drew away in the final furlong to score a four-length victory in the Grade 3, $150,000 Los Alamitos Derby going 1 1/8 miles.
Just when Anneau d’Or was rounding back into form, an illness has knocked him out of a scheduled start on Saturday in the Grade 3 Los Alamitos Derby.