A mother's influence on development in the early months can often go overlooked in the success of a racehorse, but it's hard to look at the produce record of Rebridled Dreams and not have it in mind.
Jack Van Berg had hoped for a joyous celebration of the 30-year anniversary of his 1987 Kentucky Derby victory with Alysheba. Instead, Van Berg is back at Churchill Downs with a heavy heart
Horse or human, it was not a good weekend if your name was Syndergaard. Noah Syndergaard of the New York Mets left a game on Sunday with an injury, and Syndergaard the horse finished off the board as the 1-5 favorite in the William Walker Stakes at Churchill on Saturday.
Always Dreaming, the Florida Derby winner and a leading contender for Saturday's Kentucky Derby, has been too aggressive in his morning gallops for Todd Pletcher's liking. On Monday, Pletcher made a change of equipment and a change of rider with mixed results.
There are clear differences between Nyquist, who came into his Kentucky Derby win as an unbeaten juvenile champion, and Irap, who broke his maiden winning the Blue Grass Stakes for the same connections.
The rise of A.P. Indy is nowhere more evident than in the 20 likely starters for the 2017 Kentucky Derby on Saturday. Seven of the 20 were sired by A.P. Indy-line stallions.
Masochistic, the brilliant sprinter who has gained no small amount of notoriety, is returning to where he first became infamous.
Unseasonably warm weather greeted horsemen when training began at 5:45 Sunday morning, but things were really heating up about three hours later when McCraken put in his final major work for the 2017 Kentucky Derby.
Jockey Rajiv Maragh could hardly contain his enthusiasm for next week’s Kentucky Derby after getting the chance to sit on Irish War Cry on Sunday morning.
McCraken, one of the favorites for the Kentucky Derby next Saturday, and Fast and Accurate, one of the longer shots in the field, both completed their serious training for the Derby with five-furlong workouts Sunday morning at Churchill Downs.
