Road to the Derby: Lexington Stakes analysis
Kentucky Derby: Lexington Stakes analysis
Jay PrivmanApr 19, 2017
Kentucky Derby: Lexington Stakes analysis
Next Monday, trainer Mark Casse will find out if he has been elected to the Racing Hall of Fame in Saratoga Springs, but he is forgiven if he has other things on his mind. With the victory last Saturday of Eclipse champ Classic Empire in the Arkansas Derby, Casse is now fully invested in the Kentucky Derby, with a colt who looms large as the likely favorite.
Tom and Sandy McKenna, the owners of Conquest Mo Money, announced on Tuesday that they will not put up a $200,000 supplementary fee to run Conquest Mo Money in the Kentucky Derby on May 6 and will instead await the Preakness Stakes two weeks later. The supplementary fee for the Preakness is $150,000, which also makes the horse eligible for the Belmont Stakes.
McCraken had his first breeze since incurring his first career defeat in the Blue Grass Stakes, working a sharp half-mile early Tuesday over a fast track at Churchill Downs.
Trainer Chad Brown on Monday said he is “leaning towards passing” the Kentucky Derby with Cloud Computing, a decision that has implications regarding the potential field for the May 6 Derby at Churchill Downs.
Classic Empire won the Grade 1, $1 million Arkansas Derby on Saturday like a horse that wants 1 1/4 miles, and that’s what he will get next month at Churchill Downs. Trainer Mark Casse said Sunday that Classic Empire emerged from his stretch-running effort at Oaklawn in good order and will fly Monday to Churchill.
Road to the Derby: Arkansas Derby analysis
In a Kentucky Derby prep-race season that has taken some weird and uninspiring turns even by Kentucky Derby prep-season standards – which says a lot – Saturday’s Arkansas Derby at Oaklawn was an entirely fitting coda.
Relief. That's the emotion that first rushed over trainer Mark Casse when champion Classic Empire crossed the wire first in the Grade 1, $1 million Arkansas Derby on Saturday at Oaklawn.
Girvin, the winner of the Louisiana Derby, and Fast and Accurate, the Spiral Stakes winner, breezed Saturday at the Churchill Downs Trackside facility in preparation for the May 6 Kentucky Derby.