Tampa Bay Derby winner Destin, who will go into the Kentucky Derby without a race in eight weeks, continues to progress nicely toward that goal after working five furlongs in 1:00.89 over a "good" racetrack at Palm Beach Downs on Saturday.
As more Kentucky Derby and Oaks hopefuls continue to arrive at Churchill Downs in Louisville, track officials have announced that the training time reserved exclusively for those horses will become effective next Saturday, April 23.
Danzing Candy, fourth in the $1 million Santa Anita Derby on April 9, will start in the Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs on May 7 and will be trained through April at the San Luis Rey Downs training center in San Diego County.
Nyquist, the unbeaten champion and Kentucky Derby favorite, kicked off his serious preparation for the spring classic on Friday at Keeneland, breezing for the first time since winning the Florida Derby on April 2.
Mike Maker, the trainer of the winner of Turfway Park’s major Kentucky Derby prep, has been handed a 40-day suspension by Kentucky stewards for a drug positive after a race at Turfway in January, a penalty that Maker said he plans to appeal.
Here is an analysis of the all-stakes pick four at Keeneland, with horses with program numbers classified as either ‘A' or ‘B' runners, based on their chances of winning.
Cupid heads a field of 12 in the Grade 1, $1 million Arkansas Derby, which highlights the closing-day card at Oaklawn.
Melatonin upset the Santa Anita Handicap, and I'm taking him to win right back in Saturday's Oaklawn Handicap.
A year ago, the field for the Kentucky Derby shaped up as one of the best and deepest in many years. The five favorites were 13 for 13 as 3-year-olds and all five Grade 1 preps were won by daylight in strong performances. Eight entrants had run Beyer Speed Figures of 100 or more. This year, the story so far is entirely different.
Swipe and Collected, a pair of Southern California invaders, are the likely favorites in the Grade 3, $150,000 Lexington, a 1 1/16-mile race at Keeneland which shares the Saturday spotlight with three other stakes.
