Nine 3-year-olds, including stakes winners Abiding Star, Governor Malibu, and Surgical Strike, were made eligible to the Triple Crown with a payment of $6,000 that was due Monday, Churchill Downs, the home of the Kentucky Derby, announced Wednesday.
Undeterred by Uncle Walter's 41-length defeat in the Risen Star, Maker will be back at Fair Grounds on Saturday from his winter base in south Florida when trying to win the Louisiana Derby for Ken and Sarah Ramsey for the third straight year.
As we hit the final Saturday of March, six weeks before the Kentucky Derby, I am going to use a 95 Beyer Speed Figure as the cutoff for contenders. I count nine horses on that list, from a high of 101 (Nyquist) to a low of 95 (Cupid, Mohaymen).
Under a plan approved Tuesday by Kentucky’s racing commission, Churchill Downs in Louisville, Ky., will split its pick six carryover pool this year at its spring meeting if the bet is not hit on Kentucky Derby Day, when the pool typically attracts more than $1 million in bets.
Bob Baffert’s love affair with Oaklawn continued with Cupid, who gave Baffert his sixth win in the Rebel in its last seven runnings.
For all they've accomplished in their illustrious training careers at their hometown track of Fair Grounds, neither Tom Amoss nor Albert Stall Jr. has ever won the Louisiana Derby. The former roommates at Louisiana State University are hoping that changes Saturday when the Louisiana Derby is run for the103rd time.
Add Majesto to what is currently a very short list of 3-year-olds who will tackle division leaders Mohaymen and Nyquist a week from Saturday in the $1 million Florida Derby.
Collected gave his trainer, Bob Baffert, and his rider, Martin Garcia, a sweep of the two richest races for 3-year-olds run over the weekend when he captured the $415,000 Sunland Park Festival of Racing Stakes on Sunday. The win came on the heels of Cupid’s victory in the Grade 2, $900,000 Rebel Stakes on Saturday at Oaklawn Park.
Swipe, second in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile last fall, and Texas Red, who won the Jim Dandy last summer, both moved closer to their 2016 debuts with demanding workouts on Saturday morning at Santa Anita for trainer Keith Desormeaux.
Trainer Bob Baffert said once Cupid gets home he'll evaluate him and then decide on a final prep for the Kentucky Derby on May 7, with a likely target the Arkansas Derby on April 16 because it gives Cupid an extra week compared with his other options, the Santa Anita Derby or Blue Grass Stakes at Keeneland, both on April 9.
