Woodford Reserve, the bourbon brand sold by Brown-Forman, has reached an agreement with Churchill Downs Inc. to extend its presenting sponsorship of the Kentucky Derby through 2027, the companies announced on Wednesday.
A pair of party crashers face a tough task at Santa Anita on Sunday when they try to wrest the Grade 3 Sham Stakes from a stable that practically owns the race for 3-year-olds.
Derma Sotogake won his third consecutive start, and first stakes, in Wednesday’s $529,000 Zen-Nippon Nisai Yushun at a mile for 2-year-olds at Kawasaki Racecourse in Japan, earning 20 qualifying points for the 2023 Kentucky Derby on May 6.
The mutuel field, the 40th or “all others” option, was the 4-5 favorite when Pool 2 of the 2023 Kentucky Derby Future Wager closed Sunday evening following a four-day betting window.
Officials at Churchill Downs announced Friday a series of slight modifications to the points system governing entry into the Kentucky Derby and Oaks in coming years, including toward next May, when both classics will be renewed. The most significant changes are allowing points to the top five finishers instead of four, and increasing the value of the two Breeders' Cup juvenile dirt races.
The parallel roads to the 2023 Kentucky Derby and Oaks will both open Saturday when a pair of longstanding fixtures for 2-year-olds anchor an 11-race program at Churchill Downs.
Rich Strike, from the first crop of Calumet Farm stallion Keen Ice, pulled off the second-biggest upset in Kentucky Derby history on Saturday evening at Churchill Downs, shocking a full house as he overhauled favored Epicenter in the final stages and returning $163.60.
Rich Strike, the improbable winner of the Kentucky Derby on Saturday, headed home to Lexington on Sunday from Churchill Downs, and will spend a bit more than a week at trainer Eric Reed’s private training center, Mercury Equine, before embarking on the next step of his journey, the Preakness Stakes at Pimlico on May 21.
Although he just missed winning the Kentucky Derby with Epicenter, marking the third time he’s finished second in the Derby, trainer Steve Asmussen still had himself a terrific two days at Churchill Downs.
If veteran trainer Eric Reed had not been saddling his first Kentucky Derby starter on Saturday, “I promise you I would have been on the lake fishing.”
