Leparoux wins 1,000th race at Churchill
Julien Leparoux became just the fifth jockey to win 1,000 races at Churchill Downs when he guided Walkathon to victory Saturday in the Grade 3 Regret. Leparoux said afterward “there are just too many” special moments he has enjoyed at Churchill to single out one in particular.
The top four on the Churchill wins list are Pat Day (2,482), Calvin Borel (1,232), Robby Albarado (1,192), and Corey Lanerie (1,169).
Nafzger still in the game
Carl Nafzger, the two-time Derby-winning trainer, will send out the only horse still competing in his name when Sensible Jim goes postward in the sixth race Wednesday.
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Nafzger, 80, maintains a presence at the barn of Ian Wilkes, his former longtime assistant who assumed most of his client roster 15 years ago when the Hall of Fame trainer began easing into semi-retirement.
Pennsylvania owner claims three
The data fairly leaped off the chart. Three horses were claimed for $10,000 by the same owner-trainer team from the fifth race Friday at Churchill in something of an unusual occurrence – especially given the participants.
Classy Miss, Jalebi Baby, and Irresistible Lady all were claimed by owner Sean E. Mitchell with John David Wells listed as trainer. Mitchell, a Pennsylvania resident who very rarely has raced in Kentucky, said when reached Sunday by phone: “We’ve brought them back to the farm to look them over and evaluate them.” Asked where the farm was, he said, “I’d rather not comment any further.”
The last time Wells claimed a horse for Mitchell and ran it back in Kentucky was in July 2020, when Ahsad ran eighth at Keeneland following a June claim at Churchill. The horse’s next start came the following month at Parx for trainer Jamie Ness and owner Happy Got Lucky Stable.
Kentucky chief steward Barbara Borden confirmed that state regulations allow newly claimed horses to race outside the state “the day after entries are taken for closing day” of any given meet, meaning the Mitchell trio can race elsewhere starting July 1. “New regulations that address this type of situation actually are in the legislative pipeline right now, but the new owner is certainly within his rights in what’s been done here.”
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Three claims from one race are the maximum in Kentucky. A more pronounced example came last June when Brook Smith, under his Rocket Ship Racing banner, claimed three horses for $100,000 apiece out of a 2-year-old maiden-claiming race. Smith and his trainers are regulars on the Kentucky circuit.
Wednesdays now in play
Churchill has added Wednesdays to the schedule through the final four-week stretch of the 44-day spring meet. The first such card will begin a five-day week highlighted by three stakes over the weekend – the Mighty Beau on Saturday, followed by the Grade 3 Matt Winn and the Leslie’s Lady on Sunday.
There are no allowances carded Wednesday, when first post is 12:45 p.m. Eastern. A pair of starter-allowances end the program as races 8 and 9. The carryover in the Derby City 6 jackpot wager (races 4-9) stands at $272,577.
* Jeff Hall, the longtime director of operations at Ellis Park in western Kentucky, died Friday in a Louisville hospital from a heart ailment. Hall, 75, had worked under all the different ownerships at Ellis during more than a half-century of employment, including for the heirs to the track namesake, James C. Ellis, who died in 1956.
* Officials at Turfway Park have announced Sept. 1 as the official opening of its new gaming facility and grandstand. The northern Kentucky track is expected to be fully operational ahead of the holiday meet, which begins Dec. 1. Turfway was bought in 2019 by Churchill Downs Inc., which is spending $150 million on a total upgrade.