Matt Winn-bound Major Fed first on the track as training resumes

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Major Fed was among the first horses vanned through the Churchill Downs stable gate early Monday, and he was the very first on the racetrack when 2020 training opened before dawn Wednesday.

“Naw, I wasn’t trying to tell anybody anything,” Greg Foley said with a laugh, “but come to think of it, I hope it does mean something.”

The symbolism is clear. In his rush to scratch the itch that prodigal Kentucky trainers have been experiencing at Fair Grounds in Louisiana, Foley was using no less than a Kentucky Derby contender to get himself and his staff back into a welcome routine. Whether or not Foley is subconsciously hinting that Major Fed also will be first in the Sept. 5 Derby can wait as a topic for summer conjecture.

“Everybody was just ready to get home,” Foley said. “Been ready.”

Three weeks after it was supposed to open, the Churchill spring meet will get under way Saturday. Horsemen who wintered at Fair Grounds – the Churchill-owned track where racing was last conducted March 21 – were permitted to return first according to a ship-in system purposely staggered to allow for the extra time required by stringent health protocols that have been put into place because of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. Fair Grounds horses were assimilated Monday through Wednesday, with horses from Florida getting their turn Thursday to Saturday; Oaklawn Park arrivals, Sunday through Tuesday; and horses from all other locales after that.

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Major Fed, a late-running fourth in the March 21 Louisiana Derby, is among the confirmed starters for the Grade 3 Matt Winn, which will be run May 23 among the first set of spring-meet stakes. The Ghostzapper colt is scheduled to breeze Saturday in what will be his third work since his last start.

“The horse looks great,” Foley said. “He’s dappled out head to toe, slick as can be. We’re pointing to the Matt Winn, but I’m sure we’re not the only ones looking at it now.”

Churchill officials announced Tuesday that the 1 1/16-mile Matt Winn is now worth 85 qualifying points (50-20-10-5) toward the Derby, a move likely to entice more horses than when it was initially designated as a 17-point race (10-4-2-1) earlier this month. The Matt Winn is among nine new Derby qualifiers on an updated list released Tuesday.

Not counting a handful of American tracks that have conducted spectator-less racing even amid the height of the coronavirus crisis, Churchill is among the first wave of racetrack reopenings set for the coming weeks. Given the lack of racing opportunities in this and other regions in recent times, there were a whopping 209 entries (including 38 also-eligibles and 47 exclusions) accepted for an 11-race Saturday opener that begins at 1 p.m. Eastern.

“Thank goodness we’re getting back to running here pretty quick,” Foley said. “It’s been a tough time for everybody.”

The 26-day meet runs through June 27, when the Grade 2 Stephen Foster will be run in daylight for the first time since 2011. With ontrack attendance being tightly restricted to essential personnel only, there will be no Downs After Dark cards here this spring.

The Saturday forecast calls for possible thundershowers and a high of 80.