Matt Winn Stakes will top stakes-loaded Churchill card

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Easily the biggest day of racing at Churchill since Kentucky Derby weekend will take place next Saturday (May 29) when six $150,000 stakes are run, some of them as preps for the closing-day Stephen Foster card on June 26. Entries for all preview races will be drawn Wednesday.

At least three also-rans from the Derby could resurface in a couple of different races for 3-year-olds, with Helium (eighth) and Hidden Stash (14th) expected for the Grade 3 Matt Winn at 1 1/16 miles on the main track and Like the King (12th) going in the Audubon at 1 1/8 miles on turf.

Also, trainer Brad Cox has not ruled out Mandaloun from returning in the Winn. Mandaloun finished second behind Medina Spirit and could ultimately be declared the official Derby winner if Medina Spirit winds up being disqualified for a positive post-race test for a banned raceday medication, a tense situation being closely monitored throughout the racing industry. Cox has three others nominated to the Winn, with Fulsome, a last-out winner of the May 1 Oaklawn Stakes, the most likely to actually run.

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Given all the ample opportunities elsewhere, there are no similar 3-year-old races on Foster Day to correspond to the Matt Winn nor the Audubon, nor is there a sprint to match the six-furlong Aristides for older horses, although there is the Kelly’s Landing, a $110,000 overnight stakes, on June 25.

The other three preview races on Saturday have matching follow-ups. The 1 1/8-mile Blame, for older horses on dirt, leads to the Grade 2 Stephen Foster; the 1 1/16-mile Shawnee, for fillies and mares, precedes the Grade 2 Fleur de Lis; and the Grade 3 Regret, for 3-year-old turf fillies, leads to the Tepin.