Ry's the Guy goes long off the bench in Isaac Murphy Marathon

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Ian Wilkes had Ry’s the Guy ready to run a few weeks ago but thought he’d wait until conditions were more favorable.

It was on the Tuesday of the rescheduled Kentucky Derby week of 2020 that Ry’s the Guy enjoyed a breakthrough victory in what was then known as the Champions Day Marathon at Churchill Downs. Nearly eight months later, the 5-year-old horse returns to action in the $130,000 Isaac Murphy Marathon at 1 1/2 miles on the main track.

“I could’ve gotten a race in him at Keeneland, but he’s just more suited to this marathon distance,” Wilkes said.

“He’s trained very well, so I’m just going to run him off the bench at a mile and a half.”

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Ry’s the Guy, owned by Lothenbach Stables, will have Wilkes’s son-in-law Chris Landeros back in the saddle when he breaks from post 5 in the three-turn Murphy, which helps kick off Derby week 2021 as the eighth of nine races on the only Tuesday card of the 38-day Churchill spring meet. Remarkably, Landeros is the only jockey Ry’s the Guy has had in all 16 career starts.

Seven other older horses are in the lineup, with Lone Rock (post 2, Ramon Vasquez) clearly the top rival for Ry’s the Guy. Trained by Robertino Diodoro, Lone Rock came to peak form over the winter at Oaklawn Park, registering a career-high 100 Beyer Speed Figure in a last-out allowance romp going this same 12-furlong distance.

The rest of the field is Burning Bright, Dack Janiel’s, Portos, You’re to Blame, Plus Que Parfait, and Jumper. Of those, Portos probably rates the best chance when wheeling back in 10 days for Todd Pletcher off a first-level allowance win at Keeneland.

The Isaac Murphy was renamed to honor the legendary African-American jockey who won three runnings of the Kentucky Derby (1884, 1890, 1891). It’s part of a “Champions for Change” theme that Churchill announced for Tuesday in its commitment to increasing diversity and inclusivity in racing while paying tribute to Black horsemen and featuring partner organizations whose missions support equitable opportunities in racing.

The Murphy is the first of four Derby week stakes ahead of the huge Oaks and Derby cards. The Wednesday feature is the Kentucky Juvenile for 2-year-olds, while the Opening Verse and Unbridled Sidney, both turf stakes, anchor the program on Thursday.

Derby draw on Tuesday

Not only will post positions for the 147th Kentucky Derby be drawn here Tuesday, but the rest of the 14-race Saturday card also will be drawn later in the day.

The top race on the Derby undercard is the Grade 1, $1 million Old Forester Turf Classic, for which about eight or nine older horses are expected, led by Colonel Liam, Digital Age, and Smooth Like Strait.

The other Saturday stakes are the Grade 1 Derby City Distaff, Grade 1 Churchill Downs, Grade 2 Pat Day Mile, Grade 2 Churchill Distaff Turf Mile, Grade 2 American Turf.

An oversubscribed field beyond the 20-horse limit is expected for the Derby, with an also-eligibles list of as many as four horses to be used. As of Friday, the first two Derby alternates were King Fury (No. 21) and Keepmeinmind (No. 22).

The 13-race Friday card was to be drawn Monday, with the Kentucky Oaks among six graded stakes.

Already a purse increase

Even before the first race was run on the opening-night Saturday card, Churchill announced a purse increase of $3.1 million for the first condition book of the spring meet. The across-the-board hike is effective through May 27, with maiden races after Derby week being worth $100,000 (up from $91,000), including KTDF bonuses. Also, the 25 post-Derby stakes got increases ranging from $10,000 to $50,000.

A Churchill press release cited the primary reason for the increase as “robust business” at the track’s nearby Derby City Gaming facility, where slots-like historical horse racing machines have proven very popular with local gamblers.