One year after watching their Grade 2 winner El Padrino finish 13th in the Kentucky Derby, Let's Go Stable principals Kevin Scatuorchio and Bryan Sullivan have arrived back at Churchill Downs with unbeaten Wood Memorial winner Verrazano, campaigned in partnership with Coolmore. Both colts are out of Enchanted Rock and were bred by Emory Hamilton, who owns the 9-year-old daughter of Giant's Causeway.
Hall of Fame trainer D. Wayne Lukas will saddle Will Take Charge and Oxbow in Saturday's Kentucky Derby, seeking his fifth victory in the classic, which would give him sole possession of second place on the all-time list.
For most of the horses in this year’s Kentucky Derby field, the road to the starting gate went through the auction ring, and often at a fairly modest price.
Winning the Kentucky Derby is good for business. While the benefits to those most closely associated with the horse are obvious, the residual effects of a Kentucky Derby win have proven to be more far-reaching, even affecting prices in the yearling market in the months following the classic race.
When the last horse had cleared the sales ring at the OBS April auction, several up-and-coming stallions had made a strong impression, including two first-crop sires – WinStar Farm’s Colonel John and Get Away Farm’s Two Step Salsa – as well as Darley second-crop sire Street Boss.
The Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association offers a series of seminars for new owners at various racing-centric locales throughout the year that provide a thorough overview of the demands, challenges, and rewards of owning and breeding racehorses. The seminars, available at cost to both members and non-members of TOBA, dovetail nicely with the McKinsey group’s recommendation for new-owner outreach.
The Ocala Breeders’ Sales Company’s spring sale of 2-year-olds in training was a record-setter again this year, breaking the marks it set last year for gross, average, and median after four days of large increases.
The Ocala Breeders’ Sales Company’s April 2-year-old auction in Ocala, Fla., posted a third consecutive day of big increases Wednesday at its penultimate session.
A $900,000 son of hot sire Bernardini and grandson of champion Princess Rooney lit up a buoyant sale session Tuesday as the Ocala Breeders’ spring 2-year-olds in training sale saw big increases that kept it on a sale-record pace.
Paced by 34 juveniles who sold for $100,000 or more, Monday’s first session of the Ocala Breeders’ Sales Co. spring sale of 2-year-olds in training in Ocala, Fla., resumed the momentum from last year’s record auction as it posted sizable gains in gross, average, and median.
