Turf races top twilight Thursday card

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – After four dark days, post-Derby action begins Thursday at Churchill with an eight-race card that gets under way at 5 p.m. Eastern. A pair of turf allowances (races 3 and 8) for 3-year-olds and upward will anchor the first twilight card here since 2019. No twilight or night racing was held all of last year because of the pandemic.

Race 3 is a $102,000 dash in which Searing Chase and Thrill Ride are among the logical favorites. Eight were entered, including one main-track-only designate.

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Race 8 is a $102,000 route in which Attorney Tim is a lukewarm program choice, even with his 15-1-4-1 record. Ricardo Santana Jr., who had an uncharacteristically quiet Derby week (0 for 18) after clinching his eighth Oaklawn Park riding title, has the call for trainer Greg Foley.

With a forecast of dry weather from Monday afternoon through Friday, turf racing most likely will proceed as scheduled Thursday. The projected daytime high temperature is just 62.

The coming weekend at Churchill will be highlighted by 3-year-old fillies going five furlongs on the turf Saturday in the $110,000 Mamzelle. The next major stakes date here is May 29, when six $150,000 races are run as preps for a huge closing-day card June 26.

Every Thursday at the meet will be a twilight card, with the last of eight races going at 8:23. The next Saturday night card is May 22.

◗ Churchill invariably invites celebrities to give the “riders up!” call in the paddock for the Derby, and this year they didn’t have to look far: D. Wayne Lukas, the 85-year-old Hall of Fame trainer, did the honors with his customary flair. Lukas was a last-minute replacement for rapper Jack Harlow, with no explanation given for the change.

◗ It’s now been 20 years since a Derby horse was 99-1 or higher, and there was nothing even close again this year. The longest shots in a field of 19 were Keepmeinmind (seventh) and Like the King (12th), both sent away at 49-1.

◗ With stables leaving Churchill following the Derby, many of those stalls are now being filled by returnees from Oaklawn, which ended its 2021 meet Saturday.