Chad Brown trained Raging Sea, the winner of the 2024 Doubledogdare Stakes. Bill Mott won the year before with Frost Point. In 2022, it was the Todd Pletcher-trained Malathaat capturing the Doubledogdare, a year after Bonny South won for trainer Brad Cox.

Seven older fillies and mares were entered in the Grade 3, $350,000 Doubledogdare, Keeneland’s Friday feature, and that quartet of trainers – two already in the Hall of Fame, two others future Hall of Famers – send out four of them.

ARCADIA, Calif. – A maiden winner with a glossy pedigree and unlimited potential might just be the best horse running Friday at Santa Anita. Hope springs eternal.

Quick Brown Fox, however, also typifies challenges in California racing. The filly runs in the smallest field on the opening day of the spring meet – a five-runner dirt route that is race 6. Quick Brown Fox would be worth backing at 3-1 program odds. The price might be wishful thinking.

HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla.– A pair of allowance/optional-claiming events carded at five furlongs on the turf will bookend Friday’s nine-race program at Gulfstream Park, and as seems to be the case more and more often here lately, trainer Jose D’Angelo has entered horses that figure prominently in both of them.

D’Angelo will send out Mr Tyson to make his turf debut in Friday’s opener, which drew a field of seven 3-year-olds including likely odds-on favorite No Evidence for trainer Christophe Clement.

Laurel Park will run its first turf races of the year this weekend, including three stakes races. Average field sizes at the track will increase significantly as many turf runners either ship back to Maryland or return from long winter breaks.

Owen Almighty, the Tampa Bay Derby winner who finished in a dead heat for sixth in the Blue Grass Stakes on April 8, is back in the field for the 151st Kentucky Derby on May 3, his connections said Wednesday.

“We’re going to give it a shot,” said Hunter Rankin, president of Flying Dutchmen Breeding and Racing, the racing operation of Travis Boersma. “He’s earned a spot, we’re going to use it and take a shot as long as he’s doing well going into the race.”

Chunk of Gold

Preservationist – Play for Gold, by Cairo Prince

Bred in Kentucky by Brereton C. Jones ($2,500 Fasig-Tipton Kentucky fall yearling purchase by Chris Melton)

Louisiana Derby runner-up Chunk of Gold has never been worse than second and has already earned back more than 139 times his modest purchase price. The colt, a May foal, is from a steady, serviceable pedigree – a good description of Chunk of Gold himself.

WHO’S HOT

Except for the curious case of Owen Almighty, it was a relatively quiet week for Kentucky Derby aspirants. Some 24 horses remain under consideration according to Churchill Downs, including Journalism, the 3-1 early favorite on the Daily Racing Form Derby Watch Top 20 odds line by David Aragona.

HOT SPRINGS, Ark. – Coach Jimi D will have the red-hot hand of trainer Jimmy DiVito in his corner Friday when he goes up against probable favorite Rowdy Riot in the ninth race at Oaklawn Park.

The first-level allowance, which drew a field of 10, is for 4-year-olds and up at six furlongs. It alo launches an abbreviated two-day race week, as there is no live card Sunday in observance of Easter.

DiVito has won four races – three at Oaklawn and the other at Hawthorne – with his last five starters. He also had a runner-up finish at Oaklawn.