WHO’S HOT
Reagan’s Honor validated his front-running maiden victory on Jan. 17 at Fair Grounds with an even faster and more eye-catching front-running allowance score on Feb. 19. This son of Honor A.P. trained by Cherie DeVaux will take his Derby shot against pro-tem Derby favorite Paladin in the Grade 1 Blue Grass on April 4.
WHO’S NOT
Trainer Kenny McPeek is still perplexed over what happened regarding Blackout Time on the last Friday of October. It hasn’t deterred him from trying to get the now 3-year-old colt to the grandest stage on the first Saturday in May.
Blackout Time has not raced since his runner-up finish to Ted Noffey in the Grade 1 Breeders’ Futurity at Keeneland on Oct. 4. He will return to the races Sunday in the Grade 2, $1 million Rebel Stakes at Oaklawn Park as McPeek tries to get him to the May 2 Kentucky Derby.
HOT SPRINGS, Ark. – John C. Oxley is dealing with a slight cold this week. He wouldn’t mind if it developed into a fever by late afternoon Sunday.
That would be Derby Fever.
Oxley has Silent Tactic and Strategic Risk on deck for the Grade 2, $1 million Rebel on Sunday at Oaklawn Park. The Mark Casse trainees have won the first two Kentucky Derby points races at the meet, with homebred Strategic Risk taking the $250,000 Smarty Jones in January and Silent Tactic winning the Grade 3, $1 million Southwest in February.
Attendance at this year’s Preakness Stakes on May 16 at its temporary home of Laurel Park in Maryland will be limited to 4,800 people, according to 1/ST Racing and Gaming, the company responsible for putting on the race.
The limited amount of tickets is due to ongoing renovations at Laurel Park in preparation for the track’s conversion into a year-round training center. This year’s Preakness is being held at Laurel because the race’s home, Pimlico Racecourse in Baltimore, has been torn down and is being replaced by a more modern structure.
This year's 152nd edition of the Grade 1, $1.5 million Kentucky Oaks has attracted a relatively small group of 89 early nominees, led by undefeated points leader Bella Ballerina and Eclipse Award champion 2-year-old filly Super Corredora.
Early nominations for the Oaks, which required a payment of $200, closed Feb. 18 and were announced Tuesday by host track Churchill Downs. Last year, there were 117 nominees at this stage, and in 2024, there were 104 early nominees. The 1 1/8-mile race for fillies will be run in prime time under the track's lights on Friday, May 1.
Ethical Diamond, upset winner of the Breeders’ Cup Turf at Del Mar in November, is on schedule for the Group 1, 1 1/2-mile Dubai Sheema Classic in the United Arab Emirates on March 28.
Trainer Willie Mullins, who is based in Ireland, wrote in a text message on Wednesday that Ethical Diamond “is in good form and preparing for his trip to Dubai. Apart from constant rain in Ireland, all is well.”
WHO’S HOT
Paladin came off a 10-week layoff to run down a loose-on-the-lead Chip Honcho and win the Grade 2 Risen Star, his second win at 1 1/8 miles, and improve his record to 3 for 3. David Aragona, who last week installed Paladin as the 10-1 favorite on his Derby Watch line, has lowered him to 6-1.
While it is certainly the road less traveled, the synthetic path to the Kentucky Derby has proven quite effective the last several years, with at least one horse finishing in the top four in three of the last four Derbies.
In 2022, Rich Strike made three consecutive starts over Turfway Park’s synthetic surface – not winning any – before pulling off an 80-1 shocker in the Kentucky Derby. The following year Two Phil’s – who had plenty of dirt form – won the Jeff Ruby Steaks at Turfway prior to finishing a strong second to Mage in the Run for the Roses.
Randy Winick, who trained Brocco to a win in the 1993 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile and later worked as a racing official in California, died on Sunday in Florida.
Winick was 76. His death was announced by his family. No cause was given.
Brocco was Winick’s leading horse, winning 4 of 8 starts and $1,003,550. He won the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile in his third start – and stakes debut – by five lengths, beating a field that included 7-10 favorite Dehere.
Bettors made the “all others” entry in the fourth Kentucky Derby Future Wager pool the 9-2 favorite over 37 individual entries when the pool closed on Sunday night, according to a list of odds distributed by the pool’s administrator, Churchill Downs.
