Fri, 05/03/2024 - 20:58

Kentucky Oaks Day handle a record $75.3 million, up slightly from a year ago

Churchill scenic on first turn Kentucky Oaks Day May 3 2024Kentucky Oaks day

Barbara D. Livingston

Despite rain and a sloppy track, Churchill Downs announced that more than 107,000 people attended Friday's Kentucky Oaks card. Wagering on the Oaks was $21.7 million, down 3 percent from 2023.

All-sources wagering on the 13-race Kentucky Oaks card at Churchill Downs in Louisville on Friday set a record at $75.3 million, according to the track, a slight gain over the record set last year.

The handle total for the Friday card was up $400,000 over last year’s number, which itself was up slightly over a record set in 2022.

For the Friday card, 108 horses ran in the 13 races, one less than the number of horses that ran on the card last year. The Oaks, the centerpiece of the card, had 14 runners this year, the same number as last year.

Fri, 05/03/2024 - 11:54

Kentucky Derby field stays intact; also-eligible Mugatu doesn't get in

By David Grening

Debra A. Roma

Mugatu needed a scratch by 9 a.m. Eastern on Friday to draw into the Kentucky Derby field. Trainer Jeff Engler will now point him to the Peter Pan at Aqueduct on May 11.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Trainer Jeff Engler sat outside the stall of his 3-year-old Mugatu checking his phone for a text or a call or a social media post that would tell him his horse could run in the Kentucky Derby.

It never came.

Mugatu needed one scratch to make it into the field for Saturday’s 150th Kentucky Derby. But following morning training Friday and the required veterinarian examinations, there were no horses scratched by 9 a.m. Friday, the deadline for horses on the also-eligible list to get into a race.

Fri, 05/03/2024 - 10:09

U.S. Customs seizes shipments of 'performance-enhancing drugs' from Mexico

By Matt Hegarty

The U.S. Customs and Border Protection office at the Port of Cincinnati has seized eight shipments since the start of the year containing “equine performance-enhancing drugs,” the agency announced on Wednesday.

Fri, 05/03/2024 - 08:45

2024 Kentucky Derby: After past setbacks, Repole only interested in moving forward

By David Grening

Barbara D. Livingston

Mike Repole with Kentucky Derby favorite Fierceness. He has had two other morning-line favorites for the Derby, Uncle Mo in 2011 and last year with Forte, only to have them scratch prior to the race.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Mike Repole last Saturday stood outside trainer Todd Pletcher’s barn to talk about his Kentucky Derby favorite Fierceness after he came off the track following a training session. The mood was much more jovial than when Repole stood in a similar spot 51 weeks earlier.

Thu, 05/02/2024 - 14:00

Kentucky Derby: 150 years of history on the track

By Irwin Cohen

Photo courtesy of National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame

Regret became the first filly to win the Kentucky Derby in 1915 for owner Harry Payne Whitney (right).

1875 – Hal Price McGrath’s Aristides wins the first Kentucky Derby with Oliver Lewis aboard for trainer Ansel Williamson. The first Derby is run at 1 1/2 miles.

1882 – Apollo wins the Derby without having run as a 2-year-old. No other horse would accomplish that feat – “the curse of Apollo” – until Justify 136 years later.

1913 – Donerail takes the Derby at a shocking 91-1, to this day the longest odds ever for a Kentucky Derby winner.

Thu, 05/02/2024 - 12:55

Kentucky Derby 2024: New faces among trainers, jockeys in this year's field

By Nicole Russo

Debra A. Roma

Larry Demeritte, the trainer of West Saratoga, will be the first Black trainer in the Kentucky Derby since 1989.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Can one really, truly know what it might feel like to participate in their first Kentucky Derby? Trainer Larry Demeritte, who has chased the Derby dream all the way from the Bahamas, has been doing his best for many years to be prepared when that call comes to make the walkover from the stable area.

Thu, 05/02/2024 - 07:55

Tapit Jenallie scratched from Kentucky Oaks

By Nicole Russo

Barbara D. Livingston

Tapit Jenallie was most recently third in the Fantasy Stakes at Oaklawn.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Tapit Jenallie was withdrawn from the Kentucky Oaks on Thursday morning, allowing first also-eligible Our Pretty Woman to draw into the race.

Trainer Eddie Milligan told Churchill Downs publicity that he was scratching Tapit Jenallie due to a minor injury.

"She’s having a little problem with her back end, and we felt like she’s just too nice of a filly to do anything detrimental to her health," Milligan said. "We’re going to give her a little more time, maybe a 30-day break, let her eat some grass, then re-evaluate and see what we need to do."

Wed, 05/01/2024 - 13:40

2024 Kentucky Derby Clocker: Sierra Leone continues to shine training

By Mike Welsch

Debra A. Roma

Sierra Leone continued to look strong on the track Wednesday morning at Churchill Downs.

CHURCHILL DOWNS
Wednesday, May 1
Weather: Clear
Temperature: 58 degrees
Track: Fast

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – The final countdown has begun to Oaks and Derby 2024 with the goal for the connections of all contenders to just keep their horses happy and sound until their respective races on Friday and Saturday.

Wed, 05/01/2024 - 12:50

Kentucky Derby: McKinlay tends to Dornoch's quarter crack; Beckman out of hospital

By David Grening

Barbara D. Livingston

Dornoch has dealt with a quarter crack through much of his career. Trainer Danny Gargan wants to see him break running from post 1 in the Kentucky Derby.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Dornoch has dealt with a foot issue known as a quarter crack through most of his career. Given his race record – three wins and two seconds from six starts – it has not been an impediment to success.

Noted farrier Ian McKinlay has examined Dornoch before each of his last three races – starting with the Grade 2 Remsen last December, which he won – and has done whatever work necessary to have the foot in racing condition. On Wednesday, McKinlay was at Churchill Downs where he laced, with wires, the top part of the crack, which is on the right front foot.

Wed, 05/01/2024 - 11:35

2024 Kentucky Derby: Mott employing his usual restraint with Resilience

By Marcus Hersh

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – The first thing that happens when someone breeds a Thoroughbred racehorse is they wait. It will take at least two years, bare minimum, from the time a foal hits the ground until it races. Buy a yearling, in September, say, and months and months of waiting still lie ahead. And after all that waiting, how many owners and breeders in an age of instant gratification want to wait some more, while a horse figures out how to race, how to win?

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