The aftermath of the 2021 Kentucky Derby still hangs over the sport of Thoroughbred racing and its most famous horse race nearly two years later and three months before the 149th Run for the Roses is to be conducted, May 6, at Churchill Downs.

WHO’S HOT
Arabian Knight opens as the 6-1 favorite on the Daily Racing Form Derby Watch odds by David Aragona following his romp in the Grade 3 Southwest Stakes on Jan. 28 at Oaklawn Park. As of midweek, it was unclear how Arabian Knight will qualify for the Kentucky Derby. Churchill Downs has banned Baffert trainees from competing at the track or earning Derby points through this year’s Derby. The next start for Arabian Knight is to be determined.

LEXINGTON, Ky. - Jamie Eads, a longtime Kentucky Horse Racing Commission official who has served as its interim executive director for the past six months, has been named permanently to the position, according to the office of Gov. Andy Beshear, which controls personnel appointments to the agency.

Steve Asmussen, one of the leading trainers in the United States, will appeal a 30-day suspension approved by the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission last week and seek a stay of the penalty, according to his attorney.

Clark Brewster, the attorney, said that Asmussen will file a petition in Franklin Circuit Court in Kentucky seeking an appeal of the suspension, which was predicated on the post-race findings of the regulated medication acepromazine in two horses that won races for Asmussen in Kentucky in 2018. 

PALM BEACH, Fla. – Flightline was an odds-on favorite in winning all six career starts – but those mutuels were huge in comparison to what you might have gotten at the Eclipse Awards.

In fact, nobody in their right mind would have laid a dollar to a thousand that Flightline would be denied Horse of the Year honors before the 2022 Eclipse Awards were revealed Thursday night at the 52nd annual awards dinner and ceremony held at The Breakers, the famed luxury resort nestled against the Atlantic Ocean.

Florent Geroux won his 2,000^th race in North America booting Warrant home to a victory in the fifth race Thursday at Fair Grounds. 

Geroux, a 37-year-old native of France and a naturalized American citizen, began riding professionally in 2004 as an apprentice in his native France. He came to America in 2007 and launched a career here with help from trainer Patrick Biancone.

Trainer Richard Baltas has launched an appeal of a one-year suspension issued by three California stewards last month for violations related to the administration of raceday supplements at Santa Anita last April and May.

Last week, administrative law judge Edward Weiss conducted an appeals hearing. Weiss has until late February to present an opinion to the California Horse Racing Board, according to racing board executive director Scott Chaney.

For the second time in two years, a powerful member of the New York legislature has introduced a bill that would allow online gambling operations in the state to offer fixed-odds bets on racing.

Sen. Joseph Addabbo, a Queens Democrat who is the chairman of the Racing, Gaming, and Wagering Committee, recently introduced the bill to the state Senate. The bill also would allow for self-service betting kiosks to be placed at a number of locations in the state, including stadiums and auto-racing tracks.

Online voters have selected Cody’s Wish as the Moment of the Year, the National Thoroughbred Racing Association announced Wednesday morning. 

Cody’s Wish won the Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile on Nov. 5 at Keeneland Racecourse with his namesake in attendance. The horse was named after Cody Dorman, who was born with a rare and disabling genetic disorder, Wolf-Hirschhorn Syndrome. In multiple visits to the farm where Cody’s Wish was raised, the horse displayed an unusual bond with Dorman.

The Kentucky Horse Racing Commission on Monday approved a hearing officer’s recommendation to let stand a 30-day suspension issued to leading trainer Steve Asmussen for two positives for a regulated medication in horses that raced in 2018.

The commission adopted the recommendation for a 30-day suspension based on a report prepared by Eden Davis Stephens, who issued the report after a different hearing officer held an appeals hearing in late August. The report was issued in October.