WHO’S HOT
The dazzling victory by Life Is Good in the San Felipe caused Marty McGee, who authors the Derby Watch top 20 betting line for the Kentucky Derby, to make Life Is Good the new favorite, down to 5-2 after being the 6-1 third choice last week. There are three newcomers to this week’s list – Crowded Trade, Helium, and Weyburn – and a returnee in Prevalence. McGee has Prevalence at 30-1, with the other three at 50-1.
The Caddo River splits off from the bigger Ouachita in south central Arkansas south of Hot Springs, about 30 miles or so. Leaving Oaklawn Racing and Casino, head south on Central Avenue, past nearby Lake Hamilton, and continue down Route 7.
On the way there, if you make a little detour, you can visit Prairie Bayou. Farther south on 7, which parallels the course of the Ouachita, you’ll wind up in Camden, not far from Cox’s Ridge, so small it’s not even marked on a map, and where the most famous resident – heck, the only resident – was Charlie Vanlandingham.
Scott Robinson, an owner of a compounding company who was one of 27 people connected to racing who were indicted last March by federal prosecutors, has been sentenced to 18 months in prison and ordered to forfeit $3.8 million in proceeds, according to prosecutors in the case.
Robinson, who operated several websites that offered substances of dubious value to horsemen and veterinarians, is the first individual charged in the indictment to receive a sentence. Robinson entered a guilty plea to a single count of “drug alteration and misbranding conspiracy” last September.
Daryl Parker, a longtime steward in the Midwest who was the first Black steward in U.S. racing, died on Thursday night, according to a social-media post from his son, Deshawn.
Daryl Parker, 69, died after “a long battle with cancer that took his life,” said Deshawn, a leading rider, on his social-media account.
“My idol, my best friend, and a great father,” Deshawn posted. “He meant so much to my life and my career. I can only hope to be as great as he was.”
Alexander Crispin, the Eclipse Award-winning apprentice rider of 2020, was recently suspended for 30 days by Maryland stewards after video evidence emerged of him weighing out after a January race five pounds below the assigned weight, according to stewards at Laurel Park.
Adam Campola, Maryland’s chief state steward, said that Crispin weighed out at 110 pounds after riding Alpha Queue on Jan. 16 to a third-place finish. Minutes prior, Crispin had weighed in at 115 pounds. Both weighings were recorded on cameras, Campola said.
Essential Quality, a decisive winner last Saturday in his 3-year-old debut, is the morning-line favorite in Pool 4 of the 2021 Kentucky Derby Future Wager, which opens for the customary three-day run Friday at noon Eastern.
Pool 4 coincides with the only Kentucky Oaks futures and Oaks-Derby double to be offered by Churchill Downs prior to both classics. Pool 4 will close Sunday at 6 p.m. Eastern, and the Oaks pool a half-hour later at 6:30. Win and exacta wagering are offered for both pools.
Albert Lynn Stone, the president and chief executive of Churchill Downs from 1970 through 1984, died on Feb. 22 at a hospital in Lexington, according to an announcement of his death. Stone was 95.
Stone, a former minor-league baseball player, was employed by Churchill for 23 years, starting as resident manager at the Louisville track in 1961. During his tenure at the head of the track, three winners of the Kentucky Derby went on to win the Triple Crown: Secretariat, Seattle Slew, and Affirmed.
Dr. Gary Lavin, a renowned equine veterinarian who was the first of his profession to be elected to The Jockey Club, died on Saturday at his home in Louisville, Ky., according to a release from his family. Lavin, who had been “afflicted by cancer for several years,” according to the release, was 83.
New Mexico racetracks are preparing to reopen their casinos as quickly as next week after a reduction in coronavirus cases in the state led government officials to allow an expansion of indoor businesses, according to a press release issued by the governor’s office on Wednesday.
Sunland Park, which canceled the remainder of its 2020-21 race meeting earlier this month, said it plans to reopen its casino on March 5. Other tracks are expected to open their facilities in March.
