ELMONT, N.Y. – Gemologist, the Wood Memorial winner who finished 16th in the Kentucky Derby, has a badly bruised left front foot and will miss the Belmont Stakes, according to Elliott Walden, president, CEO, and racing manager of WinStar Farm.
Walden was hopeful that Gemologist could be ready for a summer campaign that would include the Haskell Stakes at Monmouth Park on July 29, with a possible prep in the Dwyer at Belmont on June 30.
Countdown to the Crown returns for a seventh season online as one of the most comprehensive handicapper’s scouting reports of the 3-year-old scene. Posted each Friday at DRF.com from Jan. 6 through the Belmont Stakes, Countdown keeps you apprised of the rising stars of the 3-year-old class from the maiden ranks through the Grade 1 stakes. You can access daily updates and interactive features at Countdowntothecrown.com as well.
ELMONT, N.Y. - Dullahan, the third-place finisher in the Kentucky Derby, will pass the Preakness Stakes and point to the Belmont Stakes on June 9, his owner, Jerry Crawford, announced Friday morning.
Though trainer Dale Romans has told Crawford and the press that Dullahan came out of the Derby in excellent condition, Crawford believes it is the prudent thing to wait the five weeks to run the multiple Grade 1 winner back.
ELMONT, N.Y. – Even some 64 hours after becoming the first female jockey to win the Kentucky Oaks, Rosie Napravnik still hadn’t had time to appreciate the accomplishment fully.
Monday morning, Napravnik spoke to her public relations manager, Kelly Wietsma, to ask her to send links to articles and photos about Friday’s Oaks, which Napravnik won aboard Believe You Can, because she hadn’t seen much of the aftermath.
Derby process should be refined to reflect quality
I think the process of having horses qualify for the Kentucky Derby based on graded stakes earnings has been perverted by huge slots purses in not-so-huge outer-region contests.
Why not change to the qualifying technique used by Breeders' Cup method of points, based on graded stakes wins (not dollar earnings), and thereby have the quality of performances determine the field, instead of the economics of the gaming industry.
The New York Racing Association fired Charles Hayward, its president and chief executive officer, and Patrick Kehoe, the association’s general counsel, on Friday five days after a state report challenged NYRA claims last December that it was unaware it had applied an incorrect takeout rate to its trifecta and superfecta bets over a 15-month period.
Steven Duncker, NYRA’s chairman, said in a statement Friday that NYRA decided “that these executives failed to perform their duties at a level required by the board.”
Bet on Sunshine, a 14-time stakes winner and one of the more popular horses to run on the Kentucky circuit in the past couple of decades, was euthanized Friday morning at Hermitage Farm just outside of Louisville after suffering from lameness.
A 20-year-old Florida-bred gelding, Bet on Sunshine was owned by David Holloway and trained by Paul McGee throughout a career during which he won 22 of 47 starts from 1995-2002, including two victories in the Phoenix Stakes. Churchill Downs named one of its annual overnight stakes in his honor.
