CHURCHILL DOWNS  
Weather: Cloudy
Temp.: 54
Track: Fast

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Sunday was by far the busiest morning yet on the Kentucky Derby workout front this week at Churchill Downs, with plenty of action and a little bit of craziness packed into the 15-minute window set aside for Derby and Oaks horses immediately after the first renovation break.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Improbable wasn’t beaten all that far by Omaha Beach in the Arkansas Derby in his last start, and he’s training as though he’s fully capable of closing the gap. On Sunday morning at Churchill Downs, Improbable turned in his second drill here, his last in preparation for the Kentucky Derby next Saturday, with a work that was officially five furlongs but included an eye-catching gallop-out.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Shamrock Rose, last year’s champion female sprinter, exited an April 19 workout at Keeneland with an ankle injury that could lead to her retirement, trainer Mark Casse said Sunday at Churchill Downs.

“I don’t know whether she is going to run anymore or not,” Casse said. “She’s done so much. She could come back, but by the time she comes back, we’re talking about fall and everything.”

CHURCHILL DOWNS
Weather: Sunny
Track: Fast 
Temp: 49

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – The skies were clear, the track was fast, and the action hot and heavy during the 15-minute training session reserved for prospective Kentucky Derby and Kentucky Oaks starters Saturday at Churchill Downs. It was a sharp contrast to the past couple of mornings, when stormy weather and a wet racetrack reduced most of the activity during the Derby/Oaks training window to routine gallops. 

Gray Magician, the runner-up in the UAE Derby, had his final breeze before the May 4 Kentucky Derby on Saturday, working five furlongs in 1:00 2/5 at the San Luis Rey Downs training center in California under Drayden Van Dyke, who has picked up the ride in the Derby.

According to trainer Peter Miller, Gray Magician finished the work in 23 1/5 seconds and galloped out six furlongs in 1:12 2/5. The move came in company with an unspecified workmate as a target.

LEXINGTON, Ky. – All-sources handle and ontrack attendance at Keeneland this spring were down marginally while the track gave away a record amount in purses, according to figures released by the track following the final card of a 16-day meet that ran April 4 through Friday.

Total handle was $153,116,119, down 2.6 percent in comparison to the 2018 spring meet, when 16 dates also were run. The per-day average was $9,569,757.

Churchill Downs
Weather: Cloudy
Track: Good/fast
Temp: 56

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – The effects of even more rain falling over the local area Thursday night and into Friday led to a racetrack that started out as sloppy but improved steadily once the clouds finally gave way to clearer skies as Friday morning progressed at Churchill Downs.

ARCADIA, Calif. – On a crucial Friday morning of Kentucky Derby training, jockey Martin Garcia was a key member of trainer Bob Baffert’s team at Santa Anita.

In a little more than an hour, Garcia served as exercise rider for two of Baffert’s leading hopes for the Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs on May 4. At 6:30, Roadster, the winner of the Grade 1 Santa Anita Derby on April 6, worked six furlongs in 1:13.80. At 7:45, Game Winner, the champion 2-year-old male of 2018 who was second in the Santa Anita Derby, worked seven furlongs in 1:27.

Jockey Jon Court is going to have to reward his mother a pretty penny if Long Range Toddy wins the $3 million Kentucky Derby next Saturday.

Court, 58, is the oldest rider ever to have a mount in the 145-year-old classic, eclipsing the record of 57 set by jockey Bobby Baird in 1978, according to Churchill Downs.

ETOBICOKE, Ontario – Following her sixth-place finish in the Grade 1 Apple Blossom Handicap on April 14 at Oaklawn Park, 2018 Canadian Horse of the Year Wonder Gadot will be making her way to Woodbine, trainer Mark Casse said.

“I want to get her back winning,” he said. “We tried something in the last race, and it didn’t work. We put her on the lead, and I don’t think that’s really what she wants to do. She’s coming home to regroup.”