LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Buoyed by its successes of the past year, officials with Churchill Downs Inc. have announced formation of another ownership group open to the public.

For a one-time fee of $500, new members can buy into a 2-year-old to be trained by Dallas Stewart. A Gio Ponti filly, the 2-year-old was recently purchased for $52,000 at the Ocala Breeders’ Sales auction. The Churchill Downs Racing Club will sell 200 shares in the filly, as has been done with other partnerships since the concept was implemented last spring.

Jockey Irad Ortiz Jr. will not be riding in this year’s Kentucky Oaks or Kentucky Derby. Instead, he will stay at his home base of Belmont Park and ride several top contenders in stakes for trainer Chad Brown those days.

On May 6, Derby Day, Ortiz will be aboard probable favorites Connect in the Grade 3, $200,000 Westchester, Sea Calisi in the Grade 2, $200,000 Sheepshead Bay, and the European import Time Test in the Grade 3, $150,000 Fort Marcy. On May 5, Oaks Day, Ortiz will ride Kathryn the Wise in the Grade 3, $200,000 Vagrancy Handicap.

The program for 2-year-olds at Belmont Park has seen significant gains in starters over the last four years.

In 2016, 166 2-year-old starters made 212 starts. In 2013, 66 2-year-olds combined to make 69 starts. In the New York-bred ranks, the numbers grew from 15 starters who made 17 starts in 2013 to 73 starters who made 101 starts in 2016.

Kharafa, the million-dollar-earning New York-bred gelding, will kick off his 8-year-old season in Saturday’s $150,000 Elusive Quality Stakes going seven furlongs at Belmont Park.

Last year, trainer Tim Hills also used the Elusive Quality to get Kharafa’s campaign going. He finished fifth, beaten five lengths by A Lot.

Hills is using the Elusive Quality as a prep for the $125,000 Kingston on May 29. Kharafa has run in the Kingston four consecutive years, winning it in 2014. He finished third in it last year.

Trainer Jorge Navarro came within a half-length of going 4 for 4 on last Saturday’s Charles Town Classic card. All of his runner’s that day have been sent to a New Jersey farm to prepare for the Monmouth Park meet, which begins May 13.

Navarro, who will be shooting for his fifth consecutive Monmouth training title, said on Saturday he will be sending his Florida-based stable to Monmouth in stages over the next few weeks.

ARCADIA, Calif. - Regulations allowing racetracks to identify wagers placed ontrack through account-wagering platforms is expected to enhance purses, but the impact will not be known for several months, according to a forum conducted by the Thoroughbred Owners of California last Saturday.

ARCADIA, Calif. - It Tiz Well, who finished third in the Grade 1 Santa Anita Oaks on April 8, will remain in California this spring and will not start in the Grade 1 Kentucky Oaks at Churchill Downs on May 5, trainer Jerry Hollendorfer said.

“We’ll wait for a race here,” he said.

Owned by Tom and Debby Stull, It Tiz Well has won 3 of 6 starts and earned $274,840. It Tiz Well won the Grade 3 Honeybee Stakes at Oaklawn Park on March 11 and was beaten 14 lengths by Paradise Woods in the Santa Anita Oaks at 1 1/16 miles.

Trevor McCarthy won the most races at Laurel Park last week but Feargal Lynch won the right races.

McCarthy leads the jockey standings with 59 wins – 13 more than runner-up Horacio Karamanos. He went 6 for 23 last week.

Lynch won with five of his 16 mounts, but won three of the four stakes on Saturday. He won the $123,000 Federico Tesio aboard Twisted Tom for trainer Chad Brown, the $120,000 Weber City Miss on Lights of Medina for Todd Pletcher, and the $75,000 Henry Clark on Ascend for Graham Motion, who doubled up himself by winning the $75,000 Dahlia with Danilovna.

After a month’s journey to Dubai in search of riches, Imperial Hint is back in his Parx stall, and if not wealthier, at least he has his health.

Imperial Hint became sick after shipping to Dubai and missed his intended race, the $2 million Golden Shaheen. The illness developed into pneumonia, and when the other North American horses headed home, Imperial Hint had to stay behind and recuperate. His trainer, Luis Carvajal Jr., remained in Dubai with him.

Churchill Downs

Track: Fast

Clear

Temp. 65

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – For what figured to be a relatively quiet and uneventful morning, with nary a single Kentucky Derby workout on the schedule, Wednesday’s Oaks-Derby training session produced more than its share of newsworthy developments.