Mon, 05/04/2026 - 12:38

Ottinho won't go in Peter Pan or Preakness

Coady Media
Ottinho, second in the Blue Grass, won't start in the Peter Pan or Preakness, according to trainer Chad Brown.

Ottinho, runner-up in the Grade 1 Blue Grass Stakes, will not run in either the Grade 3 Peter Pan Stakes on Saturday at Aqueduct or the Preakness Stakes at Laurel Park on May 16, trainer Chad Brown said.

Brown said Ottinho missed a work on the last weekend of April due to a foot issue, then worked a slow half-mile in 52 seconds by himself Saturday morning at Churchill Downs. Brown did not have an immediate plan for the horse.

Brown said that Tariff Mindset, a horse he was originally planning to run in the Peter Pan, is on the shelf for a little while.

Mon, 05/04/2026 - 12:36

Brown applauds DeVaux for Derby win while thinking of Paladin

Barbara D. Livingston
Trainer Cherie DeVaux, a former assistant to Chad Brown, became the first female trainer to win the Kentucky Derby.

Trainer Chad Brown said Golden Tempo’s victory in the Kentucky Derby was well-deserved by his former assistant Cherie DeVaux, who became the first female trainer to win the Kentucky Derby. DeVaux went out on her own in 2018 after working as Brown’s New York assistant for eight years.

Mon, 05/04/2026 - 12:31

T O Elvis to point for Breeders' Cup Sprint; New York prep possible

Justin N. Lane
T O Elvis, winner of the Churchill Downs Stakes, will be pointed toward the Breeders Cup Sprint, with a prep at Belmont as a possibility.

T O Elvis, dominant winner of Saturday’s Grade 1 Churchill Downs Stakes, will be pointed to the Breeders’ Cup Sprint on Oct. 31 at Keeneland. He will likely have one start before then and it’s possible that start could come in New York.

T O Elvis, who left Churchill Downs on Sunday morning to head to Chicago before flying back home to Japan, was originally slated to run in a race at the Royal Ascot meeting, said Yuto Kumagai, who works with the connections of T O Elvis, including trainer Daisuke Takayanagi.

Mon, 05/04/2026 - 12:16

McCarthy has stakes options aplenty

Benoit Photo
Whittingham winner Mondego has won twice this year at 1 1/4 miles.

ARCADIA, Calif. – Four of trainer Michael McCarthy’s stakes runners at Churchill Downs and Santa Anita last weekend are likely to scatter across the United States – and perhaps over the Atlantic – for their next starts.

McCarthy won three stakes on Saturday – the Grade 1 American Turf Stakes with Stark Contrast and Grade 2 Twin Spires Turf Sprint with Yellow Card at Churchill Downs, and the Grade 2 Charles Whittingham Stakes with Mondego at Santa Anita.

Mon, 05/04/2026 - 11:59

Late-starting 9-year-old retired after one race

Timer Moses, a 9-year-old maiden, had a one-race career.

After finishing sixth of seven in an $8,500 claiming race for maidens at Turf Paradise on Friday, Timer Moses was sold privately over the weekend, according to owner and trainer Chad Story.

“He’s going to West Virginia to be a trail horse,” Story said.

Timer Moses broke slowly from an inside post in Friday’s race at five furlongs. He trailed by 10 lengths early and was beaten 6 3/4 lengths as the 5-2 second choice. Rocksalot, the 2-1 favorite, won the race by a nose over 7-2 River’s Benchmark.

Sat, 05/02/2026 - 19:15

Kentucky Derby 2026: Golden Tempo storms home for upset; DeVaux first female trainer to win

Barbara D. Livingston
Jose Ortiz celebrates his first Kentucky Derby victory aboard Golden Tempo as his brother looks over from second-place Renegade.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Cherie DeVaux has frequently said that she doesn’t want her gender to define her as a horse trainer. Whether she likes it or not, history will now always define her as the first female trainer to win the Kentucky Derby.

Sat, 05/02/2026 - 08:32

Kentucky Derby 2026: The Puma scratched due to swollen pastern

Debra A. Roma
The Puma was scratched from the Kentucky Derby on Saturday morning.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – The Puma, the fifth choice at 8-1 in the early wagering for Saturday’s 152nd Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs, was scratched about 12 hours before the race was scheduled to be run due to a swollen pastern believed to be caused by a skin infection in his left front leg.

Gustavo Delgado Jr., the assistant trainer to his father Gustavo Delgado, said Saturday morning that when he got to the barn the groom of The Puma informed him the horse had a swollen leg.

Thu, 04/30/2026 - 18:43

Gaffalione picks up Kentucky Derby mount on Ocelli

Barbara D. Livingston
Tyler Gaffalione is 0 for 7 in the Derby, though he did finish second, beaten a nose, aboard Sierra Leone in 2024.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – It was a tough morning for jockey Tyler Gaffalione, who saw his original mounts for the Kentucky Derby (Fulleffort) and Kentucky Oaks (Bella Ballerina) scratch due to injury. 

Gaffalione wasn’t without a mount in the Derby for very long. 

Trainer Whit Beckman said Thursday afternoon that he will put Gaffalione on Ocelli in the Derby. Gaffalione was named to ride Nycon in the Oaks before she was scratched Friday morning. Both of Beckman’s horses had drawn into their respective races from the also-eligible list. Joe Ramos was previously named on Ocelli. 

Thu, 04/30/2026 - 16:20

Commonwealth providing Becker a memorable experience amid battle with autoimmune condition

Commonwealth
Ryan Becker with his wife Mikkel and son Atlas visiting Italian Soiree at Keeneland.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – For many, attending the Kentucky Derby is a bucket-list experience. That’s true for Ryan Becker, who is battling a rare autoimmune condition. Becker not only gets to check the Derby off on Saturday, but will experience it as a minority shareholder in a horse in one of the stakes on the undercard.

Thu, 04/30/2026 - 11:48

Successful owner Donna Herrick passes at 97

Benoit Photo
Donna Herrick (left) owned Magnum, winner of the 2009 Grade 2 San Antonio Handicap at Santa Anita.

Donna Herrick, whose family raced such graded stakes winners as Magnum, Medici Code, and Nuclear Debate, died on April 15 at the age of 97, her family announced earlier this month.

Herrick Racing, operated by Bill and Donna Herrick, had a longtime presence in Southern California racing.

Magnum, an Argentine-bred gelding, was second in the Grade 1 Santa Anita Handicap in 2006 and later won the Grade 2 San Antonio Handicap in 2009 under the direction of trainer Darrell Vienna.