LOUISVILLE, Ky. - The fine people of Derby City love Sis City, or at least they will until late Friday afternoon. That's when Sis City will start as the overwhelming favorite of the 100,000-plus racing fans who will turn out in ideal weather for the 131st at Churchill Downs.
Skip to main content
Create Your DRF Account
New to DRF?
Everything you could possibly
need in one place
need in one place
Register
Don't have an account?
Register Here
DRF Past Performances
CALGARY, Alberta - Tantoo, a 9-year-old with an affinity for this course, looks to be loose on the lead in a field of seven older fillies and mares in Friday's featured eighth race for $30,000 claimers.
Tantoo opened her campaign in the filly and mare Sales Stakes on April 16 and led to the head of the stretch before yielding to A Shaky Start in the final furlong.
Despite drawing the outside post in Friday's six-furlong race, Tantoo is expected to make the lead under leading rider Quincy Welch. She has always run
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Without Ashado, Friday's $300,000 Louisville Breeders' Cup Handicap becomes a wide-open affair and may just serve as the coming out party for the streaking Two Trail Sioux.
The Louisville is the richest of five stakes on the Kentucky Oaks undercard. Ashado, last year's Oaks winner who would have been favored in here, was withdrawn from consideration by trainer Todd Pletcher because he was unhappy with the weight assignment.
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - There will be plenty of fireworks before the main event at Churchill Downs on Saturday, with a pair of Grade 1 events among the five stakes on the Kentucky Derby undercard. Those two races will showcase the spectacular filly Madcap Escapade in the Grade 1 Humana Distaff Handicap and some of the nation's premier grass horses in the Grade 1 Woodford Reserve Turf Classic.
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - The first five finishers from last month's Transylvania Stakes at Keeneland, including the top three, who were separated by a neck at the finish, square off again in the Grade 3, $100,000 Crown Royal American Turf, for 3-year-olds. The Crown Royal is one of five stakes on Friday's Kentucky Oaks undercard at Churchill Downs.
, who faded to fourth as the even-money favorite, and Moth Ball, who dueled early with Dubleo and wound up fifth, are also back in this 1 1/16-mile grass race.
The last time Limehouse raced at Churchill Downs, he finished fourth as a 41-1 outsider in the 2004 Kentucky Derby. One year later, Limehouse returns to the Twin Spires, where he will be a much shorter price and the one to beat in the $100,000 Alysheba Handicap.
Jeff Mullins has a much bigger prize in his sights this weekend. But before he saddles Buzzards Bay in Saturday's Kentucky Derby, he looks very live in Friday's $100,000 Aegon Turf Sprint with Mighty Beau.
, a 6-year-old Oklahoma-bred gelding, will try to improve upon his second-place finish as the favorite in this race last year when he was outfinished by Lydgate. Steve Asmussen trained him back then.
Graham Motion's reputation as a top trainer of grass runners gained further strength last fall when he won the Breeders' Cup Turf with Better Talk Now. Now Motion says he might have another standout turf runner in the making, a German filly named Defensa.
Motion said Defensa's connections "were really high on her last fall" before the filly finished seventh in her career debut in Germany. "She bled in that race, which turned out good for me," said Motion, since she was shipped to America, where she could receive the diuretic Lasix.
ELMONT, N.Y. - "After 100 years, they're still off at Belmont!"
With that call by track announcer Tom Durkin as the gates opened for Wednesday's first race, Belmont Park's centennial anniversary was underway.
Under partly sunny skies on a slightly chilly afternoon, the 60-day spring-summer meet began on a festive note, with free parking and grandstand admission, Daily Racing Forms for $1, discounts on food and drink, and race calls from former and current New York Racing Association announcers Marshall Cassidy, John Imbriale, John Dooley, and Larry Collmus.