LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Ken McPeek fancies himself a racing historian, so when he was asked Tuesday morning if he knew the last time a trainer had won both the Kentucky Oaks and the Kentucky Derby, he rattled it off like it was a $100 question on "Who Wants to be a Millionaire?"
"Ben Jones, 1952," he said confidently.
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - To date, they have been splashier than the majority of their male counterparts. That is primarily why the word has spread that with such 3-year-old fillies as Take Charge Lady, You, and Bella Bellucci in the field, the 128th is better than the 128th Kentucky Derby.
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - When a horse has been away for as long as seven months, horseplayers usually send up the red flag.
But when Cashier's Dream makes her return to action Thursday in the $100,000 La Troienne Stakes at Churchill Downs, there doesn't have to be a stigma attached to her being absent since Oct. 6.
"There hasn't been a thing wrong with her," said trainer Steve Asmussen.
Although such an intentional layoff may seem unorthodox, it was done with a certain goal in mind, said Asmussen.
JAMAICA, N.Y. - The moving vans are at the ready for next week's shift to Belmont Park, but in the meantime horseplayers get a Derby-week treat on Thursday with one of the most interesting weekday cards in New York since last fall at Belmont.
Highlighting the treat is the seventh race, a 1 1/8-mile allowance on the turf course for older males who have not won a meaningful turf race in the last eight months.
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Cigar, whose 16-race winning streak in the mid-1990's helped energize Thoroughbred racing, and Serena's Song, North America's all-time leading earner among female horses, were elected into the National Museum of Racing's Hall of Fame, it was announced Tuesday.
AUBURN, Wash. - Leading trainer Tim McCanna and top jockey Kevin Radke will attempt to pad their margins when they team up with Stamper in Thursday's best race at Emerald Downs, a 5 1/2-furlong sprint for 3-year-olds eligible to be claimed for $25,000.
McCanna, who is shooting for his fourth training title at Emerald, and Radke, who is launching his first full season of riding here, are both off to sizzling starts. McCanna has scored with nine of his first 24 starters for a strike rate of 37 percent. Radke has won aboard 12 of his first 47 mounts for a 26 percent success rate.
Each day through the Kentucky Derby, trainer Ken McPeek will share his thoughts with Marty McGee of Daily Racing Form in his Derby Diary. McPeek, 39, is the trainer of Harlan's Holiday, the race favorite.
I'd never really thought about pulling off an Oaks-Derby double, but now that people are talking about it, it would be the neatest thing to do. It hasn't been done since Ben Jones did it in 1952 with Real Delight and Hill Gail, so obviously it's extremely difficult.
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - From his guest stall at Neil Howard's barn on the east side of the Churchill Downs backstretch, Came Home is far away from the commotion surrounding many Kentucky Derby hopefuls.
For a five-time stakes winner, Came Home is also off the radar on many lists of top contenders.
Earlier this year at Santa Anita, Came Home won the San Vicente and San Rafael stakes and the Santa Anita Derby, but he arrived in Kentucky two weeks ago lacking the respect of major stakes winners such as Harlan's Holiday, Buddha, or Johannesburg.