Kentucky Derby entrant King Guillermo did not train Thursday morning at Churchill Downs and, in a developing story, trainer Juan Carlos Avila said the colt has "a little problem."
Avila declined to elaborate on the nature of the issue, but indicated that the colt would be thoroughly examined by a veterinarian that day, and that more information on his status would be forthcoming later Thursday.
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LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Will Harbut Racing LLC, is one of the three owners of Kentucky Derby entrant Necker Island. Will Harbut’s name is familiar to students of racing history – he cared for the legendary Man o’ War in his stallion career in Kentucky for more than 16 years. The man behind Will Harbut Racing is the groom’s great-grandson, Greg Harbut, a bloodstock agent who named the operation for his family’s deep ties to racing, which are especially poignant in this year of racial unrest.
SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – For the first time in more than two decades, Angel Cordero Jr. won’t be rooting for his protégé John Velazquez to win the Kentucky Derby.
Arguably the most accomplished agent-jockey tandem in racing history, Cordero and Velazquez split up earlier this year after 22 years together. Cordero believes the split came at least in part because he fought hard for the connections of Tiz the Law to keep his other client, Manny Franco, on the horse when other riders were inquiring about replacing him following the horse’s only loss last fall.
John Shirreffs trained Zenyatta throughout her Hall of Fame career and can’t wait to see her soon, but the demands of the Kentucky Derby will mean the next visit will come later this month, when he returns for the yearling sales. This week, he’s sticking to Churchill Downs like Calvin Borel sticks to the rail.
“It’s hard to leave. You never know when something unforeseen could develop,” said Shirreffs, who trains Honor A. P.
Although the only blemish on TIZ THE LAW’s stellar record came at Churchill Downs, guessing it was more the sloppy conditions than the overall racing surface that got him beat in the Kentucky Jockey Club. He’s carved through his competition with aplomb this season and topped it off with a dominating 109-Beyer Speed Figure performance over this distance in the Runhappy Travers. He will likely face a quicker pace situation than he received in the Travers when prompting moderate splits, but has a good break from the gate and can find a nice position while in the clear.
The Kentucky Derby on the first Saturday in May – or, as it turns out in 2020, the first Saturday in September – is the Super Bowl of American Thoroughbred racing. Every trainer and jockey in the sport dreams, however casually, of giving or getting a leg up to answer the call to the post for the classic race.
It has been more than 15 years since trainer John Shirreffs won the Kentucky Derby, but when he is asked of that glorious May day back in 2005 at Churchill Downs, the memories are vivid. The crowd noise, the feeling when Giacomo began his move, the temporary disbelief, the presence of mind to take it all in, all before being shepherded to the winner’s podium, then a post-race celebration in the Derby Museum, before finally heading back to the barn to check on his horse – it all comes flooding back.
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Jockey Brian Hernandez Jr., who was scheduled to ride Art Collector in the Kentucky Derby on Saturday before the colt was declared from consideration because of a minor injury, took off his mounts Tuesday at Churchill Downs after testing positive for COVID-19.
Hernandez said from his Louisville home that he tested positive on Monday, but that he also tested positive for the virus antibodies on Tuesday.
