LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Tiz the Law, likely to be one of the heaviest Kentucky Derby favorites of the last half-century, was assigned post 17 in a field of 18 3-year-olds when entries were drawn Tuesday at Churchill Downs.
Longtime Churchill oddsmaker Mike Battaglia listed Tiz the Law as the 3-5 program favorite, followed by two rivals who drew to either side of him in the far outside gates, Honor A. P. (post 16, 5-1) and Authentic (post 18, 8-1).
As a young man in Venezuela, Juan Carlos Avila, like many Venezuelan youths, had designs on becoming a professional baseball player. He tried second base, third base, and then realized the whole enterprise was a dead end.
“I tried to make myself better; it didn’t work,” Avila said.
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – With the arrival of the heavy favorite and the post-position draw both set for the following morning at Churchill Downs, Max Player was sent through his final pre-race workout early Monday ahead of the 146th Kentucky Derby.
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Unlike in past years, when a $1 minimum for superfecta wagers was in effect for all races on the Kentucky Oaks and Derby cards, Churchill this year will be offering 10-cent superfectas on all Sept. 4-5 races.
The logic behind the former policy was that dime supers could cause logjams at wagering windows both at the track and at simulcast outlets. Theoretically, dime-super bettors would spend more time calling out numerous combinations that could create long delays at mutuel windows at brick-and-mortar facilities.
Wayne Scherr had tried to reach the Kentucky Derby via traditional ownership routes, buying young horses at yearling and 2-year-old auctions. But when the search for his Derby horse proved fruitless, he proposed a different avenue to trainer Chris Hartman.
“A couple years ago, he decided, why don’t we claim a horse?” Hartman recalled. “I said, ‘Wayne, they don’t run Derby horses for a tag. It just doesn’t happen. You don’t claim Derby horses. But I’ll be more than glad to look.’”
The new 20-horse starting gate that Churchill Downs acquired to accommodate what is typically a large field for the Kentucky Derby is in use during morning training for this year’s contenders and will get a test run in a race this week.
In recent years, the club model of Thoroughbred ownership has grown in popularity, attracting new owners to Thoroughbred racing by offering interested parties a chance to buy a small share in a horse with a small single payment. This approach to ownership offers some of the experiences with no additional costs or risks – but also few, if any, financial rewards.
Every Thoroughbred bloodstock entity faces difficult decisions in wheeling and dealing its stock in pursuit of success. Of course, operations want to breed or acquire the best horses possible – but financing that pursuit may also require selling some stock to raise capital.
